Spain witnessed in the thirties of the twentieth century the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 . The men of the government of the Second Republic, especially trade unionists and socialists, had a long history of struggle to force Spain to withdraw from northern Morocco. When these men took over the power in the new government, some of them made statements indicating withdrawal from northern Morocco and handing it over to the League of Nations. The issue of Spain's withdrawal from northern Morocco troubled many men of the national movement in Morocco, especially Abd al-Khaliq al-Taris, who saw Spain's withdrawal from Morocco as entailing the risk of subjecting northern Morocco to French occupation, which would be more severe than the Spanish occupation. Spain's withdrawal from northern Morocco also disturbed some Arabs interested in Morocco, such as Prince Chakib Arslan, who shared the Moroccan national movement's fears of Spain's withdrawal and France's replacement .