| Morocco–Spain border | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Characteristics | |
| Entities |  Morocco  Spain |
| Length | 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) |
| History | |
| Established | in the year 1415 as Spanish Morocco |
The Morocco–Spain border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km (11.5 miles) around the Spanish territories of Ceuta (8 km; 5 miles), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (75 metres; 80 yards) and Melilla (10.5 km; 6½ miles). Spanish islets such as the Chafarinas or the Alhucemas are located off the Moroccan coast.
Historically the plazas de soberanía were part of various Muslim empires of north-west Africa. [1] Ceuta was conquered by Portugal in 1415. [2] Following the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain looked south to the North African coast, capturing Melilla from the Sultanate of Fez in 1497, with Portugal's blessing. [1] Spain took the then-island of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera by force in 1508, with Portugal recognising this claim the following year with the Treaty of Cintra. [1] Retaken by the Kingdom of Fez in 1554, Spain reconquered it in 1564, and it has remained in Spanish hands since that time.
During the period of Iberian Union (1580-1640) Ceuta attracted many Spanish settlers; as a result, when Portugal regained its independence from Spain in 1640 Ceuta opted to remain with Spain, a situation Portugal acquiesced to in 1688 with the Treaty of Lisbon. [1] [3] A treaty outlining Ceuta's boundary with Morocco was signed 7 October 1844 and confirmed by another on 6 May 1845. [3] [1] A treaty outlining the Melilla-Morocco boundary, replete with a parallel ‘neutral zone’, was signed 24 August 1859. [3] [4]
Repeated Moroccan attempts to gain control of the two exclaves by force during the 18th-19th centuries failed, culminating in the Hispano–Moroccan War of 1859–60, which resulted in a Spanish victory. The subsequent Treaty of Wad-Ras (aka the Treaty of Tétouan) of 26 April 1860 expanded the border of Ceuta to its present limit. [3] Melilla's border was supposed to be fixed by 'the range of a piece of cannon', however this proved impractical, and a further treaty was therefore signed on 30 October 1861 and confirmed on 26 June 1862 which outlined the modern boundary line. [4] [3] [1] [5] Localised disputes in Melilla continued however, and further treaties were signed in 1894–95. [1]
By a Franco-Spanish treaty of 27 November 1912, Spain was granted a protectorate over Morocco's Mediterranean littoral, referred to as Spanish Morocco. [6] Ceuta, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and Melilla thereafter were absorbed into this entity. When Morocco gained independence from France in 1956, Spanish Morocco was handed to the new kingdom. [1] However, Spain maintained control of the plazas de soberanía, asserting that they were Spanish territory long before the creation of the protectorate in 1912 and should therefore remain part of Spain, a position contested by Morocco. [1] [7] [8]
In 1934 a huge storm created a tombolo between Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and the Moroccan mainland, effectively making the former island a new Spanish exclave on the coast of Morocco. A formal border treaty was never signed between Morocco and Spain regarding the newly-formed exclave, and a short 75-metre (80 yard) straight line throughout the sandy spit connecting it to Morocco has functioned as a de facto frontier since that time. [9]
Since Moroccan independence the dispute over the plazas de soberanía has flared up from time-to-time, most notably in 1975 when it was feared Morocco would attempt an invasion of the territories similar to the Green March invasion of Western Sahara conducted that same year. [1] At present Spain remains in control of the plazas and refuses to discuss the issue of their sovereignty with Morocco. [1]
In 1993 Spain began building the Ceuta and Melilla border fence, which were further strengthened in 1995. [10] In response to an increase in the number of migrants attempts to breach the fence, both were significantly fortified in 2005, creating a doubled-fence system replete with barbed wire and surveillance equipment. [11] Since then there have been numerous attempts to cross the fences, resulting in several fatalities. [12] On 17 May 2021, more than 6,000 migrants crossed the border into Ceuta. It was widely speculated that Morocco permitted the sudden influx to punish Spain for allowing Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali to be treated at a Spanish hospital. [13] [14] The next day, Morocco closed the border again. [15] Most of the arrivals returned to Morocco. [14] [16]
Morocco and Spain also share a maritime border in the Canary Islands area and along the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea. The shortest distance between land along the Strait of Gibraltar is 14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi; 7.7 nmi). The British territory of Gibraltar is located on the northern coast of this strait.
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of the special member state territories of the European Union. It was a regular municipality belonging to the province of Cádiz prior to the passing of its Statute of Autonomy in March 1995, as provided by the Spanish Constitution, henceforth becoming an autonomous city.
Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 12.3 km2 (4.7 sq mi). It was part of the Province of Málaga until 14 March 1995, when the Statute of Autonomy of Melilla was passed.
Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean 108 km (67 mi) off northwest Africa, and five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of North Africa: Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.
Perejil Island, also known as Parsley Island, is a small, uninhabited rocky islet located 200 metres (660 ft) off the coast of Morocco. It is administered by Spain as one of the plazas de soberanía, and its sovereignty is disputed by Morocco. It was the subject of an armed incident between the two countries in 2002.
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is a Spanish exclave and rocky tidal island in the western Mediterranean Sea connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus. The tidal island was named Hajar Badis and was connected to the town of Badis.
The plazas de soberanía, meaning "strongholds of sovereignty", are a series of Spanish overseas territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco in Africa, 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.
The Ceuta border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, a city on the North African coast. Constructed by Spain, its purpose is to prevent smuggling and to stop migrants from entering Europe. Morocco objected to the construction of the barrier since it does not recognize Spanish sovereignty in Ceuta.
Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, French and Portuguese rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context, accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighboring territories.
A peñón is a term for certain offshore rocky island forts established by the Spanish Empire. Several are still part of the plazas de soberanía of Spain in Northern Africa.
The siege of Melilla was an attempt by the Sultanate of Morocco, supported by Great Britain and Algerian mercenaries, to capture the Spanish fortress of Melilla on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. Mohammed ben Abdallah, then Sultan of Morocco, invaded Melilla in December 1774 with a large army of Royal Moroccan soldiers and Algerian mercenaries. The city was defended by a small garrison under Irish-born Governor Don Juan Sherlocke until the siege was lifted by a relief fleet in March 1775.
The Conquest of Melilla occurred on the 17th of September 1497, when a fleet sent by the Duke of Medina Sidonia occupied the north African city of Melilla.
Morocco and Spain maintain extensive diplomatic, commercial, and military ties. The Morocco–Spain border separates the plazas de soberanía on the Mediterranean coast from the Moroccan mainland. Morocco's foreign policy has focused on Western partners, including neighboring Spain. Relations have, however, been historically tense and conflictive.
Spain, formally known as the Kingdom of Spain, is a sovereign nation primarily situated on the Iberian Peninsula in South Europe. It also includes the archipelagos Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, along with overseas territories bordering Morocco located in North Africa. The mainland is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and east, except for a small land border with Gibraltar. To the north and northeast, it shares borders with France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay, while Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean lie to the west and northwest. Spain is one of only three countries, along with France and Morocco, to have coastlines on both the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The Portugal–Spain border, stretching 1,214 km, is the longest continuous border within the European Union. As a matter of fact, the total length of the border shared by Spain reaches 1,928 kilometres (1,198 mi) long.
The Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla (CLCM) was a Moroccan irredentist organisation focused on Spain's plazas de soberanía. It was based on the irredentist idea of Greater Morocco.
The European enclaves in North Africa were towns, fortifications and trading posts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western North Africa, obtained by various European powers in the period before they had the military capacity to occupy the interior. The earliest medieval enclaves were established in the 11th century CE by the Italian Kingdom of Sicily and Maritime republics; Spain and Portugal were the main European powers involved; both France and, briefly, England also had a presence. Most of these enclaves had been evacuated by the late 18th century, and today only the Spanish possessions of Ceuta, Melilla, and the Plazas de soberanía remain.
The Treaty of Wad Ras was a treaty signed between Morocco and Spain at the conclusion of the War of Tetuan on April 26, 1860 at Wad Ras, located between Tetuan and Tangier. The conditions of the treaty exacerbated Morocco's defeat in the war, with major concessions being granted to Spain. Morocco was forced to pay a 20 million duro indemnity—far greater the balance of the Makhzen's treasury; the territories of the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla were extended further into Moroccan territory; and Sidi Ifni became a Spanish possession.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in North Africa.
The 2012 Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera incident was a territorial incident that involved Spain and Morocco, the second fought in the 21st century after the one that occurred on Perejil Island in 2002.
