How many Spanish cities are in North Africa?

Contemporary Spanish North Africa: Spain’s two autonomous cities: Ceuta and Melilla, plus other minor territories (plazas de soberanía) The Canary Islands.

Are there Spanish towns in northern Africa?

Ceuta and Melilla are two ‘enclaves’ on the northern coast of Africa that have been Spanish for centuries but that are claimed by the Kingdom of Morocco. As an integral part of Spain the towns have also been part of the territory of the European Union since 1986.

What Spanish town is in North Africa?

Melilla (US: /məˈliːjə/ mə-LEE-yə, UK: /mɛˈ-/ meh-; Spanish: [meˈliʎa]; Berber: Mlilt; Arabic: مليلية‎) is a Spanish autonomous city located on the northwest coast of Africa, sharing a border with Morocco.

What are the Spanish territories of North Africa?

Spanish North Africa, five small areas, in special relationship with the Spanish government, on and off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. They are Alhucemas, Ceuta, the Chafarinas Islands, Melilla (qq. v.), and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, with a combined area of about 12 square miles (31 square km).

Do they speak Spanish in North Africa?

In North Africa there are countries where French, Spanish or Italian are spoken, but they are neither the main nor the official languages: Algeria, Maghreb French.

Can you see North Africa from Spain?

Yes, you can see Africa from Europe. … The Strait of Gibraltar has Spain and Gibraltar on the European side and Morocco and Ceuta on the African side. How far is Africa from Spain? The shortest distance between Africa and Spain is 8.9 miles or 14 kilometers and is the straight’s narrowest point.

When did Spain lose North Africa?

How did the Rif War start? Tension between colonial Spanish forces and Rif peoples in northern Morocco culminated in a series of guerrilla attacks led by Berber leader Abd el-Krim on Spanish fortifications in June–July 1921. Within weeks, Spain lost all of its territory in the region.

Which country in Africa speaks Spanish?

Equatorial Guinea

Did Spain have any colonies in Africa?

The effective Spanish colonization of Africa was finally established in the first third of the 20th century. North Morocco, Ifni, the Tarfaya region, Western Sahara, and the territories of early-21st-century Equatorial Guinea comprised what broadly could be defined as Spanish colonial Africa.

Does Spain own part of Africa?

The tiny Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla sit on the northern shores of Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. Together they form the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. … Unemployment among the native workforce is more than 30%, among the highest rates in Spain.

Did Spain conquer North Africa?

At the Berlin Conference in 1884, Spain secured international recognition of a protectorate over the territory around the town of Sidi Ifni. During the Ifni War of 1957, Moroccan insurgents took control of the territory around Sidi Ifni, but not the town itself.

Why does Melilla belong to Spain?

Port of Melilla, northern coast of Morocco. … Melilla was the first Spanish town to rise against the Popular Front government in July 1936, thus helping precipitate the Spanish Civil War. Melilla was retained by Spain as an exclave when Morocco attained independence in 1956.

Is Morocco in Spain or Africa?

Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara. It is one of only three nations (along with Spain and France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.

What part of North America did Spain claim?

At its greatest extent, the Spanish crown claimed on the mainland of the Americas much of North America south of Canada, that is: all of present-day Mexico and Central America except Panama; most of present-day United States west of the Mississippi River, plus the Floridas.

What country in Africa speaks English?

Sierra Leone and Liberia are the only countries in Africa where English is spoken as the primary language. English is the primary language of Nigeria and Ghana, but the language is spoken as a lingua franca in both states.

What is the only Spanish speaking country in North America?

Spanish Vocabulary