mediterranean

Audio: Ceuta

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast we’ll be talking about the autonomous city of Ceuta — Spanish exclave, military post, and free port on the coast of Morocco, at the Mediterranean entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. Ceuta, Melilla (also an exclave), and other tiny islets along the coast of North Africa constitute the territories of Spanish North Africa. The city is on a narrow isthmus that connects Mount Hacho (also held by Spain) to the mainland. Mount Hacho has been identified as possibly the southern Pillar of Heracles, of the ancient Mediterranean world. Ceuta was controlled by the Muslim Umayyad Dynasty up to 1415, and then changed hands a number of times over the 15th and 16th Centuries. It played an important role in the Spanish Civil War, and gained its modern autonomous status in 1995. Ceuta’s land area is only about 18.5 square kilometres or 7 square miles, making it among the smallest places we’ve ever talked about, and has a population of around 80,000, similar to Andorra, the Isle of Man or the US Virgin Islands.

The climate here is warm but moderated by the straits, with mean annual temperatures of 18 °C (65 °F) with average highs of 21 °C (70 °F) and lows of 15 °C (60 °F). The currency is the Euro, and the language is Spanish, with a strong Arabic presence.

Ceuta and Melilla are the only piece of EU territory on mainland Africa – a political and legal reality that has never been recognised by Morocco, which claims both territories to this day.

Fun Fact – Western Sahara was a previously-Patreon-backed finale episode. You guys just have a real hankering for contentious North African territories, don’t you?

As we mention in the episode, this (somewhat delayed) finale to season 6 was voted on by our Patreon backers, and thanks as always to all of them for their support. You can sign up to Patreon to get a say in the episodes we cover in the seasons to come.

Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Wexford, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in Toronto, Canada, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Dublin, Ireland. Our theme music and other stings come from Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella.

Ceuta with Mount hacho visible in the background

Some further reading material is provided below:

This BBC Explainer on the status of Ceuta and Melilla is a good starting point for beginners. The BBC also has a useful factsheet.
This CNN feature headlined “Inside the tiny corner of Spain that lies in the middle of North Africa” is another useful primer.
History blog “A Small Part of History” has a lengthy post about the conquest of Ceuta by Portugal.
For a more visceral look at the city, this video travel guide of Ceuta from Travel Obscurer is worth checking out.
One of the many books we referenced in this episode was Europe or Africa? : a contemporary study of the Spanish North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melila by Peter Gold. It’s available on Archive.org.
We also spoke about Count Julian, whose Wikipedia page is well worth perusing.
Mark lent on A.R. Disney’s A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire – From Beginnings to 1807 for his section. You can find an excerpt here.
Another useful read was The Spanish Exclaves in Morocco by Robert Rézette, which is available on Google Books.
Anyone for a Wikipedia list of “People with the most children“? If you’ve heard Joe’s section, you’ll know why.
For more on Lieutenant John Fraser and his trusty leg bone, see the National Army Museum.
WebHispania has a fascinating blog post by Antonio M. Carrasco headlined The Ceuta border: a constant source of misunderstanding and conflict.
The UK’s National Maritime Museum has a whole page dedicated to Cueta in the Napoleonic Wars.
The UNHCR report on Anti-Muslim Hatred and Discrimination in Ceuta we mentioned is available here.
The substantial page on Wikipedia dedicated to the border fence is here. More can be found in World of Walls: The Structure, Roles and Effectiveness of Separation Barriers by Said Saddiki which is available online here.
On Franco and the Spanish Civil War, worth a read is The Crescent and the Dagger: Representations of the Moorish Other during the Spanish Civil War by Elisabeth Bolorinos Allard, available here.

Some of the music used in the episode includes:

The anthem of Ceuta, which is featured in the final music break
Some processional marches and sacred music from the General Command of Ceuta
An example of traditional Berber Muslim music

Thanks to all our patrons who support the show. We really appreciate your continued backing of us. If you want to join them, more information is available at www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast

Audio: S1E08 Gibraltar

In this week’s episode of 80 Days, we are talking about Gibraltar, the “key to the Mediterranean”. Famous for the imposing Rock of Gibraltar, this 6.7 square kilometre British Overseas Territory is an historic anomaly at the tip of the Iberian peninsula with a unique status and culture. It forms the northern side of the Pillars of Heracles which mark the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean. The tiny territory is also famous for its Barbary macaques, the only wild monkey population in Europe. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach, in Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

There are some things we talked about you might want to know more about:

Archaeological finds at Gorham’s Cave and other sites have given evidence that Neanderthals lived her until about 32,000 years ago – much more recently than had previously been expected. It is thought that this area was a lush Savannah climate at the time and very rich in food and resources. The BBC have a report from when the caves were granted UNESCO World Heritage status earlier this year.
The name Gibraltar comes from the Arabic Jabal Tariq (جبل طارق) named for Tariq ibn Ziyad who led the Moorish/Umayyad conquest of what is now Spain in the 710s; he had gathered his invading troops at the Rock of Gibraltar before pressing inland.
In 1706, when the English took the Rock during the War of Spanish Succession, nearly all of the inhabitants decamped to the City of Gibraltar in the Fields of San Roque, expecting a temporary stay. The Spanish city of San Roque is still there to this day and still features symbols of Gibraltar in its crest
Gibraltar’s status as an British territory was regularised, by Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

The Catholic King does hereby, for himself, his heirs and successors, yield to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging; and he gives up the said propriety to be held and enjoyed absolutely with all manner of right for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever.

Do yourself a favour and read more about Major General Charles O’Hara, the Portuguese-born son of a Irish military man who had the unique honour of surrendering to the two most successful generals of his generation, Napoleon and Washington. In later years he was one of a series of British military figures who acted as Governors of Gibraltar
O’Hara’s Folly, a tower built by Governor O’Hara was eventually destroyed by the crew of the HMS Wasp (pictured below), as part of a wager between the ship’s gunner’s and the garrison’s gunnery to demolish the derelict tower

Crew of the HMS Wasp who demolished O’Hara’s Tower (O’Hara’s Folly)

New Statesman has an article describing the history behind the legends that tie the presence of the famous Barbary macaques to British control of the Rock

Photo of a “Barbary Ape” over Gibraltar by user kanu101 on Flickr

We spoke about the unusual airport that spans Gibraltar’s entire border with Spain and crosses the main street; there is a video on YouTube which shows the airport from above and a plane taking off from its short runway

If you are interested in hearing Llanito, the English-Spanish creole spoken by some in Gibraltar, you can hear it spoken and discussed in this video of two men at a café.
A BBC report on the outcome of the 2002 Sovereignty Referendum gives some insight into the origins of the dispute and the implications of the results. 98% of Gibraltarians opposed the idea of “shared sovereignty” between Britain and Spain
If you liked hearing about the music of Gibraltar, check out Breed 77‘s song El Rio. Some songs that reference the Rock of Gibraltar are by Frankie Laine and Ella Fitzgerald.
The Evacuation of civilians during World War II led to many going to the UK, as this British Movietone newsreel footage shows.
During this period, there were also plans drawn up to use the extensive cave network to hide soldiers in, in the case of a German occupation of Gibraltar to observe and sabotage the Axis powers’ operations; this documentary discusses “Operation Tracer“