The Last Vestige of Europe in Africa

Ceuta

As the Football World Cup is being held in Africa for the first time, it brings to mind the recent history of the continent, particularly its domination by outside powers through military and economic means rather than bending free kicks. The only present African countries that have never been fully controlled by a European nation are Ethiopia and Liberia. However, even those two have had their troubling times -- Ethiopia was briefly conquered by Italy during 1936-41; and Liberia had been colonized by black Americans before claiming and retaining independence in 1847.

European colonization of Africa began with the first Portuguese expanded coastal trading settlements in the 18th century. An all-out competition for colonies began in earnest during the late 1800's, and by 1914 (see map on left; click to enlarge), there were no longer any independent African lands besides Ethiopia and Liberia. In addition to Portugal, the European colonizing powers included Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Belgium.

Egypt regained its independence from Britain in 1922. Following World War II, there were many indigenous independent movements in many African colonies, and in the 1950's and 1960's, most of the present African nations became independent nations. When Djibouti became independent in 1977 from France, it effectively marked the end of European control of African territory. Well, not exactly.

In an earlier blog entry ("Falklands War Redux?"), I mentioned that Spain still owns a few, mostly uninhabited, islands off the coast of Africa, such as Perejil. However, Spain also continues to control two fully inhabited areas on mainland Africa, well beyond the end of the European colonial period.

Ceuta and Melilla

Ceuta is a peninsula, bordering Morocco, on the Mediterranean coast about 12 miles from Spain. It is about 7.5 square miles in area, supporting a population of about 78,000. It was taken over by Portugal in 1415 from the Islamic Kingdom of Fez, and has been in Spanish hands since 1580. It has always been considered an integral part of the Spanish state, so it was therefore not included among the colonial territories given over to Morocco when it was granted independence in 1956. The majority of the inhabitants are Spanish-speaking Catholics.

Melilla is a port on the coast of North Africa, bordering Morocco. It is less than 5 square miles in area, with a population of about 71,000. The city was conquered by Spain from the Kingdom of Fez in 1497. The population is primarily Spanish-speaking Catholics.

Morocco has repeatedly claimed these two territories, but Spain maintains that they were not Spanish-dominated colonies of a local population, which was the case in Spanish Morocco prior to 1956. Since they have been populated by Spaniards for over 500 years, Spain refuses to relinquish them, and they remain the only territories on the African mainland not controlled by an African nation.