History of Western Sahara

The history of Western Sahara encompasses Indigenous Sahrawi societies, Spanish colonial rule, Morocco’s and Mauritania’s claims, and the unresolved struggle over the territory’s sovereignty.

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Sahrawi people: The Sahrawi are a people of the western Sahara, linked by Hassaniya Arabic, regional traditions, and shared historical experience. Their communities and political identity predate Spanish rule and remain central to claims of self-determination.
Madrid Accords: The 1975 agreements by Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania concerning Spain’s withdrawal from Western Sahara. They arranged an administrative handover without determining the territory’s sovereignty.
Polisario Front: A Sahrawi national liberation movement founded in 1973 that seeks independence for Western Sahara. It became the principal armed and diplomatic representative of the independence movement.
Sahrawi refugee camps: Camps near Tindouf, Algeria, that have housed Sahrawi refugees displaced by the conflict since the 1970s. Decades of displacement have made the camps a major center of Sahrawi political and social life.
Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara: A Moroccan proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. It offers self-government within Morocco rather than the independence sought by the Polisario Front.
Hassaniya Arabic: A variety of Arabic spoken across parts of the western Sahara and neighboring regions. Its widespread use connects Sahrawi communities across a territory divided by borders.
Green March: A 1975 mass march of Moroccan civilians into Western Sahara, organized by King Hassan II. It asserted Morocco’s claim as Spain prepared to leave.
Hassan II: King of Morocco from 1961 to 1999, who advanced Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. He organized the Green March and directed Morocco’s entry into the territory.
International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara: A 1975 advisory opinion addressing historical ties between Western Sahara, Morocco, and the Mauritanian entity. The opinion found ties of allegiance but no territorial sovereignty that displaced self-determination.
Referendum on Western Sahara independence: A proposed vote in which the people of Western Sahara would choose the territory’s political status. A referendum remains the core alternative to Morocco’s proposal of autonomy under its sovereignty.