Safi, Morocco The Portuguese fortress built to protect the city is still there today. After 1541, the city played a major role in Morocco as one of the safest and biggest seaports in the country. Many ambassadors to the Saadian and Alaouite kings during the 16th–18th centuries came to Morocco via Asfi; its proximity to Marrakech, then capital of Morocco, helped expand the maritime trade in the city. Louis De Chénier, consul of the French court in Morocco in 1767, reported that the city was the only usable seaport at the time. A French Navy captive, Bidé de Maurville, who wrote the
Languages of Morocco confirms the idea that multilingualism in Morocco is a vivid sociolinguistic phenomenon, which is favoured by many people." There are around 12 million Berber speakers in Morocco , representing more than a fourth but less than a third of the population. French retains a major place in Morocco, as it is taught universally and serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics, culture, sciences and medicine; it is also widely used in education and government. Morocco is a member of the Francophonie. After Morocco gained independence with the end of the French Protectorate in 1956, it started a process