Ifni
| Ifni | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Spain | |||||||||
| 1958–1969 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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 Map of Ifni | |||||||||
| Capital | Sidi Ifni | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1969 | 1,502 km2 (580 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1964 | 51,517 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 12 January 1958 | ||||||||
• Returned to Morocco | 4 January 1969 | ||||||||
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| [citation needed] | |||||||||
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Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.
It had a total area of 1,502 km² (580 sq mi), and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing.
Spain's presence in the area can be traced to a settlement called Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, founded in 1476. The Spanish were expelled from the area in 1524 by the Berbers.
In the mid-19th century Spain became interested in its lost medieval fortress in order to claim the southern part of Morocco, and for no clear reason Ifni was wrongly considered the most likely area.
The territory and its main town, Sidi Ifni, were ceded to Spain by Morocco on April 26, 1860, following a short war, but there was little Spanish presence until 1934, when the governor-general of Spanish Sahara took up residence. During Franco's dictatorship, the colony was made a Spanish province to stop United Nations criticism on decolonization.
After the "Forgotten War" (1957) almost all was occupied by Morocco. Spain returned it to Morocco on January 4, 1969, and the territory was reintegrated into the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa-Draâ.
Postage stamps
Spain began issuing postage stamps for Ifni in 1941, initially overprinting Spanish stamps with "TERRITORIO DE IFNI", then issuing new designs in 1943. Issues followed at the rate of about 10 a year, the last on November 23, 1968. Most are commonly available, but are far more often seen unused.