The merchant companies in Morocco (1830-1912)

Moroccös economic history that exists thousands years ago knew the installation of merchant companies along the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean coasts. These merchant companies have accomplished an outlet roll for commodities appreciated by the European merchants. The Moroccan merchant companies¿ activity acquired importance thanks to the country strategic position, situated between the Iberian Peninsula, the Sahara, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Ocean became an attractive zone thanks to the control of the risks that jeopardized ships before the steamers appearance. The trans-Saharan trade has withdrawn because of the assets of the shipping trade, which has taken more and more importance in the Maroccan eight harbors since the second half of the 19th century. This trade allowed Morocco to appropriate the position of potential supplier of raw products to European factories. This attractive pole seduced merchants of international renown whose firms are of great influence on the economy of the last decades of the 20th century.