Western Sahara

A stretch of coast in northwestern Africa between Cape Juby in the north and Cape Blanc to the south - the Canary Islands archipelago is a short distance to the northwest. The interior is a desolate reach of nearly uninhabited desert, by times flatland or hill country. The chief city, el-Aaiún (Laâyoune), a port in the far northwest with a population of close to 200,000, accounts for over half the total population of the region.

Ruler Name	Start Year	End Year	Notes	Dynasty	Kingdom
To the Bafour	c. 5000 BCE	c. 3000 BCE			Western Sahara
Unoccupied	c. 3000 BCE	c. 300 BCE			Western Sahara
Various Berber Tribes	c. 300 BCE	c. 790 CE			Western Sahara
To Morocco	c. 790	810		Idrisid Dynasty	Western Sahara
To the Sanhaja	810	c. 900	The Sanhaja were the dominant Berber tribal confederacy in northwestern Africa in the early Middle Ages. Branches of the Sanhaja included the Zirids, Hammadids, Lamtuna and Almoravids.		Western Sahara
Various Berber Tribes	c. 900	c. 1040			Western Sahara
To the Lamtuna	c. 1040	c. 1070			Western Sahara
To Almoravids	c. 1070	1147		Almoravid Dynasty	Western Sahara
Various Berber Tribes	c. 1140	1591		Periodic occupation by various Moroccan dynasties c. 1150-1591 and; Incursions and settlement by Arab Beni Hassan tribe c. 1300-1591 and; Cape Bajodor and nearby coastal settlements to Portugual 1430-late 1500's. During the course of the 15th and 16th centuries, a feudal culture emerged in Western Sahara with an Arab and Arabized Berber warrior class (known today by the generic term Saharawi) controlling oasis settlements and collecting tribute from non-Arabized Berbers, black Africans and other tribes of the region.	Western Sahara
To Morocco	1591	1884			Western Sahara
To Spain	1884	1976	See Footnotes 1		Western Sahara
Emilio Bonelli Hernando	1884	1900	Titles of Commandant 1884, Commissioner 1885, and Subgovernor in 1887.		Western Sahara
Ángel Villalobos	1900	1903	Governor		Western Sahara
Francisco Bens Argandoña	1902	1925	Opposed by Muhammad Mustafa.		Western Sahara
Muhammad Mustafa Ould Sheikh Muhmmad Fadel Ma al-Aynayn	1904	1910	Jihadist Rebellion.		Western Sahara
Guillermo de la Peña Cusi	1925	1932			Western Sahara
Eduardo Canizares Navarro	1932	1933			Western Sahara
José González Deleito	1933	1934	Opposed by Sahawari Rebellion		Western Sahara
Benigno Martínez Portillo	1934	1936			Western Sahara
Carlos Pedemonte Sabin	1936	1936			Western Sahara
Rafael Gallego Sainz	1936	1937			Western Sahara
Antonio de Oro Pulido	1937	1940			Western Sahara
José Bermejo López	1940	1949			Western Sahara
Francisco Rosaleny Burguet	1949	1952			Western Sahara
Venancio Tutor Gil	1952	1954			Western Sahara
Ramón Pardo de Santallana Suárez	1954	1957			Western Sahara
Mariano Gómez Zamalloa y Guirce	1957	1958			Western Sahara
José Héctor Vázquez	1958	1958	Governor General		Western Sahara
Mariano Alonso Alonso	1958	1961			Western Sahara
Pedro Latorre Alcubierre	1961	1964			Western Sahara
Joaquín Agulla y Jiménez-Coronado	1964	1965			Western Sahara
Adolfo Artalejo Campos	1965	1965			Western Sahara
Ángel Enríquez Larrondo	1965	1967			Western Sahara
José María Pérez de Lema y Tejero	1967	1971			Western Sahara
Fernando de Santiago y Díaz de Mendívil	1971	1974			Western Sahara
Federico Gómez de Salazar y Nieto	1974	1976			Western Sahara
To Morocco	1976	Present			Western Sahara
To Castile/Spain	1476	1524	Enclave of Ifni, founded by Diego de Herrera.		Western Sahara
To Morocco	1524	1860			Western Sahara
To Spain	1860	1969			Western Sahara
Spanish Concession	1860	1912	Unoccupied.		Western Sahara
To Spanish Protectorate	1912	1952	Occupied from 1934		Western Sahara
Administered from Western Sahara	1952	1958			Western Sahara
Mariano Quirce	1958	1959			Western Sahara
Pedro Latorre Alcubierre	1959	1961	Governor of Western Sahara 1961-1964.		Western Sahara
Joaquín Agulla y Jiménez-Coronado	1961	1963	Governor of Western Sahara 1964-1965		Western Sahara
Adolfo Artalejo Campos	1963	1965	Governor of Western Sahara 1965.		Western Sahara
Marino Larrasquino	1965	1967			Western Sahara
José Rodríguez	1967	1969			Western Sahara
To Morocco	1969	Present			Western Sahara

Footnotes
1. The Spanish were given the Rio de Oro and Ifni regions in 1860 by the Treaty of Tetuan, but no settlement took place. Meanwhile, the British founded a trading post in 1879 at Cape Juby, followed by a Spanish post at Villa Cisneros in 1883. In 1884 a Spanish protectorate was declared over all of the region from Rio de Oro to Angra de Cinta, and additional territories were added in 1885. The British outpost was abandoned in 1895 and Cape Juby turned over to Spain by Morocco in the same year. From 1887 to 1903 the Rio de Oro Protectorate (as the region became known, or, alternatively, "Spanish Sahara") was administered from the Canary Islands.

1. The Spanish were given the Rio de Oro and Ifni regions in 1860 by the Treaty of Tetuan, but no settlement took place. Meanwhile, the British founded a trading post in 1879 at Cape Juby, followed by a Spanish post at Villa Cisneros in 1883. In 1884 a Spanish protectorate was declared over all of the region from Rio de Oro to Angra de Cinta, and additional territories were added in 1885. The British outpost was abandoned in 1895 and Cape Juby turned over to Spain by Morocco in the same year. From 1887 to 1903 the Rio de Oro Protectorate (as the region became known, or, alternatively, "Spanish Sahara") was administered from the Canary Islands.