In the 16th century, Wattasid rule was displaced by the Saadi dynasty, which itself was succeeded by the Alaouite dynasty in the 17th century. But the centralized rule of the Alaouite Sultanate could not be totally extended throughout Moroccan territory, as many Amazigh tribes did not recognize the Sultan and did not submit to the government. These tribes organized federations from the bottom-up, in opposition to the central government, in which neighborhood representatives and village committees coordinated day-to-day affairs. Within these federations, property and the means of production were held collectively, where farms were worked on a cooperative basis without money exchanging hands. The Moroccan anarchist Brahim Filali examined the Amazigh federalism of pre-colonial Morocco and compared it to the modern-day concept of anarchist federalism, posing it as an example that could be drawn upon by African anarchists in their own organizing.
