Spanish West Africa

Spanish West Africa (Spanish: África Occidental Española, AOE) was a grouping of Spanish colonies along the Atlantic coast of northwest Africa. It was formed in 1946 by joining the southern zone of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, the colony of Ifni and the colony of Spanish Sahara into a single administrative unit. Following the Ifni War (1957–58), Spain ceded the southern protectorate to Morocco and created separate provinces for Ifni and the Sahara in 1958.[1][2]

Spanish West Africa الافريقية الغربية الاسبانية África Occidental Española
1946–1958
Flag
Northwestern African territories under Spanish control in 1912. Some of these would later be grouped to form Spanish West Africa.
Status	Spanish colony
Capital	Villa Cisneros
Common languages	Spanish Arabic
Religion	Roman Catholicism Islam
Governor
• 1946–1949 (first)	José Bermejo López
• 1958 (last)	José Héctor Vázquez
History
• Established	20 July 1946
• Disestablished	10 January 1958
Currency	Spanish peseta
Preceded by Succeeded by Ifni Spanish Morocco Spanish Sahara Ifni Morocco Spanish Sahara

Spanish West Africa was formed by a decree of 20 July 1946. The new governor sat at Ifni. He was ex officio the delegate of the Spanish high commissioner in Morocco in the southern zone of the protectorate, to facilitate its government along the same lines as the other Spanish possessions on the coast. On 12 July 1947, Ifni and the Sahara were raised into distinct entities, but still under the authority of the governor in Ifni. On 10 and 14 January 1958, respectively, the Sahara and Ifni were raised into regular Spanish provinces completely independent of one another.[3][4]