Introduction
The occupation of the Moroccan coasts by Spanish or Portuguese Christians was a state of affairs deeply resented by all the local populations. Behind the conquest started in Ceuta in 1415 lay not only the desire to monopolise the spice, gold and slave trade long in the hands of Muslim merchants, but also, for some, the ambition to extend « the kingdom of Christ »
and to « free Christendom from the Islamic threat »
. The conquerors were taking advantage of internal strife, which got worse after the death in Fes in 1445 of the last Marinid[1] sovereign, setting the scene for wars of succession. The advent of the Banu Wattas[2], did not help immediately to put paid to tribal strife. The indignation and fear inspired by the Iberian threat compounded by the weakness of central power drove the populations in the arms of religious figures, namely the marabouts and the shorfa. Maraboutism[3] and Sharifism[4] became essential trends driving Moroccan political life.