Ceuta and Melilla: between African geography and the colonial narrative

Official documents show that the historical and legal trajectory of Ceuta and Melilla was not identical to that of cities within the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal seized Ceuta in 1415; the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon excluded it from the places to be returned to Portugal, leaving it under the Spanish Crown. Melilla was occupied in 1497 and, according to the city’s official museum, became a fortified city defined by its walls. Later Spanish texts also subjected both cities to particular constitutional, administrative and fiscal regimes.

1) Ceuta: Portuguese occupation in 1415

The official Patrimonio Cultural Ceuta website describes the Portuguese expedition as a military undertaking against the Muslim sphere and states that before the occupation Ceuta had belonged to the domain of the King of Fez.

2) From Portugal to Spain: the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon

Portuguese and Spanish official documents place the decisive legal turning point in the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon. The Portuguese National Archives description provides for the restitution of occupied places and territories, with the exception of Ceuta, which remained in Spanish hands.

3) 1811: the Cortes discuss ceding Melilla, Alhucemas and the Peñón de Vélez to Morocco

At a secret session on 14 February 1811, the Secretary of State presented a Regency Council proposal seeking authorization to negotiate with the King of Morocco the cession of the minor presidios — the Peñón, Melilla and Alhucemas — in exchange for grain and provisions needed by the Spanish armies.

On 26 March 1811, deputy Mejía asked whether the three African places were an integral part of the Spanish nation. The minutes record that the majority decided they “no eran parte integrante”. The cession proposal itself was then rejected by 64 votes to 60.

4) 1931 Constitution: “territories of sovereignty in North Africa”

Article 8 separately provided that the “Los territorios de soberanía del norte de África” would be organized under an autonomous regime directly linked to the central government, documenting their distinctive administrative status at the time.

5) Passport and special military regime

A 1935 passport decree required Spaniards wishing to disembark in Ceuta and Melilla to carry a passport, subject to specific exceptions. The “Mando del Ejército del Norte de África y Gobierno General de las Plazas de Soberanía de Ceuta y Melilla” was abolished only by Decree 3070/1967, effective in February 1968.

6) From the presidios to “full sovereignty”: a distinctive legal trajectory

The 1811 Cortes minutes officially used presidios menores for Melilla, the Peñón de Vélez and Alhucemas. The law of 22 December 1955 later described Ceuta and Melilla as plazas fuertes and territories of Spanish sovereignty, while acknowledging that the reality of the two territories differed from that of the peninsula.

The 1955 law should not be presented as the moment when Spain “created” its sovereignty, nor as the first text to use the concept without a comprehensive review of earlier legislation. It did explicitly describe the cities as “national territories of full and inalienable Spanish sovereignty” while subjecting them to special rules and exceptions.

7) Special tax regime: IPSI instead of IVA

Law 8/1991 created a specific levy on production and imports in the two cities; Law 13/1996 later changed its name and scope into the IPSI. The 1991 preamble links the different tax treatment to “geographical and historical circumstances”.

8) NATO: protection is not worded in absolute terms

Article 5 links an armed attack to territories of the parties in Europe or North America. Article 6 mentions territories in Europe or North America, Turkey, and islands under jurisdiction north of the Tropic of Cancer; it does not mention continental territories in North Africa. Since Ceuta and Melilla are on the African mainland and are not islands, a literal reading does not place them within the automatic geographical scope of Article 5. This is an inference from the treaty text, not a specific NATO decision on the two cities.

9) 1979: Juan Carlos discusses ceding Melilla and internationalizing Ceuta

A declassified U.S. diplomatic file titled Meeting of Senator Muskie with King Juan Carlos records a meeting at Zarzuela Palace on 30 April 1979. The U.S. Embassy summarized it in telegram 1979MADRID06274, dated 8 May 1979, NARA/AAD Record ID 215679.

The telegram is a diplomatic record of statements attributed to the king, not a legally operative Spanish decision; it nevertheless establishes that the future of the two cities was discussed at this level.

Conclusion

• Ceuta was occupied by Portugal in 1415 and had previously been under the King of Fez.
• The 1668 Treaty of Lisbon was the decisive treaty milestone in its continued possession by the Spanish Crown.
• In 1811 the Cortes formally discussed ceding Melilla, Alhucemas and the Peñón de Vélez to the King of Morocco.
• The 1931 Constitution used the expression “territories of sovereignty in North Africa”.
• A special administrative and military regime continued until the late 1960s.
• The current tax regime applies IPSI instead of IVA.
• The 1979 telegram records discussion of solutions including ceding Melilla and internationalizing Ceuta.

References and documents