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Plazas de soberanía

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Plazas de soberanía
The plazas de soberanía, plus Ceuta (with Perejil Island[a]) and Melilla on the mainland, and Alboran Island[b] (with Nube Islet[c]) appox. 50 km north of the African coast
The plazas de soberanía, plus Ceuta (with Perejil Island[a]) and Melilla on the mainland, and Alboran Island[b] (with Nube Islet[c]) appox. 50 km north of the African coast
CountrySpain
Government
 • Type
Area
 • Total
0.40 km2 (0.15 sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)

The plazas de soberanía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθas ðe soβeɾaˈni.a]), meaning "strongholds of sovereignty",[3] are a series of Spanish overseas territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco, or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa.

Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called "major places of sovereignty", comprising the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the "minor places of sovereignty", referring to a number of uninhabited islands and a small peninsula along the coast. Now the term refers mainly to the latter.

Morocco has claimed those territories (except the island of Alborán, further away from Africa) since its independence in 1956.[4] A rise in nationalist sentiment can be attributed with this ongoing tension.[5]

History

[edit]
Aerial view of the Peñón de Alhucemas c. 1925

Under the rule of the Roman Empire, from 218 BCE to 472 CE, Spain (then Hispania), included a major part of the Moroccan coast as a province, then called Mauretania Tingitana. This territory corresponds to modern-day Ceuta and Melilla.

During the Reconquista and mainly following the conquest of Granada in 1492, forces of the Castilian and Portuguese kingdoms conquered and maintained numerous posts in North Africa for trade and as a defence against Barbary piracy.

In August 1415, the Portuguese conquered the city of Ceuta. In 1481, the papal bull Aeterni regis had granted all land south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. Only this archipelago and the possessions of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña (1476–1524), Melilla (conquered by Pedro de Estopiñán in 1497), Villa Cisneros (founded in 1502 in current Western Sahara), Mazalquivir (1505), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508), Oran (1509–1708; 1732–1792), Algiers (1510–1529), Bugia (1510–1554), Tripoli (1511–1551), and Tunis (1535–1569) remained as Spanish territory in Africa. Finally, following the independence of Portugal after the end of the Spanish-led Iberian Union, Ceuta was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1668.[6]

In 1848, Spanish troops conquered the Islas Chafarinas. In the late 19th century, after the so-called Scramble for Africa, European nations had taken over colonial control of most of the African continent. The justification for the ownership of the protectorates by Spain was guided by a colonial ideology, claiming to be on a civilizing mission. Spain had already lost much of its colonial influence in Latin America, at a time where colonial influence was seen as a marker of strength in Europe.[7][8]

The Hispano-Moroccan War of 1860 resulted in a renewed interest by Spain in holding the territories, especially Ceuta.[9] The war left Morocco in financial disrepair, and the subsequent Treaty of Wad Ras was signed between Spain and Morocco with this disadvantage.[10] In the aftermath of the conflict, Spain declared Ceuta and Melilla to be perpetual territories, as well as establishing in the treaty the recognition of sovereignty by Morocco over the Chafarinas Islands.

The Treaty of Fez (signed on 30 March 1912) made most of Morocco a protectorate of France, while Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern part, called Spanish Morocco.[11] When Spain relinquished its protectorate and recognized Morocco's independence in 1956, it did not give up these minor territories, as Spain had held them well before the establishment of its protectorate. The move to "nationalize" the plazas has been guided by a nationalist sentiment from the Spanish government, to legitimize the sovereignty over the territories. Ceuta and Melilla have become the target of a campaign to justify the ownership based on the geographical heritage of the Classical Antiquity era.[12]

The Spanish protectorate and the plazas de soberanía are understood to be different, especially since the strongholds remained under Spanish rule after the end of the protectorate.[13] France similarly sought to remain in control of Morocco after independence, with a continuation of French rule given through the rationale of advancement of Moroccan interests. Morocco is contemporaneously affected by the effects of continued French rule after independence,[14] and the continued stronghold by the Spanish government with Ceuta and Melilla.

Map of Spanish Morocco in 1925

On 11 July 2002, Morocco stationed six gendarmes on Perejil Island, which was at the time a source of complaint by Spain. The Spanish Armed Forces responded by launching a military operation code-named Operation Romeo-Sierra. The operation was carried out by Spanish commandos of Grupo de Operaciones Especiales.

The Spanish Navy and Air Force provided support; the six Moroccan navy cadets did not offer any resistance and were captured and evicted from the island. It has since been evacuated by both countries.[15]

On 3 January 2020, 42 migrants went to the Chafarinas Islands; the Civil Guard ordered their immediate expulsion without following the legal procedure.[16] The Spanish NGO 'Walking Border' denounced the "hot returns," or expulsions without due process, as violations of international law.[17][18] Strict immigration policy over the plazas de soberanía has made it so that only certain immigrants are welcomed to the strongholds. Stigma surrounding the background of the people crossing the Mediterranean to arrive to the shores of the strongholds have informed the harsh response to this influx of immigrants and refugees.[19] The most extreme recent example of "hot returns" is the 2022 Melilla incident.

Physical geography

[edit]
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, seen from the Moroccan coast, 2007

In addition to Ceuta and Melilla, there are historically several minor plazas de soberanía:[20]

Territory[d] Area (ha) Coordinates
Alhucemas Islands 4.3 35°12′54″N 3°53′47″W / 35.21500°N 3.89639°W / 35.21500; -3.89639
 Isla de Mar 1.4 35°13′3.65″N 3°54′2.69″W / 35.2176806°N 3.9007472°W / 35.2176806; -3.9007472
 Isla de Tierra 1.8 35°12′55.83″N 3°54′8.10″W / 35.2155083°N 3.9022500°W / 35.2155083; -3.9022500
 Peñón de Alhucemas 1.1 35°12′48″N 3°53′21″W / 35.21333°N 3.88917°W / 35.21333; -3.88917
Chafarinas Islands 34.0 35°11′N 2°26′W / 35.183°N 2.433°W / 35.183; -2.433
 Isla de Isabel II 10.2 35°10′55.77″N 2°25′46.90″W / 35.1821583°N 2.4296944°W / 35.1821583; -2.4296944
 Isla del Rey 8.6 35°10′51.72″N 2°25′24.96″W / 35.1810333°N 2.4236000°W / 35.1810333; -2.4236000
 Isla del Congreso 15.2 35°10′43.90″N 2°26′28.31″W / 35.1788611°N 2.4411972°W / 35.1788611; -2.4411972
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera 1.9[21] 35°10′21.29″N 4°18′2.89″W / 35.1725806°N 4.3008028°W / 35.1725806; -4.3008028

Apart from these, there are two other islands usually considered within the plazas de soberanía. The disputed Perejil Island, a small uninhabited islet close to Ceuta, is considered by Spain to be a part of Ceuta and not a territory in its own right.[22] Alboran Island (Isla de Alborán), another small island in the western Mediterranean, approx. 50 kilometres (31.05 miles) from the African coast and 90 kilometres (55.92 miles) from continental Europe, is administered as a part of the municipality of Almería on the Iberian Peninsula.

Political geography

[edit]

The plazas de soberanía are small islands and a peninsula off the coast of Morocco (the only peninsula, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, was an island until a 1934 storm formed a sand bridge with the mainland). They are guarded by military garrisons and administered directly by the Spanish central government.

Like Ceuta and Melilla, they are parts of Spain, therefore also parts of the European Union, and their currency is the euro.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Isla de Perejil (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Isla de Alborán (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Islote de La Nube (in Spanish)
  4. ^ In order from north to south.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ del Valle, Alejandro (20 December 2011). "Ceuta, Melilla, Chafarinas, Vélez y Alhucemas: tomar la iniciativa (ARI)". Real Instituto Elcano (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  2. ^ Mariñas Otero, Eugenio (1998). "Las Plazas Menores de soberanía española en África". MILITARIA. Revista de Cultura Militar. (in Spanish). No. 12. Madrid: UCM. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ^ "plaza #3". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish) (tricentenary ed.). Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. ^ Trinidad, Jamie (2012). "An Evaluation of Morocco's Claims to Spain's Remaining Territories in Africa". International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 61 (4): 861. JSTOR 23279813. Ceuta, Melilla, Vélez de la Gomera, Alhucemas and the Chafarinas Islands are Spanish territories that lie along Morocco's northern coastline. Morocco has claimed the territories since its independence in 1956. The sovereignty of a further territory, the islet of Perejil, remains unresolved after a military confrontation between Morocco and Spain in 2002.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Harriett (1955). "The Development of Nationalism in French Morocco". Phylon (1940-1956). 16 (4): 427–434. doi:10.2307/272660. ISSN 0885-6818.
  6. ^ da Silva, Rui A. M. "Treaties Galore". Olivença - Portugal Livre.
  7. ^ Chandler, James A. (1975). "Spain and Her Moroccan Protectorate 1898 - 1927". Journal of Contemporary History. 10 (2): 301–322. ISSN 0022-0094.
  8. ^ Stenner, David (2 January 2019). "Mediterranean crossroads: Spanish-Moroccan relations in past and present". The Journal of North African Studies. 24 (1): 7–16. doi:10.1080/13629387.2018.1459089. ISSN 1362-9387.
  9. ^ Chandler, James A. (1975). "Spain and Her Moroccan Protectorate 1898 - 1927". Journal of Contemporary History. 10 (2): 301–322. ISSN 0022-0094.
  10. ^ Ayache, Germain (1958). "Aspects De La Crise Financière Au Maroc Après L'expédition Espagnole De 1860". Revue Historique. 220 (2): 271–310. ISSN 0035-3264.
  11. ^ "Treaty Between France and Spain Regarding Morocco". The American Journal of International Law. 7 (2): 81–99. April 1913. doi:10.2307/2212275. JSTOR 2212275. S2CID 246007581.
  12. ^ García, Alicia Fernández (6 March 2019). "El nacionalismo español en las calles de Ceuta y Melilla". Crisol (in French) (5). ISSN 2678-1190.
  13. ^ Robinson, G. W. S. (1958). "Ceuta and Melilla: Spain's Plazas De Soberanía". Geography. 43 (4): 266–269. ISSN 0016-7487.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Harriett (1955). "The Development of Nationalism in French Morocco". Phylon (1940-1956). 16 (4): 427–434. doi:10.2307/272660. ISSN 0885-6818.
  15. ^ Ceberia Belaza, Monica; Ignacio Cembrero and Miguel González (17 September 2012). "The last remains of the empire". El País in English. Madrid. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  16. ^ "Statewatch | Spain-Morocco: Statement on the hot returns from the Chafarinas on 3 January: "a serious violation of human rights"". www.statewatch.org. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Spanish NGOs accuse Spain of illegal migrant push-back". InfoMigrants. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  18. ^ "¿Qué son las devoluciones en caliente? 7 claves para entenderlas". www.es.amnesty.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  19. ^ de Lucas Martín, Javier (2015). "Muertes en el Mediterráneo: inmigrantes y refugiados, de infrasujetos de derecho a amenazas para la seguridad". Quaderns de la Mediterrània = Cuadernos del Mediterráneo. 22: 272–277. ISSN 1577-9297.
  20. ^ Source unless otherwise specified: "Global Island Explorer". usgs.gov. Retrieved 21 January 2024.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Remnants, Relics And Shadows Of Empires In The Gibraltar Region" (PDF). css.edu. 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2024.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ Tremlett, Giles (13 July 2002). "Moroccans seize Parsley Island and leave a bitter taste in Spanish mouths". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 May 2014. When officers from Spain's civil guard police force arrived on a small patrol boat from the nearby Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta three miles away and to which the islet nominally belongs...
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