''La Compagnie Marocaine'' (the Moroccan Company) was a French colonial

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

founded in 1902 for the purpose of exploiting

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

History

In 1902, a group of industrialists led by

Eugène Schneider II Charles Prosper Eugène Schneider, also known as Eugène Schneider II (French: Eugène II Schneider; 29 October 1868 – 17 November 1942), was a French industrialist, head of Schneider-Creusot and other works in France, politician and inventor. In ...

founded the company with the purpose of organizing commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities in

was its first president. Derailed locomotive in Casablanca 1907

The

Treaty of Algeciras The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...

of 1906, which formalized French preeminence in Morocco and precipitated the establishment of a

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

, accorded a contract to construct modern ports in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

and Asfi to ''Compagnie Marocaine''. In fact, it was an attack on the company's

Decauville Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel ...

train that incited the Bombardment of Casablanca in August 1907, marking the beginning of the

French conquest of Morocco The French conquest of Morocco began in 1907 and continued until 1934. By the Treaty of Fez of 1912, France imposed a protectorate over Morocco and spent the next two decades taking control of the country. Before the protectorate The French ...

. Starting in 1911, in order to secure an increase in capital, the presidency went to a representative of the ''

Banque de l'Union Parisienne The Banque de l'Union Parisienne (BUP) was a French investment bank, created in 1904 and merged into Crédit du Nord in 1973. History Société Française et Belge de Banque et d'Escompte From its inception, the Société Générale de Belgique ...

''. It participated in the creation of the '' Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Maroc'' (Railroad Company of Morocco) and become a main shareholder. ''La Compagnie Marocaine'' was listed in the

Paris Bourse Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined market ...

in 1920.

Administration

List of presidents

* 1903-1911:

* 1911-1914: Jules-Frédéric Lambert, marquis de Frondeville * 1914?-1922: Max Boucard * 1922-1923: Cornelis de Witt * 1923-1958: Jacques Feray

References

Bibliography

* Pierre Guillen, ''L'implatation de Schneider au Maroc, les débuts de la Compagnie marocaine (1902-1906)'', 1965 * André Adam, ''Histoire de Casablanca: des origines à 1914'', 1968 * Mohamed Bouzidi, ''Histoire économique, le Maroc précolonial'', 1981 {{Portal bar, banks, business, Morocco French companies established in 1902 Holding companies of France Holding companies established in 1902

History

Administration

List of presidents

See also

References

Bibliography