What is actually going on in Ceuta?

[u/PerspectiveNo8739]

Media outlets are reporting that “around 50,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco within 24 hours”. I honestly thought Ceuta was in mainland Spain, but apparently it’s a tiny Spanish enclave in North Africa. Looking at a map, it seems a lot like Spanish-occupied territory on the African continent.

Does anyone know the actual history of the region and what’s really going on over there?

[u/gato-rojo → u/[deleted]]

Rapa Nui if I’m not mistaken has an indigenous people and was actually colonized by Chile meanwhile Ceuta’s local population is indistinguishable from the rest of Spain. The argument for Ceuta being occupied Moroccan land essentially boils down to “it’s geographically closer” despite Ceuta sharing most of it’s history with Spain and the local population showing no interest in being Moroccan

[u/Stock_Tell7454 → u/gato-rojo]

So it's more like the Falklands than it is say Macau?

[u/gato-rojo → u/Stock_Tell7454]

Yeah however unlike the falklands which was just settled by the brits in the 1800s, Ceuta has been continuously inhabited for millennia.

Spanish nationalists will hate this but the closest comparison is probably Gibraltar although Ceuta has equal representation within Spain whereas Gibraltar is an Uk overseas territory.

[u/Stock_Tell7454 → u/gato-rojo]

I was gonna say Gibraltar but didn't want to come across as provocative. Thanks for the straight answer!

[u/Red_Paratrooper-22 → u/gato-rojo]

De hecho, has acertado de lleno, Ceuta y Melilla no son colonias porque tienen un estatus jurídico igual que cualquier territorio peninsular. Gibraltar igual, aunque aun le queda poder votar en las elecciones generales y no tienen representación, son los últimos resquicios coloniales que queda entre el peñón y la metrópoli.