‘Christian charity, which recognizes no enemy’:
analyzing Spain’s ‘exceptional’ colonialism in northern Morocco in thediaries of Nicasio Landa (1860)

This trip was an integral part of my dissertation,focusing on reevaluating the work of Nicasio Landa, a 19th-century Spanish militaryphysician involved in the Spanish-Moroccan War of 1859–60 which took place in thecity of Tétuan, and expanding my research into Hispano-Moroccan conflicts. 

The primary objectives of this research were to: 

1. Analyze Nicasio Landa’s writings and his contributions to colonial perspectives,including exoticism, racism, and the perpetuation of stereotypes aboutMoroccans.
2. Investigate Moroccan archival sources to incorporate Moroccan perspectives intomy analysis of Hispano-Moroccan conflicts between 1859–1926.
3. Strengthen the foundation for the final chapter of my dissertation, completing thecritical reassessment of the ideological underpinnings of North Africancolonization.

During my time at the Tétouan Archives, I accessed and examined essential collectionsin Arabic and French. Additionally, I engaged with Dr. Mhammad Benaboud, Dr. Jaafar Soulami, among otherMoroccan historians specializing in Hispano-Moroccan relations, who providedinvaluable guidance and insights, further strengthening my research. 

I am profoundly grateful to the Guiliano Fellowship, for funding this research trip, andfor Stony Brook University’s CAS members, in particular Zoraya Zabihi and LauraStevenson, for their guidance throughout the application process. The opportunity toaccess the Tétouan Archives’ non-digitized collections was essential for the success ofmy dissertation, allowing me to critically reassess the narratives of Spanish colonialismfrom both Spanish and Moroccan perspectives.