TANGIER (locally TAN JA), a seaport of Morocco, on the Strait of Gibraltar, about 54 m. E. of Cape Spartel, nestles between two eminences at the north-west extremity of a spacious bay. The town presents a picturesque appearance from the sea, rising gradually in the form of an amphitheatre, with the citadel, the remainder of the English mole and York Castle to the right ; in the central valley is the commercial quarter, while to the left along the beach runs the track to Tetuan. Several new roads have been made outside the town. In some of the older streets European shops have replaced the picturesque native cupboards; drinking dens have sprung up at many of the corners, while tele phones and electric light have been introduced by private com panies, and European machinery is used in many of the corn mills, etc. The main thoroughfare leads from Bab el Marsa (Gate of the Port) to the Bab el Suk (Gate of the Market-place) known to the English as Catherine Gate.
New European quarters have been built to the north of Tangier (the Marchan quarter) and to the south (quarter of the beach and of Suani). The harbour, formed by the Bay of Tangier, is good in all weathers except during a strong east wind, but vessels of any size have to anchor a mile or so out. The work of building a deep-water harbour was begun in 1925 and will take five years. The harbour will include several basins with a depth of 71 metres, protected on the north and north-west by a breakwater.
The population of Tangier is 56,000, of which 33,00o are Muslim, 12,00o Jews and I ',coo Europeans (9,00o Spanish, 1,500 French). The trade of Tangier has risen to 175 millions (imports 146 millions, exports 29 millions). The share of France is 87 millions, that of Spain 3o millions, that of Great Britain 20 millions. Tangier, which was formerly the first port of Morocco, has suffered a great deal during the last 20 years from the jealousies of the European Powers, which has retarded its develop ment. Casablanca and the other ports in the French zone have taken its place. The opening of the Franco-Spanish railway from Tangier to Fez, which took place in 1928, will doubtless enable the port to draw, from its magnificent geographical situation, the advantages it has the right to expect.
The Roman Tingis, which stood in the immediate vicinity of the site of Tangier, was of great antiquity; under Augustus it became a free city, and when Otho placed the western half of Mauretania under a procurator, he called it Mauretania Tingitana, after its capital, Tingis. It was held by Vandals, Byzantines and Arabs, and when Mulai Idris passed from Tlemcen to Fez in 788, Tangier was "the oldest and most beautiful city" of the Maghrib. After many futile attempts the Portuguese obtained possession of it in 1471, but it passed to Spain in 158o, returning again to the Portuguese in 1656. In 1662, as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II., it came into the possession of the English, aqd they defended it against - Mulai Ismail in 168o, but in 1684 it was decided, on account of expense, to abandon the place to the Moors. It was bombarded in 1844 by the French, then at war with Morocco. In the early years of the 20th century the sharif Raisiali terrorized the dis trict round Tangier and made captive several Europeans. As one result of the Algeciras conference of 1906 a regular police force was organized, and the control of the customs passed into European hands.
The Franco-German treaty after the crisis of 1911 and the Franco-Spanish convention of 1912 provided a special regime for Tangier and for a zone of 15-18 km. around the town.
(A. BE.) 1912-1928 The declaration of a French protectorate over Morocco did not alter the situation at Tangier, which was understood to fall outside the effect of that declaration. The jealousies of the Powers and of their local representatives, the obstruction with which certain Governments never ceased to meet every propo sition of progress, prevented Tangier from benefiting from its superb position and becoming a place of commercial and maritime importance. So loud grew the complaints of its population that the Governments of Great Britain, France and Spain decided in 1913 to draw up a convention and introduce the special regime which the treaties accorded.