‘This is like Guadalajara’: politics, identity and the management of natural resources in late colonial Spanish Sahara

This article examines the late colonial political economy of Spanish Sahara, with a particular focus on the management of marine resources and the competing interests within Francoist Spain’s authoritarian structure. The study draws upon archival materials, particularly political and industrial reports, as well as personal correspondence. The findings illustrate how the exploitation of natural resources became a focal point for ideological conflict among Francoist elites, as well as a means of asserting cultural and political dominance over the territory. This analysis demonstrates the economic and symbolic value ascribed to natural resources in maintaining colonial control and shaping the discourses surrounding decolonisation.