A state of need: the Spanish Red Cross in Morocco, 1886-1927

Abstract

This article studies the central role of nation-states in the Red Cross during the interwar period. In the late nineteenth century, Spain pioneered the creation of European-style humanitarian institutions in Morocco. However, its perennial instability as a state, aggravated by the colonial disaster of 1898, put an end to the regenerationist project of a Moroccan Red Cross. When the Spanish protectorate was established in 1912, the Spanish Red Cross was overshadowed by competition from its French counterpart, the internationalization of Tangiers and resistance from the local inhabitants. This culminated in the so-called Rif War of 1921-1927, a mixture of anticolonial revolt and international war that vividly exposed the ingrained deficiencies of the Spanish State and its Red Cross.