Yusef of Morocco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sultan Yusef ben Hassan (1882–November 17, 1927) (Arabic: السلطان يوسف بن الحسن) ruled the French Protectorate of Morocco from 1912 until his death in 1927. Born in the city of Meknes to Sultan Hassan I, he inherited the throne from his brother, Sultan Abdelhafid, who abdicated after the Treaty of Fez (1912), which made Morocco a French protectorate. He was a member of the Alaouite Dynasty.

Yusef's reign was turbulent and marked with frequent uprisings against the royal family for giving up the country's independence to France. The most serious of these was a Berber uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by Abd el-Krim. Though this originally began in the Spanish-controlled area in the north of the country, it reached to the French-controlled area until a coalition of France and Spain finally defeated the rebels in 1925. To ensure his own safety, Yusef moved the court from Fez to Rabat, which has served as the capital of the country ever since.

Yusef's reign came to an abrupt end when he died suddenly of uremia in 1927. He was succeeded by his son Muhammad.