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Tangier
Arabic:
tanja
City in northern Morocco with 700,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate).
It is the capital of Tangier-Tetouan region with 2.5 million inhabitants (2005 estimate) and an area of 11,570 km².
The city is situated on the Atlantic side of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The economic base of the city is shipping, communications, tourism and small scale industry. Tangier has Morocco's largest black economy, where smuggling of people as well as goods between Spain and Morocco is central.
HISTORY
1471: Tangier is given to Charles 2 of England as dowry, by the Portuguese, who had captured it from the Moors.
1684: England gives it to the Moors, as it has turned into a sea pirates nest.
1912: Tangier, together with 363 kmē inland, is turned into an international zone.
1929: Spain gets the police control over Tangier, but the city is governed by an international body.
1940: Occupied by Spain.
1945: End of Spanish occupation.
1956: With the independence of Morocco, the status of Tangier as international zone is abolished, and the city becomes a normal city in the new nation.
1962: Tangier is turned into a free port.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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