Plural identities in colonial Morocco

"Dis-orienting the Maghreb: Morocco in British and American Travel Writing" by Sadik Rddad opens by analysing selected examples of British and American travel literature from 1880 to 1920. Throughout, Rddad uncovers the mechanisms through which these texts, on the one hand, cemented a now-stereotypical image of Morocco, and, on the other hand, presented alternative representations that challenged traditional Orientalist discourse.

Published in February in English and spanning 287 pages, the book aims to go beyond the monolithic perspective established by Edward Said in his canonical work "Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient". For Rddad, Said's framework tends to treat "the East" as a homogeneous entity in parallel to a unified West, thereby leading to the erasure of the historical and cultural particularities of the Greater Maghreb region.

In line with this broader goal, Rddad repositions Morocco at the heart of his critique of Orientalist discourse, presenting it as a space with a distinct identity that has long been overlooked in much postcolonial literature.

Travel writing as a colonial battleground

The book consists of five chapters examining a pivotal phase in Morocco's colonial past, from the late nineteenth century to the onset of French colonial rule in 1912. 

It includes analyses of the writings of four British and American travelers during this period: "Our Mission to the Court of Marocco in 1880" (1880) by Philip Durham Trotter, "A Ride In Morocco Among Believers And Traders" (1902) by Francis MacNab, "Morocco The Bizarre, Or, Life in Sunset Land" (1914) by American Vice Consul-General George Edmund Holt, and "In Morocco" (1920) by the American author Edith Wharton.

Rddad argues that travel writing cannot be reduced to a mere tool of colonial propaganda. Rather, he contends that it is a space of ideological and national conflict, especially among competing colonial powers with stakes in modernising Morocco. 

For example, British travellers like Philip Durham Trotter and Francis MacNab promoted an image of British cultural superiority, not only over Moroccans, but also over European rivals, especially the French and Spanish. These texts reflect the political and economic rivalries of nineteenth-century imperialism.

From this perspective, Rddad critiques Edward Said's classical approach to Orientalism for its overlooking of the internal contradictions and variations within Western discourse itself. Rddad draws on the work of University of California comparative literature professor Ali Behdad—whose work is concerned with postcolonial representations of the Middle East—arguing that "difference, ambiguity, and plurality" form core structural features of Orientalist writing.

Rddad shows that British and American travel texts often reflected a persistent tension between ostensible admiration for Moroccan culture and a more latent current of paternalism and superiority. While some travellers portrayed Morocco as a static entity frozen outside of time, others acknowledged signs of resistance to colonialism and cultural resilience. 

He also reveals how colonial narratives instrumentalised the nineteenth-century discourse of the "civilising mission" to subjugate Moroccan resistance and marginalise local histories.

Moroccan reactions to these narratives varied according to factors such as education, class allegiance, proximity to colonial authority, as well as geography, historical legacy and regional political context. This variety of opinion further supports Rddad's thesis that Orientalism was a space marked by contradiction and diversity.

Gender and Imperialism

Rddad also devotes significant attention to the writings of women travellers, focusing on the relationship between gender and colonial discourse. He argues that some women, such as Edith Wharton and Frances MacNab, expressed opposition to the colonial project, though their writings were certainly not free from Orientalist and racist biases.

Although MacNab opposed Christian missionary journeys, describing them as violent, she nonetheless described Moroccans as inferior, considering them unworthy even of conversion. Through this contradiction and others, Rddad reveals the complex entanglement of gender and empire in travel writing.

Rddad observes that Wharton's narrative is also filled with contradictions. At times, she expresses admiration for Moroccan traditions and resilience, expressing her fears of the loss of what she sees as cultural "authenticity", and even eccentricity, under Western modernisation. At the same time, she criticises America's isolationist policy during that period.

Rddad's book also provides a detailed analysis of the geopolitical context, showing that colonial discourse was neither monolithic nor static but evolved according to historical and political conditions. Before the imposition of the French Protectorate, British travel narratives tended to emphasise British superiority. However, after 1912, texts such as Edith Wharton's began to align more with the French "civilising mission."

According to Rddad, these shifts were not only driven by changes in colonial power but were also influenced by the writer's gender, national identity and position within the imperial system.

For this reason, Rddad calls for a renewed reading of travel literature—not as a mere reflection of domination, but as a site of struggle and cultural dialogue. "Disorienting the Maghreb" seeks to dismantle the structures of colonial discourse and recover voices previously pushed to the margins—whether those of Western travellers themselves or of local cultures in all their diversity and difference.

 

Dis-orienting the Maghreb: Morocco in British and American Travel Writing
Sadik Rddad
278 pages (English)
Peter Lang Publishing, 2025

This is an edited translation of the Arabic original. Translated by Basyma Saad.