Plazas de soberanía
The plazas de soberanía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθas ðe soβeɾaˈni.a], lit. "strongholds of sovereignty")[3] are a series of Spanish overseas minor 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.
Plazas de soberanía
Autonomous cities (major plazas de soberanía)
De facto unincorporated area[1] under the administration of the Ministry of Defence[2] (minor plazas de soberanía)
0.40 km2 (0.15 sq mi)
Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called "major places of sovereignty", comprising the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the "minor places of sovereignty", referring to a number of islands (and a small peninsula) along the coast. In the present, the term refers mainly to the latter.
Morocco has claimed those territories (except the island of Alborán, further away from Africa) since its independence in 1956.[4]
Political geography[edit]
The plazas de soberanía are small islands and a peninsula off the coast of Morocco (the only peninsula, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, was an island until a 1934 storm formed a sand bridge with the mainland). They are guarded by military garrisons and administered directly by the Spanish central government.
Like Ceuta and Melilla, they are a part of Spain, therefore also part of the European Union, and their currency is the euro.