History of Casablanca Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anfa

Berbers first settled into what is now Casablanca in the tenth century BC. It wasn't until about 15 BC that the Romans began using Anfa or Anfus as a port city and it became a center of commerce and trade in Northern Africa. Romans used it primarily as a port to ship purple dye from Mauretania. Today Anfa is the name of the neighborhood occupying part of Casablanca's old town.

Answer: Pirates

Casablanca is located along the Atlantic Coast of Morocco and nearby the Mediterranean. This made it an ideal port city. Many explorations had launched from Casablanca. This also made it a convenient city for pirates because of all the ships coming into and leaving Casablanca. Casablanca was part of an independent state of the Merinid Dynasty which relied on the pirates and privateers for its economy and the Merinids shielded pirates in return.

Answer: Portuguese

The Portuguese attacked Casablanca because it was a pirate stronghold. Pirates and privateers attacked and looted Portuguese ships and Portugal invaded to protect their interests. Portugal leveled the city and claimed it as its own. They named it Casabranca, which means White House in Portuguese.

When the Spanish took over they renamed it Casablanca, Spanish for White House. Portugal rebuilt the city and made it a military fortress and headquarters.

Answer: False

The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 struck off the coast of Portugal on November 1. It was roughly a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and one of the deadliest on record. It was felt as far away as Greenland and Finland. An estimated 100,000 people died in the earthquake and the subsequent tsunamis and fires. Casablanca was not spared and was mostly destroyed.

This caused the Portuguese to abandon the city as a lost cause as they focused on rebuilding their own country.

Answer: He founded Casablanca's medina

Mohammed ben Abdallah was a Sultan of Morocco who, in 1770, founded the medina in Casablanca which was the first major construction project in the city since it was destroyed in the earthquake. Mohammed was also influential in rebuilding and building other cities in Morocco especially Marrakesh.

His architectural style was largely influenced by various European styles which he studied. Mohammed was the first world leader to recognize the United States as an independent nation.

Answer: Wool

Morocco and the rest of North Africa had a prosperous wool industry. Britain was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution at the time and two became heavy trading partners. Casablanca was the port from which much of Britain's wool was shipped out of.

In exchange, the British started importing tea from China to Morocco. Tea was considered a luxury at the time especially outside of the British controlled areas. It was during this time that the famous Moroccan gunpowder tea was created. Gunpowder tea remains a staple in Casablanca to this day and was so named because the tea leaves look like gunpowder.

Answer: False

"Casablanca" was actually filmed mostly in a film studio in Los Angeles. The film depicts Humphrey Bogart as American Rick Blaine in Casablanca during World War II. As in real life and in the film, Casablanca at the time was in the midst of a severe power struggled.

It was controlled by Vichy France but Allies were trying to liberate the city. The film is fictional but by coincidence, it premiered around the same time a full-forced invasion of North Africa by Allied Powers began.

Answer: Joseph Stalin

In 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca at the Anfa Hotel to discuss the progress of the war. Stalin could not attend because of the Battle of Stalingrad was ongoing. Charles de Gaulle was in attendance in his role as a general of the Free French Forces and not representing Vichy France.

The biggest thing that came out of the Casablanca Conference was the idea that the Axis must concede in unconditional surrender. The idea was Roosevelt's with Churchill agreeing hesitantly. Churchill believed that a Germany somewhat intact could help prevent a Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe and was reluctant to have Germany surrender unconditionally in case it created ill-will toward the Allies.

Answer: Equal legal status as men

Morocco is considered one of the more liberal Arab countries in terms of women's rights. But even in 2000, women did not have equal legal status in marriage as men. Polygamy was still legal and there was no system of divorce to let women out of abusive marriages.

The protests were largely ignored by the men in power an seen as a negative thing for the country. However, King Mohammaed VI was sympathetic to the cause and pushed for updates to the Mudawana or the family code. Among the updates that went into effect were men and women were equal within a marriage, women can inherit their father's property in equal proportions to men and laid out ways in which women could get a divorce.

Answer: A Jewish cemetery and community center

Twenty of the thirty-three deaths were caused when suicide bombers blew up a Spanish restaurant. These victims were mostly Moroccans and Muslim. In total, eight victims were European and the rest Moroccans. In addition to the restaurant, two people were killed at the Hotel Farah, a luxury hotel. One target was Jewish cemetery and community center.

The community center was empty and the attacker whose intended target was the cemetery detonated his device elsewhere killing several people.