Short answers, pulled from the story.
Casablanca has a population of about 3.22 million in its urban area and over 4.27 million in Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region and the ninth-largest in the Arab world. Its port is one of the largest artificial ports in Africa, and its stock exchange ranks third on the continent by market capitalization.
Casablanca is a Spanish calque of the Portuguese name Casa Branca, meaning White House, which Portuguese mariners applied to the settlement after a white-washed structure on a hill served as a landmark for sailors. The Arabic equivalent, ad-Dar al-Bayda, was given by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah when he rebuilt the city after the 1755 earthquake.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Casablanca in January 1943, where the Allies adopted the doctrine of unconditional surrender, committing to fight the Axis powers until total defeat. Roosevelt also met privately with Sultan Muhammad V and expressed support for Moroccan independence after the war, emboldening Moroccan nationalists to openly seek full independence.
After tribesmen of the Chaouia attacked a French Decauville locomotive cutting through the sacred Sidi Belyout graveyard in June 1907, killing nine Compagnie Marocaine laborers, France responded in August 1907 by shelling the city with multiple gunboats and landing troops. Estimates of Moroccan deaths range from 600 to 3,000, with total casualties as high as 15,000 dead and wounded.
By the 20th century, Casablanca was home to the largest Jewish community in the Maghreb, with more than 80 synagogues. In 1956 there were 100,000 Jews registered in the city, but emigration through programs including Operation Yachin (1961-1964) reduced that number to an estimated 2,500 by 2018. The Moroccan Jewish Museum was established in the city in 1997.
Casablanca ranked 54th globally in the September 2023 Global Financial Centres Index, between Brussels and Rome. The Grand Casablanca region contributes 44% of Morocco's industrial output and attracts 56% of its industrial labor, while the Casablanca and Mohammedia seaports together handle 50% of Morocco's international commercial flows.