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
Morocco in World War II Morocco in World War II During World War II, Morocco, then a French protectorate, was controlled by Vichy France from 1940 to 1942 after the occupation of France. However, after the North African Campaign, Morocco was under Allied control, and thus was active in Allied operations until the end of the war. In 1940, after France became subject to the German occupation, France was divided into two regions. One was occupied by German forces and the other was under French control, with its capital in Vichy. The latter became the Vichy regime, which controlled Southern Morocco. Post the 1942 landings,