Name of Monument:

'Casa del Mar' Fortress

Other name of the Monument:

Port Victoria

Location:

Tarfaya, Morocco

Date of Monument:

1882

Architect(s) / Master-builder(s):

Donald MacKenzie

History:

Tarfaya became a British airmail postal centre in 1882. In 1889, Scottish entrepreneur Donald Mackenzie persuaded the head of Sous, Muhammad Bayruk, to allow him to establish a trading post on Tarfaya strip (also known as Cape Juby strip), which was about three kilometres wide by 12 km long. Mackenzie built the factory/trading post and named it Port Victoria, which he managed through his own North-West Africa Company. Under the Spanish Protectorate the name was changed to Casa Del Mar (House of the Sea).

Description:

At the end of the 19th century, Scottish entrepreneur Donald Mackenzie persuaded the Governor of Sous, Muhammad Bayruk, to cede him a strip of land roughly three kilometres wide and 12km long on which to establish a trading post. It was known as Tarfaya strip or the Cape Juby strip. On it, Mackenzie built Port Victoria, a trading post/factory, which he managed through his own North-West Africa Company, hoping to capture a portion of the caravan trade. The reinforced stone buttressed building of two floors covers an area of 1,200m².

Citation of this web page:

"'Casa del Mar' Fortress" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;AWE;ma;21;en

MWNF Working Number: MO 021