Settat city

Settat (Arabic: سطات) is a city in Morocco, the capital of the Chaouia region and the prefecture of the Settat province. It is located 57 km from Casablanca, on the road to Marrakech. Its population was 116,570 inhabitants in 2004.

{{History of the city}}

By choosing to build the Kasbah on the hilly site of Settat, Moulay Ismaïl triggered the urbanisation process of this location. Indeed, the construction of the Kasbah brought order and security to both travellers and inhabitants, and encouraged human settlement in its vicinity. Furthermore, by installing the first Caid of this region, which previously depended on Caid Doukkali and Rahmani, Moulay Ismaïl formalised Settat as the administrative centre of this region.

The city of Settat became an administrative centre at the beginning of the 13th century, due to its strategic position as an essential passage between the South and the North. Thanks to the richness of the soil, it prospered and, during the 18th and 19th centuries, became an important trading centre for agricultural products, attracting highly enterprising populations. This was the case for Moroccans of the Jewish faith who settled there in large numbers in the 19th century, building their own quarter, the Mellah, on the outskirts of the Kasbah.

This development was disrupted at the beginning of the 20th century during the period of siba (anarchy) and by colonisation, which was fiercely opposed by the Chaouia tribes allied with Moulay Hafid. Under the French protectorate, the city of Settat experienced unprecedented urban development, as evidenced by the demographic boom it experienced from 1913 to 1925, thus reconnecting with its commercial past. This prosperity lasted until the early fifties when, due to the development of Casablanca, communication routes, and means of transport, the city of Settat and other towns in the region entered a period of semi-lethargy.

At the beginning of the 1990s, it was equipped with a university, an international golf course, and a racecourse. Settat carried out major urban planning works from the 1970s onwards to become an important regional centre. The industrial sector is developing there with one of the most dynamic industrial zones in the Moroccan territory. Settat has been connected to Casablanca (57 km) since 2001 by the A7 motorway, and to Marrakech (146 km) since 2007.