Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled by Spain, created from the Spanish territories of Rio de Oro and La Aguera in 1924. In 1957, rebels expelled the Spanish from the country in the 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara. The Spanish were able to re-establish control with the assistance of the French by 1958. After the death of Francisco Franco, however, Spain withdrew its forces from the territory; the territory was claimed and occupied by Morocco and Mauritania in the same year, though Mauritania later withdrew its claim. The territory remains under dispute.
