Tangier, Spanish Morocco and Spain's civil war in Dutch diplomatic documents

This article presents the consequences of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) on the International city of Tangier as well as on Spanish Morocco through the eyes of the Dutch diplomatic representation in the international zone. These documents derive their importance not only because of the diplomatic status of their authors, but also because the Dutch consul general was one of seven envoys that constituted the Control Committee in Tangier and as such formed part of the governing body of the city. The documents shed a lot of light on the circumstances and crises that threatened the neutral status of Tangier during the early days of the war, and also afterwards. The Dutch reports however, also disclose the antipathy that the Dutch held towards the Spanish Republicans whom they usually branded as red or communist and often attributed to them occasional troubles in Tangier. The frequent visits to Spanish Morocco by the Dutch envoy as well as the conversations with the Spanish High Commissioners in Tetouan provide first-hand testimonies on the state of mind and fears, that sometimes bordered on the excessive, of the Spanish authorities in the Moroccan protectorate. These documents are an important source of historical material for those interested in the modern history of Tangier as well as the role of Morocco in the Spanish Civil War.