other · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Tangier International Zone
Origins
Because of Tangier's strategic position on the Strait of Gibraltar, France, Spain and Britain agreed at Paris in 1923 that the city and its surroundings would be neither French nor Spanish but internationalised. The statute took effect in 1924; Italy joined in 1928, and other powers including Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States took part.
Rule and society
A committee of control of foreign consuls and an international legislative assembly governed, while the sultan was represented by a mendoub. Low taxes, free currency exchange and a free port attracted banks, traders, smugglers and spies. Spain occupied the zone during the Second World War, from 1940 to 1945, after which international rule was restored.
Decline and legacy
After Moroccan independence, an international conference ended the special status in October 1956, and Tangier was reintegrated into the Kingdom of Morocco, keeping a free-port charter for a few years.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Tangier International Zone was conquered by Francoist Spain1940 CE – 1945 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tangier International Zone. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tangier-international-zone
- MLA
- “Tangier International Zone.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tangier-international-zone. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Tangier International Zone.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tangier-international-zone.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tangier International Zone’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tangier-international-zone (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻