Exploration and Colonialism: José Álvarez Pérez, Spanish consul at Mogador in the 19th Century

Abstract

José Álvarez Pérez was the Spanish consul in Mogador from 1873 to 1879, and in this capacity he participated in the Spanish colonial activities in the pre-Saharan Moroccan region, and was a member of expeditions along the Moroccan coast, establishing political and commercial links with local chieftains. He published an interesting account on the Mogador region and was also the author of a travel account to Morocco and of a novel written along the model of Jules Verne’s popular books on adventure and science. In this article, based upon archival sources as well as 19th century publications, his life and works are presented and analyzed. Álvarez Pérez was one of many agents of Spanish colonial pressure over Morocco in the last quarter of the 19th century, and his career sheds light on the activities of the secondary, but not less significants actors of the Spanish colonial drive in this period, much less known that main characters such as politicians or military commanders.