Dakhla: From a colonial Spanish outpost to a contested Saharan maritime hub

History · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Once a remote Spanish whaling station, Dakhla has transformed into a strategic focal point of the Sahara. From its origins as a colonial fortress to its current status as a center for international trade and aquatic sports, this peninsula city remains at the heart of a complex, decades-long territorial dispute.

Originally settled in the twelfth century by the Oulad Delim tribe, the peninsula later became a focal point for Spanish imperial expansion. In 1884, Spain formally established Villa Cisneros, named for a prominent cardinal, to secure fishing interests and counter the influence of Barbary pirates. By the 1920s, the site served as a vital mail-plane stopover, famously appearing in the literature of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, while simultaneously functioning as a prison camp during the Spanish Civil War.

The geopolitical landscape shifted dramatically in 1976 when the last Spanish forces withdrew from the territory. Following the 1975 Madrid Accords, Mauritania and Morocco initially divided the region, with Dakhla serving as a provincial capital for Mauritania. However, after Mauritania renounced its claims in 1979, Morocco moved to annex the area. This status remains contested; while Morocco administers the region and has attracted foreign consulates from nations like The Gambia and Liberia, most United Nations member states do not formally recognize Moroccan sovereignty.

Today, Dakhla is undergoing a massive economic pivot. Morocco is currently constructing a $1.2-billion port, expected to finish by 2028, which is intended to serve as a key node for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline. Beyond infrastructure, the city has rebranded itself as a premier destination for kitesurfing and windsurfing, leveraging its unique climate and the productive Canary Current. Despite this modernization, the region’s ecological history remains marked by the legacy of past industrial whaling, which decimated local populations of Mediterranean monk seals and whales, though some marine species are now showing signs of recovery.

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