Historic Treaty of Tetouan: Spain and Morocco’s 163-Year-Old Peace Agreement

In response to the many and frequent attacks on the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the Spanish government demanded in 1859 that the Sultan of Morocco, Muhammad ibn’Abd al Rahman, punish the perpetrators. Faced with Morocco’s inaction, O’Donnell, then President of the Spanish government, proposed to the Congress of Deputies to declare war on Morocco with the support of the French and English governments.

With an army of 36,000 men, artillery and warships, Spain attacked Morocco, hence the Battle of Wad-Ras in Tetouan which resulted in the victory of the Spaniards in March 1860. A few days later, on April 26, the two countries signed the Treaty of Wad-Ras by which Spain extended its territory to Ceuta and Melilla. They also concluded trade agreements favoring Spain and forcing Morocco to pay war indemnities at the risk of losing Tetouan.

The signing of this treaty marked the end of this war in which the Spanish army lost more than 7,000 men.