Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Spanish Africa

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

If you think of Spain, you probably think of a European country which has its arm around Portugal and the eat tapas and paella. However, what if I told you that Spain is also an African country? In fact, it is the smallest country in Africa, and no, I’m not talking about the Canary Islands. Learn more about Ceuta and Mellia, the African parts of Spain, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you think of Spain, you probably think of a European country which has its armor on Portugal where they eat tapas and paella. However, what if I told you that Spain is also an African country? In fact, it's the smallest country in Africa. And no, I'm not talking about the Canary Islands. Learn more about Ceuta and Malia, the African parts of Spain, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by the tourist office of Spain. While it's easy to think of Spain as the country which sits on the Iberian Peninsula, It's important to remember that Spain is actually more than that.

Whether it's the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Ceuta and Malia on the continent of Africa, or the tiny exclave of Yivia totally surrounded by France, there is more to Spain than what you first see on the map. You can start researching your dream trip to Spain today by visiting spain.in. Where you can get everything you need to plan your Spanish adventure.

Once again, that's Spain.info. When I say that there are parts of Spain in Africa, I'm not trying to be tricky in play with words. I'm not saying that Spain used to have colonies in Africa, although that's true. I'm also not trying to define the Canary Islands, which are a part of Spain off the coast of Africa, as being in Africa. I mean, in the most literal sense possible, that part of Spain is in Africa. There are two very small Spanish cities located on the peninsula, which are on the African mainland, bordering Morocco. The cities are Seuta and Malia, and their very existence, as you probably would expect, are due to historical quirks and happenstance.

Due to geography, Spain has always had a close relationship with Africa. Phoenicians, based in Carthage, in what is today Tunisia, established settlements on the Spanish coast. The Roman province of Hispania was part of a greater empire than included all of North Africa, which bordered the Mediterranean. After the Roman Empire fell, Islamic Moors from North Africa conquered and controlled Spain for over 700 years. So there's always been a back and forth between North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Ceuta and Malia, both Spanish territories in Africa, have different yet similar histories, despite being about 130 miles apart from each other.

Ceuta is located directly across the sea from Gibraltar. So if you ever want to stump someone, ask them what country lies directly south of Gibraltar and what country lies north of Gibraltar? The answer is the same. Spain is on both. both ends. Seira makes the counterpart to Gibraltar for the pillars of Hercules, which were the ancient names of the two promontories which guarded the Strait of Gibraltar. As with most everything in the region, it has an ancient history. Carthage, Mauritania, and Numidians all controlled the area before the Romans. The Yumead Caliphate controlled it for centuries. When the Caliphate of Cordoba fell in 1031, it was then passed between various North African kingdoms with support

from various kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula. Ceuta came under European control on August 21, 1415, when King John I of Portugal launched a surprise invasion of the city. Ceuta served as a trading outpost for goods that came from inland Africa, as well as served as a base to help control much of northern Morocco. This Portuguese history is why the flag of Ceuta is almost identical to the flag for the city of Lisbon, save for the coat of arms. From 1580 to 1640, Spain and Portugal were united during the Iberian Union.

During this period, the city attracted more people from Spain than from Portugal due to its close proximity to Spain. When Portugal regained its independence in 1640, Ceuta was the only part of Portugal whose loyalties were on the side of Spain. In 1668, Portugal formally ceded the territory to Spain in the Treaty of Lisbon. In 1694, Morocco laid siege to Sayuta, which began the longest siege in world history. The siege wasn't lifted until 1727, 33 years after it began. During the siege, the Spanish abandoned the city due to the plague and the Moroccans then took it over, only to abandon it themselves a few months later when war broke out over secession to the Moroccan throne. The entire siege ended up being a colossal waste of 30 years.

and resources. The history of Malia is slightly different. It isn't located in such a strategic position as Sayuta. Like Sayuta, it was controlled by all the ancient civilizations in the region at one point or another. It came under Spanish control in 1497, and the invasion wasn't really much of an invasion. The city had all but been abandoned by the Islamic rulers in the region, so they were able to take it without firing a shot. As with Sayuda, the Moroccans made attempts at taking the city, but it was never quite as high as. a priority. Given its proximity to Algeria, Malia actually had a small trade war with France who controlled Algeria in the early 20th century. Today, both cities are fully integrated parts of

Spain, even though they are not on the Iberian Peninsula. They each have similar populations. Both Seuta and Malia have about 85,000 people. Both of the cities have very diverse populations, with a mix of Spanish and Arabic peoples, and both cities have mixed Christian and Muslim populations. They both are the only places in Spain where the Islamic holiday of Eid is an official holiday. While both cities are part of the European Union, each has a unique status. Spain is part of the Schengen zone, so you don't need any sort of special visa to enter either city. However, given the fact that they are the only parts of the EU that border a non-European country, they do check passports when going back to continental Europe.

This actually affected me when I visited Seyota several years ago. I did a day trip to the town of Titwan in Morocco. When I crossed back into Seuta, they just waved me in without stamping my passport. The next day, when I bordered the ferry, they wouldn't let me on board because I didn't have an entry stamp after getting an exit stamp to go to Morocco. So I had to take a taxi all the way back to the border to get my stamp and then all the way back to the port to get the ferry. The official language in both cities is Spanish, of course, but you will hear Arabic and Berber spoken in both cities as well. Most Arabic speakers will also speak Spanish, but the opposite is not necessarily the case. Both cities are also pretty easy to visit.

Not quite as easy as the rest of Spain, as they're not connected to the rest of the country by road, but still not that hard. Both cities have regular ferry service from mainland Spain. The ferry to Seuta goes from Algaris, and the ferry to Malia leaves from Malaga and Al-Maria. I should note that Seuta and Malia are not the only parts of Spain and Africa. Benyon de Valais de la Gomerra is really just a tiny island with a sand spit connecting it to Morocco. The border here is only 80 meters wide, making it the shortest segment of an international border in the entire world. No one really lives there other than some temporary military personnel who are just there to establish a presence. Beyond these three places which have an actual physical border with Morocco, there are also eight tiny uninhabited islands that are just off the coast of Morocco, which is part of Spain as well.

Well, collectively they're known as the Plaza's de Soberania. So to summarize, yeah, Spain does have a very small part of Africa. The total area of everything Spain has on the African continent is 11 square miles. Out of a total of about 11 million square miles for the entire continent. At one millionth, the total area, that would actually make Spain the smallest country in Africa. The associate producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Thor Thompson. If you'd like to support the show, please donate over at patreon.com. There is content only available to supporters, merchandise, and even opportunities for a show producer credit.

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