المغرب AL-MAĠHRIB	MOROCCO
region: الدار البيضاء - سطات (ad-Dār al-Bayḍā - Seṭat)	Casablanca-Settat

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Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, DIN 31635: ad-Dār al-Bayḍā) (Tamazight: ⴰⵏⴼⴰ, Anfa) is located in the central-western part of Morocco at the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Casablanca is Morocco's chief port and one of the largest financial centers in Africa. At a population of 3.36 million it is the larget city of Morocco, the largest city in the Maghreb region and the eighth-largest in the Arab world; the Greater Casablanca region has a populaton of 4.3 million. Casablanca is the capital of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. It is also considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat. The name in the Berber language Tamazight, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ (romanised Anfa) is translated to 'incline'. This name has been known at least since the 7th century BC. After the Portuguese took control of the city in the 15th century they used the name Casa Branca, 'white house' in Portuguese. The present name Casablanca came when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated in personal union to the Spanish kingdom. The name was changed into the Arabic الدار البيضاء (romanised ad-Dār al-Bayḍā) by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah who rebuilt the city after the earthquake of 1755.

The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. the Berber kingdom of Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, Arab tribes of Hilal and Sulaym descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, which led to widespread Arabization. During the 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a popular revolt in 1465. In the early 15th century, the town became an independent state once again, and emerged as a safe harbour for pirates and privateers, leading to it being targeted by the Portuguese, who bombarded the town which led to its destruction in 1468. The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515. Between 1580 and 1640, the Crown of Portugal was integrated to the Crown of Spain, so Casablanca and all other areas occupied by the Portuguese were under Spanish control, though maintaining an autonomous Portuguese administration. As Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under fully Portuguese control once again. The Europeans eventually abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an earthquake which destroyed most of the town. The town was finally reconstructed by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (1756–1790), an ally of George Washington and one of the first leaders of a nation to recognise American independence, with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as it became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and shipping traffic increased. The Treaty of Algeciras of 1906 formalized French preeminence in Morocco and included three measures that directly impacted Casablanca: that French officers would control operations at the customs office and seize revenue as collateral for loans given by France, that the French holding company La Compagnie Marocaine would develop the port of Casablanca, and that a French-and-Spanish-trained police force would be assembled to patrol the port. After Philippe Pétain of France signed the armistice with the Nazis, he ordered French troops in France's colonial empire to defend French territory against any aggressors — Allied or otherwise — applying a policy of "asymmetrical neutrality" in favor of the Germans. French colonists in Morocco generally supported Pétain, while politically conscious Moroccans tended to favor de Gaulle and the Allies. American forces captured Casablanca from Vichy control when France surrendered on 11 November 1942. During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting. Morocco finally gained independence from France in 1956.

The picture on glass no. 3841 [left] shows the Bureaux de la région, the seat of the regional administration since the period of the French rule.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca]