Morocco: Economy and Production in the 15th Century

I would like to know more about the moroccan economy in the late middle ages and early modern age. Let's say from 1300 until 1600, can anyone share a little of knowledge about the topic? I need to know more about it because of a TL that I am writing and I can't find many sources of information about it.

Can anyone help?
 
The main exports included saltpeter and sugar. Certainly when England set up the Barbary company to trade with Morocco that was what they were buying. And they were selling cloth, wood and weapons.

They also had a huge part as middlemen in the salt and slave trades across the sahara. And of course corsairy.

I have a lot of books on morocco so I'll see if I can dig up anything else (numbers would be great) but yeah off the top off my head you want to look at saltpeter mining, sugar plantations and slave trading.
 
I don't know much about the Economy of Morocco but in one of my books it's claimed that the Portuguese wars in North Africa and our occupation of the coast made that the Wattasid dynasty spent most of their reign in economical crisis.
 
I don't know much about the Economy of Morocco but in one of my books it's claimed that the Portuguese wars in North Africa and our occupation of the coast made that the Wattasid dynasty spent most of their reign in economical crisis.
Wattasid? At least in 1415 I'm fairly certain it was the merinids.

Besides, yeah, massive importance of the caravans from the south and commerce in general. I doubt there was much of a national market though given it was fairly disunified
 
Wattasid? At least in 1415 I'm fairly certain it was the merinids.

Besides, yeah, massive importance of the caravans from the south and commerce in general. I doubt there was much of a national market though given it was fairly disunified

It was during the early 16th century when we occupied most of the coast.
 
Ok so the sugar trade, and the sugar plantations, seem to be a saadi dynasty thing. That wouldn't exist prior to 1500.

The small and medium berber village farms of the 12th century had largely been replaced but by pastoralists rather than plantations. Around 1515 you start seeing the shift to cereal and sugar agriculture but prior to that you're looking more at sheep and cow herders. This transformation was helped by religous orders being granted land grants so they could act as trusted landlords for sharecroppers and labourers. This was also encouraged by the portuguese who by the early 1500s were collecting tax in grain. In 1509, the portuguese collected 3,000 kg of wheat from Morocco, compared to 50kg in 1491.

Markets in the big trade towns (5,000 households or more) would have more than 500 traders working there, though several prominent familes (often jewish) dominated the trade and had strict patron/client relations with the workers. The cloth trade between europe and sub saharan africa had great hubs there, with dyeing and tanning being done in the towns (textiles were hugely valuable for trade with the gold owning mali and songhai kings) and textiles were bought from europe as well as produced domestically (where unlike europe it was an urban rather than rural occupation).

The biggest international trades were, in order, grain to portugal, sugar to england, cloth to sub saharan africa, copper, gum salt and slaves to everyone. Fish were also traded but more intranationally, I think.

Moroccan horses were also particuarly prized by the portuguese, with the going rate being 6-8 male slaves for 1 horse.

In terms of the caravan trade across the sahara 1300 to 1600 looks to be the golden age of it before the twin engines of the portuguese bypassing it and the sahel going to hell disrupted it.
 
By the beggining of the XVth, Morroco was a commercial node : it was already being by-passed by European (especially Portuguese but not only) merchants trough a circumnavigating naval trade, but caravaneer roads were still pretty much important (especially on Marinid capital, Fes).

Objects of trade were essentially slaves, gold, salt most of all, but ivory, skins, acacia gum (used as preserver) were as well coming from the South.
As for Marroco productions, it was essentially (but not just that) artisanal products (such as jewelry), mettalurgic products, weapons, wheat grain, dates (the fruit, of course).

You had as well the transit of European products, especially textiles and clothes.

Still, Marinids were declining at this period : they lost their hegemony over North Africa and few remained of al-Andalus; and even lost several harbours and commercial places in North Africa to Castillans and Portuguese that they had conquered on them one century earlier.
It led, after a relatively long anarchic period, their saadian successors to have a more predatory take on caravan centers, hastening their decline.
 
Thank you for the answers! You all helped me a lot.

But I have some more questions:

Why Fez and Marrakesh became the dynasties capitals and most important cities of Morocco? Lucky or some natural/strategic reason? For example, why Fez and not Meknes, Volubilis or Taza?

What was the population of Morocco at the time (let's specify around the year 1400 A.D)? Which were the biggest cities?
 
This might be relevent. Starting in the mid-15th century, the Moroccan climate being wetter as a whole which would last until the past few decades. So in theory, assuming political stability and prosperity, you would've seen increased revenue from agriculture as well as an increase of population in general.

In theory. That was not the case in Morocco OTL, so other factors clearly influenced things.
 
Why Fez and Marrakesh became the dynasties capitals and most important cities of Morocco?
Mostly from their relative central position on Maghrib (as far it was doable avoiding most of Atlas Mountains), and their good connection to both IOTL Mauritania and al-Andalus.

These cities, especially Marrakesh in the Marinid period, did went into periods of huge decline, tough.

Lucky or some natural/strategic reason?
A mix of administrative, strategical and political reasons (Marrakesh was basically restaured by Saadian, in order to make a political point).
As for natural ressources, it's less that they were required from day 1, but the presence of running waters in Fes indeed allowed the city to outgrow the others by having the capacities to do so.

For example, why Fez and not Meknes, Volubilis or Taza?
Meknes and Taza were important cities in medieval Maghrib, and the first is considered an imperial city.
What prevented them to really challenge Fes on the long run? Mostly political reasons, as they weren't the seat of strong ruling dynasties, apart from Idrissids that made Meknes their capital.

Taza is a bit excentered admittedly, being more on the coast and a tiny bit peripherical of the western Marrocean coast, more a the entry of western Maghrib than anything.

As for Volubilis, the city had already declined by the VIIth century (a bit like other western cities) and didn't really challenged the new foundations of towns, cities, etc. that popped out in all the Maghrib. Declining and being in concurrence led to a slow disappearance (even if the place was inhabited up to the XIIth century)

What was the population of Morocco at the time (let's specify around the year 1400 A.D)?
Hard to say, but it couldn't have been that much : maybe 4 or 5 millions at best IMO, counting semi-nomadic and nomadic Berbers.

Which were the biggest cities?
Fes, Marrakech, Taza, Meknes, among others.
 
Were moroccan cities bigger than the European ones? Do you know (or can you guess) how many people lived in cities (in Morocco)?
I'm not sure I understand your question.
Do you ask if these Morrocean cities were larger than some European cities, which is obviously the case, or if Morrocean cities in general were more important than European cities in general (which is not the case)?

Or If these Morrocean cities where bigger than the main European cities, which is not the case : Marrakesh and Fes could have gathered as far as 130,000 inhabitants (probably less by the early XVth IMO), but it was really dwarfed by cities as Cairo, Paris, Milan or Bruges that, while having suffered from the plague, could at least gather thrice as much people (probably more at least for Paris, whom population is sometimes estimated to 400,000 inhabitants and then some more)
Morrocean cities were on par with the average first-tier cities in term of population, but clearly not with the big urban centers.
 
I'm not sure I understand your question.
Do you ask if these Morrocean cities were larger than some European cities, which is obviously the case, or if Morrocean cities in general were more important than European cities in general (which is not the case)?

Or If these Morrocean cities where bigger than the main European cities, which is not the case : Marrakesh and Fes could have gathered as far as 130,000 inhabitants (probably less by the early XVth IMO), but it was really dwarfed by cities as Cairo, Paris, Milan or Bruges that, while having suffered from the plague, could at least gather thrice as much people (probably more at least for Paris, whom population is sometimes estimated to 400,000 inhabitants and then some more)
Morrocean cities were on par with the average first-tier cities in term of population, but clearly not with the big urban centers.

I was asking if an average moroccan city was bigger than the average european city, but your answer was more than enough.

Thank you!
 
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