The Borders Empire Left Behind: Why Spain Still Controls Two Cities in Africa
On a map, they look like anomalies: two pieces of Spain stranded on the African coastline. But Ceuta and Melilla are more than geographical curiosities. They are living reminders that the borders of the modern world were drawn through conquest, defended by armies, legitimized by treaties, and inherited by generations who never participated in the original decisions.
PART I — THE GEOGRAPHICAL PARADOX
Chapter 1: Europe on the African Continent
Located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla constitute the European Union's only land borders on the African continent, situated mere kilometers from the Moroccan communities of Fnideq and Nador, yet politically integrated into the Kingdom of Spain. Ceuta, an 18.5-square-kilometer peninsula (often cited as 19.4 square kilometers in broader administrative measurements), is situated at the eastern approach to the Strait of Gibraltar, approximately fourteen kilometers from mainland Spain across the sea1. Melilla, located roughly 225 kilometers further east along the coast, occupies 13.4 square kilometers1. Both cities are densely populated urban centers, with Ceuta housing approximately 84,435 residents and Melilla supporting a slightly larger population3.
The geographical paradox of these territories lies in their proximity to their Moroccan hinterlands contrasted with their absolute legal and political separation. A traveler crossing the heavily fortified fences enclosing these cities steps out of Morocco and immediately into the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Spain, and by extension, the European Union, without ever leaving the African landmass3. To reach mainland Spain, residents and visitors rely on high-frequency roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry services across the Strait of Gibraltar, which typically take between 35 to 90 minutes depending on the specific route and vessel, or utilize helicopter transfers5.
Strictly speaking, neither city is an enclave, as they are not entirely surrounded by Moroccan land; they are coastal exclaves with direct maritime access to international waters and the Spanish mainland. Furthermore, they differ profoundly from Spain's plazas menores de soberanía—a collection of tiny, militarized rocks and islets scattered off the Moroccan coast. These include the Chafarinas Islands (comprising Isla del Congreso, Isla Isabel II, and Islote Rey Francisco), the Alhucemas Islands (comprising Peñón de Alhucemas, Isla de Tierra, and Isla de Mar), and the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera1. Vélez de la Gomera is particularly notable; originally an island, a 1930s thunderstorm washed sand into the strait, creating an 85-meter-long sandy isthmus that now forms the world's shortest international land border9. Additionally, the disputed Perejil Island (known as Tura or Laila in Morocco), a 15-hectare uninhabited rock located just 250 meters off the Moroccan coast near Ceuta, remains a flashpoint for bilateral tensions2. Unlike these plazas menores, which harbor no permanent civilian populations and are garrisoned exclusively by military forces, Ceuta and Melilla function as modern, integrated autonomous municipalities with elected assemblies and civilian administrations9.
Ceuta’s strategic relevance stems directly from its position guarding the southern Pillar of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, a maritime choke point of global commercial and military consequence13. While Melilla lacks the immediate geographic command of the Strait, its historical role as a bridgehead into the Rif region and its deep-water port endow it with enduring geopolitical weight.
Chapter 2: Ceuta Before Spain
Long before European crowns laid claim to the North African coastline, the peninsula of Ceuta—known historically as Sabta or Sebta—was a highly contested prize of Mediterranean geopolitics. The area’s history is a complex palimpsest of Phoenician trading posts, Roman colonial administration (when it was known as Septem Fratres), and Byzantine fortresses. Following the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb in the early eighth century, Sabta evolved into a vital commercial, intellectual, and cultural hub, profoundly integrated into the trans-Saharan gold and ivory trade networks and the broader Islamic Mediterranean system13.
During the Middle Ages, Sabta fluctuated between independence and integration into various formidable Islamic dynasties, including the Idrisids, the Umayyads of Córdoba, the Almoravids, the Almohads, and the Marinids. Under the Marinids in the fourteenth century, the city reached an apex of urban sophistication, boasting over a thousand mosques, sixty-two libraries, forty-three educational institutions, and a thriving university13. Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, both Sabta and Melilla operated as leading port cities of the Islamic empire, facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas between the Maghreb and Al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia)13.
This rich pre-colonial history is intensely contested in modern diplomatic narratives. Modern Moroccan sovereignty claims frequently invoke this era to argue that Ceuta and Melilla were historically integral parts of the Moroccan nation, unjustly severed by European imperialism3. However, projecting the modern Westphalian concept of a contiguous nation-state onto medieval Islamic dynasties presents severe historiographical challenges. Political loyalty in the pre-modern Maghreb was often defined by dynastic allegiance, religious authority, and tribute, rather than fixed territorial borders managed by a centralized bureaucracy3. Therefore, arguing that the Marinid Empire is legally identical to the modern Moroccan state requires a selective interpretation of political continuity. Conversely, Spanish historical justifications occasionally invoke Roman, Visigothic, and subsequent Catholic connections to argue a deep-seated Iberian civilizational claim to the territory—arguments that are equally susceptible to charges of historical anachronism and retroactive justification14.
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