Moulay Sulayman's reign saw a deliberate contraction of Morocco's commercial ties with Europe — he closed several Atlantic ports to foreign trade and imposed strict limitations on coastal merchants. Essaouira (then known to Europeans as Mogador) was one of the few ports he kept partially open, which explains why the Makhzen continued striking copper there when mints elsewhere fell idle. The falus was the currency of everyday transaction, and Essaouira's position as a controlled commercial outlet made local copper coinage a practical necessity rather than a political gesture.
Moulay Sulayman's reign saw a deliberate contraction of Morocco's commercial ties with Europe — he closed several Atlantic ports to foreign trade and imposed strict limitations on coastal merchants. Essaouira (then known to Europeans as Mogador) was one of the few ports he kept partially open, which explains why the Makhzen continued striking copper there when mints elsewhere fell idle. The falus was the currency of everyday transaction, and Essaouira's position as a controlled commercial outlet made local copper coinage a practical necessity rather than a political gesture.