Crossing the Strait—Morocco, Gibraltar and Great Britain in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Challenging the conventional account of Morocco as isolationist and backward, Brown (history of Morocco, U. of Cambridge) argues that the Moroccan sultanate actively encouraged trade and communications with the wider world through its links with Gibraltar. He considers the century between the accession of Sidi Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah in 1757 and the signing of the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856, but focuses particularly on the reign of Mawlay Suleyman from 1792 to 1822, under whom Morocco's isolationism is generally believed to have reached its height. He covers Moroccan trade and foreign policy before and after 1790, the Moroccan consulate at Gibraltar, trade between Gibraltar and the Gharb ports, Jewish and Muslim intermediaries between the Gharb and Gibraltar, and British Gibraltar and the politics of the Gharb. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

James A.O.C. Brown, Ph.D. (2009) in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, is Research Associate at the same university specialising in the history of Morocco, with a particular interest in history of the interaction between civilisations.