This book discusses some of the most controversial themes in the Hispanic colonial historiography of recent years. Its objective is to offer a synthesis about Spain's presence in the Occidental Sahara between 1885 and 1975 to show that the processes of colonization and decolonization were unseasonable to the historic context in which they took place. Addressing an English-speaking population with the objective to provide the most complete information possible on a subject matter which continues to be in the public light as a result of an unfinished decolonization process, this work is enriched with research work recently done on different aspects of this subject.