La sombra de la percepción: Las autoridades coloniales británicas y francesas y el protectorado español en Marruecos (1912-1936)

This article explores elements of perception and misperception in international politics relating to the Moroccan Protectorate in the early 20^th century. It departs from the premise that such factors have been frequently overlooked by historians and argues that their study can clarify some of its most complex features. These pages claim that foreign officials in Morocco, particularly British and French, participated in the creation of a common set of values, beliefs and perceptions related to Spanish colonisation in Morocco which many of them shared, and which transpired in their reports to their governments. These perceptions not only influenced the recommendations and colonial policies emerging from metropoli, but also the course of action taken by colonial authorities in implementing them. The article outlines four fundamental issues of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco: its problematic legitimacy, the shortcomings of the Ejército de África, the contradictions of Spanish colonial policy and the military uprising of 1936. Information from British and French archives has been used to support the arguments offered, which aim to enrich the understanding of international diplomacy in the Western Mediterranean in the early 20^th century and its implications for the Spanish Protectorate.