The Riffian Republic: Morocco's Mountain Uprising Against Spain

Long before the war for independence that created modern Morocco, a mountain people in the north built their own short-lived republic and fought off two European empires. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Rif Republic of the 1920s — a Berber state carved out of Spanish Morocco by the guerrilla leader Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, known as Abd el-Krim. We trace his rise from a qadi's son educated in Spanish and Islamic law to commander of a disciplined army that routed the Spanish at Annual in 1921, capturing cannons and thousands of rifles. We examine the republic's surprising institutions: a parliament, a currency, a postal service, a modern tax system — all run by Rifian tribes. And we confront the brutal counterattack: poison gas dropped by Spanish and French aircraft, a coordinated colonial pincer that finally crushed the republic in 1926. This is the story of a forgotten anti-colonial state, its visionary leader, and the chemical weapons that ended it. #RifRepublic #AbdElKrim #SpanishMorocco #Berber #RifWar #Annual #Alhucemas #FrenchMorocco #Pétain #PoisonGas #Colonialism #GuerrillaWarfare #Republic #Morocco #NorthAfrica #20thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo