A small Spanish territory on the south-west coast of Morocco, to which country it was finally returned in 1969. The area was 1500 km2 and the only city is Sidi Ifni, population about 15 000.

Ifni was originally colonized in 1476, as Spain began to acquire overseas colonies, such as the Canary Islands and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. A fishing village and slave port were established, but abandoned in 1524 in the face of Berber attacks. It was reclaimed in 1860 by treaty with Morocco, but not effectively reoccupied until 1934.

On Moroccan independence in 1956, some more recently acquired Spanish territory (the Wadi Draa region of Spanish Sahara) became part of the new country, but Ifni was retained until 1969.

Good site at http://www.izquierdo.net/ifni/index.htm (in Spanish)

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