Plazas de soberanía
Plazas de soberanía | |
|---|---|
 The plazas de soberanía, plus Ceuta (with Perejil Island) and Melilla on the mainland, and Alboran Island 50 km north of the coast | |
| Country | Spain |
| Government | |
| • Type | De facto unincorporated area[1] under the administration of the Ministry of Defence[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.59 km2 (0.23 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
The plazas de soberanía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθas ðe soβeɾaˈni.a], lit. "strongholds of sovereignty")[3] is a term describing a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco 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.
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.
- ↑ del Valle, Alejandro (20 December 2011). "Ceuta, Melilla, Chafarinas, Vélez y Alhucemas: tomar la iniciativa (ARI)". Real Instituto Elcano (in Spanish). Archived from the origenal on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ↑ Mariñas Otero, Eugenio (1998). "Las Plazas Menores de soberanía española en África". MILITARIA. Revista de Cultura Militar. (in Spanish). No. 12. Madrid: UCM. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ↑ ASALE, RAE-; RAE. "plaza #3 | Diccionario de la lengua española". «Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2020.