Ceuta - History, Ecclesiastical history, Sources and external links

35°52N 5°18W, pop (2000e) 69 000. Freeport and military station, at E end of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the N African coast of Morocco; administered by Cádiz province, Spain; car ferries to Algeciras; became Spanish in 1580; trade in tobacco, oil products; old fortress at Monte Hacho, cathedral (15th-c), Church of Our Lady of Africa (18th-c).

font-size: 95%;">

Flag Coat of Arms
Area  – Total	28 km²
Population  – Total (2005)  – Density	75,276  2688.43/km²
Demonym  – English  – Spanish	--- ceutí
Statute of Autonomy	March 14, 1995
ISO 3166-2	ES-CE
Parliamentary representation  Congress seats  Senate seats	1 2
Mayor-President	Juan Jesús Vivas Lara (PP)
Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta

Ceuta is a Spanish exclave in North Africa, located on the Mediterranean, on the southern coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, bordering Morocco.

History

Ceuta's strategic location has made it the crucial waypoint of many cultures' trade and military ventures — beginning with the Carthaginians in the 5th century BC (They called the city Abyla).

After Portugal lost its independence to Spain in 1580, the majority of the population of Ceuta became of Spanish origin, so much so that, when Portugal regained its independence in 1640 and war broke between the two countries, Ceuta was the only colony of the Portuguese Empire that sided with Spain.

The allegiance of Ceuta to Spain was recognized by the Treaty of Lisbon by which, on January 1, 1668, King Afonso VI of Portugal formally ceded Ceuta to Carlos II of Spain. The Spanish government and both Ceuta's and Melilla's autonomous governments and inhabitants reject these comparisons on the ground that both Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of the Spanish state whereas Gibraltar, a British Crown colony, is not and never has been part of the United Kingdom.

Ecclesiastical history

By the Concordat of 1851 the diocese of Ceuta, a suffragen of the Andalusian archbishopric of Seville was suppressed and incorporated in the diocese of Cádiz, whose bishop usually was the Apostolic Administrator of Ceuta.

Sources and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ceuta (Spanish)Information on the history of Ceuta (Spanish)Official Ceuta government website Spain's North African enclaves Documentary about illegal immigrants trying to reach Ceuta from Morocco This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia, so may be out of date, or reflect the point of view of the Catholic Church as of 1913.

Outlying territories of European countries
Territories under European sovereignty but closer to continents other than Europe (see inclusion criteria for further information)
Denmark	Greenland
France	Guadeloupe • Martinique • Saint-Pierre et Miquelon • Mayotte • Réunion • Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean • Clipperton Island • New Caledonia • French Polynesia • Wallis and Futuna • French Guiana • French Southern Territories
Italy	Pantelleria • Pelagie Islands
Netherlands	Aruba • Netherlands Antilles
Norway	Bouvet Island
Portugal	Azores Islands • Madeira Islands
Spain	Ceuta • Melilla • Plazas de soberanía • Canary Islands
United Kingdom	Anguilla • Bermuda • British Virgin Islands • Cayman Islands • Falkland Islands • Montserrat • Saint Helena • Tristan da Cunha • Turks and Caicos Islands • British Indian Ocean Territory • Pitcairn Islands • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Coordinates: 35°53′N 5°18′W