|This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013)|
Its surrounding area, called Cape Juby Strip or Tarfaya Strip, while making up presently the far South of Morocco, is in a way a semi-desertic buffer zone between Morocco proper and the Western Sahara, and was under Spanish rule in the first half of the 20th century.
On May 28, 1767, Mohammed ben Abdallah (Sultan of Morocco) signed a peace and commerce treaty with the Spanish King Charles III, in which he does not guarantee the security of Spanish fishermen in the coasts south of the river Nun, as he recognized he does not have control over the Tekna tribes of that lands (Art. 18)
In 1879, the British North West Africa Company established a trading post named Port Victoria. On March 26, 1888, Moroccan soldiers attacked the post, killing the director of the factory and leaving two workers badly injured. In 1895, the company sold it to the sultan of Morocco.
In 1912, Spain negotiated with France (who controlled the affairs of Morocco at the time) for concessions on the southern edge of Morocco. Francisco Bens officially occupied the Cape Juby region for Spain on July 29, 1916. It was administered by Spain as a single entity with Spanish Sahara and Ifni, as Spanish West Africa.
The Spanish area 12,700 sq mi (33,000 km2), and had a population of 9,836. Its main town was founded by the Spanish as Villa Bens, now called Tarfaya. Villa Bens was used as a staging post for airmail flights.
Retrocession to Morocco
When Morocco became independent in 1956, it asked for the cession of Moroccan areas controlled by Spain. After some resistance and some fighting during 1957 (the Ifni War), the Cape Juby strip was ceded by the Spanish government to Morocco in 1958.
- Pedro Giménez de Aragón Sierra. "Proyecto Ibn Jaldun. VII. El colonialismo español en el s. XIX: África. 2. Chafarinas, Sidi Ifni y el Sáhara." (in Spanish). Junta de Andalucía. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
- Cesáreo Fernández Duro (08-09-1877). "Cautivos españoles en Cabo Blanco" (in Spanish). La Ilustración Española y Americana nº XXXIII. p. 156. Retrieved 2010-06-16. Check date values in:
- José Fernández Bromón (1888-05-15). "Sucesos de Marruecos" (in Spanish). La Ilustración Española y Americana nº XVIII. p. 307. Retrieved 2010-07-23.