1955 — Morocco's King Comes Home

On November 18, 1955, Sultan Mohammed V returned to Morocco from French exile in Madagascar, welcomed by crowds across the country. His banishment in 1953 had ignited the "Revolution of the King and the People," and the exile meant to remove him had instead made him the living symbol of a nation's demand to be itself again. His return, two years on, was therefore far more than a homecoming arranged by officials in Paris or Rabat.

Within days of his return he proclaimed the end of the protectorate era. Morocco gained independence from France on March 2, 1956, and from Spain on April 7. Every November 18, Morocco still celebrates this homecoming as Independence Day.