Carlos Perez Marin

Having analysed the material heritage at a local level, let us now take a brief look at the history of Ceuta (Historia de Ceuta, de los orígenes al año 2000, coordinación Fernando Villada Paredes. Book I and Book II) focusing on the most relevant moments (which in turn have left us with material and immaterial traces) and the role played by our city at different geographical scales.

   Although we are used to considering land areas as territories, we must not forget that in the past, maritime territories has been even more important. As early as 1,200 BC. the Phoenician civilisation, coming from the eastern end of the Mediterranean (what today would be Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine), occupied coastal areas along the southern shore of the Mediterranean, reaching beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, where, thanks to the geographical characteristics, they settled on both sides of the Strait, founding Barbesula, Carteia, Iulia Traducta, Mellaria, Baelo Claudia, Abyla, Alcazarseguer, Tingis, Cotta, Tahaddart, Sania e Torres, Metrouna... From this period we have a legacy in the form of wall structures (next to the cathedral) and ceramics (from the aforementioned site and recovered from the seabed). The fact that they dominated maritime trade gave them great power, acting as a link (commercial and cultural) between cities and colonies at both ends of the Mediterranean and even founding cities such as Carthage that would later become the cradle of Punic civilisation. Such power led them to compete for control of the seas with the Greeks themselves, of whom we also have ceramic remains, as well as mentions in various literary works and scientific works calling it Hepta Adelphoi. We cannot affirm a crucial role for Abyla (Ceuta) in the Phoenician deployment, but we can agree that at least from the 7th century BC, the city formed part of a network of localities (not territories) that crossed the Mediterranean from East to West on its southern side.

   Ceuta became part of the Punic civilisation between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, as attested by the recovered amphorae (although at the moment no remains of a settlement have been found), but the fact that Carthage not only maintained the cities and colonies founded by the Phoenicians but also increased them by reinforcing its military and commercial power on the African coast, on the main islands of the Mediterranean (Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Balearic Islands...) and in inland territories (Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, Middle East…), made our city intensify its relations with other ports, to the point that products derived from salted fish were sold in Corinth (Greece), showing once again the commercial connections between extremes of the Mediterranean.

   After the Punic Wars, with the disappearance of the Carthaginian Empire, Ceuta became part of the Kingdom of Mauritania (which always maintained a relationship with both the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians), until the eruption of the Roman Empire in 44 AD, when it was incorporated into the province of Mauritania Tingitana. Subsequently, the province became part of Hispania Ulterior as Hispania Transfretana. During this period it was no longer a coastal occupation but rather a vast territory in whose hinterland cities, industries and infrastructures were developed.  Over time, the city consolidated its status within the administrative organisation of the Roman Empire, acquiring the status of Roman municipality in the 2nd century. Although no urban layout has been found to confirm the existence of a city, the archaeological excavations do confirm the presence of a fortification on the isthmus and of an important industry associated with salted fish (with remains of basins and amphorae), situating the city as another element in the industrial complex around the fishing industry of the Strait of Gibraltar, in which the product most coveted by Rome was a fish sauce called garum, to the point that traders from Ceuta sold it in the markets of the capital of the empire. Although there was no city as such (at least nothing has been found so far), neither was it a simple anchorage, otherwise the early Christian basilica would not have been built (between the 4th and 5th centuries) to bury its citizens.

   At the beginning of the 5th century, the Vandals began to expand southwards from their region of origin (what would today be the German and Polish coasts of the Baltic Sea), crossing the Roman borders and reaching North Africa, first taking Tangier, then Ceuta and even Volubilis (near Meknes), until finally establishing their capital in Carthage, from where they imposed a new order in the Western Mediterranean, thanks to their control over the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia. This power allowed them to take Rome and shortly afterwards to negotiate a peace agreement with Byzantium, until they were defeated by Justinian I in the 6th century, in his strategy to unify the Western and Eastern Roman empires once again; Recuperatio Imperii. In their planning, it was essential to start this "reconquest" from opposite poles, on the one hand from Constantinople itself and on the other from the Iberian Peninsula, but using the city of Septem (Ceuta) as a logistical base, from which they supplied cities such as Malaca (Malaga) and Cartago Nova (Cartagena) in their attempt to regain ground from the Visigothic kingdom which had dominated the Iberian Peninsula since the beginning of the 6th century. Ceuta's importance to Byzantium is reflected in the fortifications that remain, in part, within the Royal Wall. Despite managing to occupy an important strip of land in the south and southeast of the peninsula, the Visigoths managed to expel the Byzantines at the beginning of the 7th century, reoccupying the cities of Ceuta and Tangier in order to control the Strait.

   At the end of the 7th century, the first military incursions of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus into North Africa began, led by the governor of Ifriquiya (present-day Tunisia) who, in addition to dealing with the Visigothic cities of Ceuta and Tangier, also had to deal with the Berber tribes of the region in the first instance. After an agreement with Count Julian, the city was finally occupied in 711 and used, together with Alcazarseguer and Tangier, as a base for the "conquest" of the Iberian Peninsula. Given the heterogeneity of the Umayyad troops, who had numerous Berber tribes from North Africa in their ranks, they took advantage of the absence of units from Syria to take over the city, until the beginning of the 10th century, when the Caliphate of Córdoba was already in place, both Ceuta and Tangier were taken and fortified to make it difficult for the numerous North African tribes who were enemies of the Caliphate to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and, above all, to protect themselves from attacks by the Fatimid Caliphate (originally from Tunisia but with its capital in Cairo). At a time of dispute for hegemony in the Arab world between the Umayyad and Fatimid caliphates, Ceuta and Tangier became the main defence of the former, fulfilling their role because they were never taken, the Umayyads maintaining control of the Strait from the North African ports (Ceuta, Asilah, Tangier and Melilla) and the Peninsula (Tarifa, Almería, Almuñécar, Málaga and Algeciras). Our city became an Umayyad outpost in Africa, as can be seen from the walls built in that century, which were so extensive that they maintained their defensive function until the 16th century, as we shall see later. This is relevant because fortification models are constantly evolving in order to adapt to new military tactics and the weapons used, so it would be interesting to investigate how many walled enclosures in the world have been in use for 600 years, not that they have remained standing for that long but that they have been in use for 6 centuries (there are probably not many). The relevance of these walls may lie in the fact that it was not just the capture of Ceuta that was at stake, but the Caliphate of Córdoba itself; if Ceuta fell, the Caliphate fell.

   After the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba into Taifa kingdoms, Ceuta was included in the Taifa of Málaga, then in the Taifa of Granada after the latter conquered Málaga, until a Berber tribe of Barghawata took the city and founded the Taifa of Ceuta, supported to some extent by the Abbasids of Baghdad.   

   The instability created with the appearance of the Taifa kingdoms ended with the irruption of the Almoravid dynasty in the 11th century, whose origins lie in a confederation of nomadic tribes (Sanhaya, Lamtuna and Jazula) whose territory was between the High Atlas mountains (in Morocco) and the Senegal River (in Mauritania). From the Sahara desert, they conquered cities and founded new ones (such as Marrakesh) until they reached the north, conquering Ceuta in 1084 and subsequently the rest of the territories associated with the taifas in the Peninsula. This dynasty came to control a territory between Mauritania and Mali to the south, Tlemcen in Algeria to the west and half of the Iberian Peninsula plus the regions to the east as far as Zaragoza. The power of this dynasty, however, did not materialise in an architectural or archaeological legacy in our city, despite the fact that four people from Ceuta played a major role in it, starting with the second emir, Ali Ibn Yusuf, born in Ceuta, the geographer al-Idrisi, the jurist (cadi) Ayyad and Sidi Bel Abbas, the latter two of whom became saints in the city of Marrakesh. But the most significant thing is that Ceuta became an academic reference and a pole of attraction in the whole of North Africa.

   In the mid-12th century, the Almoravids had to face a new dynasty, the Almohads (originally from territories south of the High Atlas mountains), who ended up occupying almost the same territories, reducing them in the south to the pre-Saharan regions but extending them in North Africa as far as Libya. In Ceuta, even two rebellions led by Cadi Ayyad interrupted the Almohad rule over Ceuta and when they finally succeeded, they made it the main city of the Strait of Gibraltar, within a province made up of other cities such as Tangier, Algeciras and Malaga. The creation of this province straddling the two continents and having the Strait of Gibraltar as a common territory is interesting. Undoubtedly, the aim was to provide greater control of the maritime passage between the two shores, just as the Umayyads did two centuries earlier and even much earlier, when the Phoenicians and Romans occupied the maritime territory of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Strait was (and is) fundamental to maintaining power on both sides of the Strait.

   Once again, the decline of a dynasty led to the emergence of small kingdoms or taifas, so that Ceuta came under the rule of Murcia in the mid-13th century (although it maintained its vassalage first to the Almohads and then to a dynasty in mainly Tunisian territory, but also Algerian and Libyan).

   At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, the Nasrid kingdom of Granada and the Merinid dynasty of Fez disputed control of the Strait of Gibraltar, and therefore of Ceuta, with alternating conquests, until the end of the 12th century, when the Merinids finally ruled there for a long period of time. However, the attempts to recover territory in the Peninsula at the expense of the Nasrid kingdom and the kingdom of Castile, the desire to expand in the east of the Maghreb, the landing of the Portuguese on the North African coasts and the push of the Saadi dynasty in the south ended up weakening the Merinid influence, that was not only based on military and commercial power; the strategy to establish dominance was also based on education and culture through the construction of madrasas in the main cities, such as the madrasa al-Jadida in Ceuta, thus regaining a position of reference in North Africa as an educational centre.

   he loss of Ceuta at the beginning of the 15th century was key to the decline of the Merinids, but the arrival of the Portuguese in Africa had even greater consequences as they began the expansion of their empire that would take them from Africa to China, exercising almost unprecedented naval and commercial power. With the capture of the city, it is considered to have entered the Modern Age, leaving the Middle Ages behind.

   The Portuguese presence led to an intensification of attacks and sieges by the Merinids and their successors, the Wattasids, whose capital was Fez but who ruled over a territory considerably smaller than that of their predecessors (what would today be central and northern Morocco). Although the Umayyad fortification was used at first, the Portuguese were forced to build a practically new fortification (based on the existing one) that we know today as the Royal Wall and which incorporated a navigable moat. On the other hand, the Portuguese occupation of a large part of the Atlantic coast (Alcazarseguer, Tangier, Asilah, Larache, Salé, Azemmour, El Jadida, Safi, Essaouira, Agadir...) and a few inland points, took place in the mid-19th century, in a particularly complex context for the Wattasids, as they also had to face Spanish pressure on the Mediterranean coast (with the conquest of Melilla), the arrival of the Ottomans from the east and above all the push from the south of a Saadi dynasty that had arrived from the desert (from the Drâa valley in Zagora) and had established its capital in Marrakesh. While the Portuguese crown consolidated its Atlantic positions, the Saadis gained territory in the north until they took over Fez and ended the Wattassid sultanate. Years later, they began to expand southwards, conquering the Songhai Empire (which included practically all of Mali and part of Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal), with the aim of securing trade in salt, gold and slaves, among other products, and controlling a strategic territory between the Mediterranean and the Sahel from the end of the 16th century to the mid-17th century. With common enemies, the Portuguese and especially the Ottomans, it can be said that the Saadis and the Spanish were allies for much of the sultanate until its decline began in the early 17th century.

   Before the disappearance of the Saadis, an important event took place for Ceuta, the annexation of Portugal by Spain in 1580, adding to the towns of Mazalquivir, Oran (these two in Algeria), Melilla, the Alhucemas Islands and the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, those of Ceuta, Tangier, Asilah and el-Jadida. During this time, the conflicts in the Mediterranean caused by the hegemonic struggle between the Ottomans and the Spanish, together with the role of pirates and corsairs, disrupted the trade routes with the Sahel, directing them towards the Atlantic, hence Spain's interest in reinforcing its presence on the Atlantic coast and in the Strait of Gibraltar, through which much of the Saharan trade had an outlet.

   When the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal separated in 1640, the inhabitants of Ceuta decided after a referendum to remain under the rule of the Spanish crown.

   In a way, the Saadi dynasty laid the foundations for the dynasty that has reigned in Morocco since the 17th century, the Alaouites. Sultan Muley Ismail established as a fundamental premise for staying in power the control of the territory and trade routes, to ensure an economy that would in turn finance an army, which could be considered professional as it did not rely on the alliances (typical to date) of Arab and Berber tribes, but on all the black inhabitants of the Alawite territory, regardless of whether they were free, "harratins" (second free men) or slaves (Le Maroc noir une histoire de l’esclavage, de la race et de l’Islam. Chouki el-Hamel). In order to control the routes between the Sahel and Europe, it was essential to conquer the cities of North Africa, including Ceuta, which it attempted to do with a 33-year siege, during which the military authorities were forced to build major fortifications on the walls of the isthmus. The siege was further complicated by the fact that communications with Gibraltar, which provided logistical support, were cut off after its capture by the English and Dutch fleets.

   In 1780 the Sultan of Morocco proposed a treaty of friendship and trade, the Treaty of Aranjuez of 1780, to put an end to centuries of hostilities between the two countries so that he could focus on settling internal disputes and on the development of his country, which required peace with his northern neighbour and the initiation of trade exchanges. This rapprochement with Spain was not shared by his successor, and for the rest of the 18th century military campaigns to conquer the Spanish cities of North Africa were resumed.

   From the end of the 18th century to the mid-19th century, four countries (Spain, Morocco, France and the United Kingdom) disputed control of the Strait of Gibraltar, turning it into a strategic game board where alliances were made and unmade according to multiple and complex interests, in most cases related to supremacy in Europe and ultimately in the world, since these empires were also disputing, and sharing out, control over several continents through the colonies they had just established in numerous countries and on practically every continent. This instability, and the existence of two hostile neighbours such as Morocco and the United Kingdom, plus the threats from the French and Dutch navies, encouraged the construction of coastal batteries to protect against possible landings, especially on Mount Hacho and Almina area.

   In the mid-19th century, the war between Morocco and Spain began. It lasted only two years and involved a new extension (after that of 1780) of Ceuta's territories, as well as the construction of nine neomedieval fortifications on the new border line (today there are seven remaining).

   The Treaty of Fez (and the subsequent Spanish-French Treaty) of 1912 marks the beginning of the protectorates of France and Spain in Morocco, which provided a respite for Ceuta in terms of hostilities, also meaning an economic boost for the city by becaming the port of entry to the Protectorate, despite not being included in it, with the consequent investment in port and railway infrastructure. At the same time, and as in the rest of Spain, the first urban plans for the expansion of the city were to be launched, and in 1930 a competition was held, won by Gaspar Blein, although the Civil War prevented it from being carried out. During the years of the Republic, an effort to eradicate slums began and public buildings were put into operation that are today protected by the PGOU such as the IES Siete Colinas, the fire station, the central market, the bus station, as well as like numerous residential buildings. The Civil War and the Second World War brought about a stoppage in the city's economy and it would not be until the 1960s with the implementation of a State economic plan at the national level that gave a boost to bazaar trade and bunkering in the port. Both sectors come to alleviate the deficit caused by a decrease in population and military personnel. Finally, the PGOU that is implemented is the one designed by Pedro Muguruza in 1944, with new neighbourhoods and dwellings, the mosques of Sidi Embarek and Muley el-Mehdi, but the main official buildings show a style in line with the Franco regime. However, there is an important change with the execution of streets and roads that would be fundamental for the city, such as Carretera Nueva and Martínez Catena bridge. This development implicitly involved the destruction of a good part of the heritage that was still maintained, especially in the area occupied by the Parador La Muralla, although it could be stated that the hotel project by architect Carlos Picardo managed to protect the Royal Wall from its destruction.

   After the entry of Spain into the European Economic Community (1986), Ceuta received strong economic investment for years that made possible a series of transformations in the city, among which the land reclaimed from the sea in the Marina and the subsequent construction of the Parque Marítimo del Estrecho by Canarian artist César Manrique, the Town Hall extension (Cruz y Ortiz, 1989-1993), he rehabilitation of the Monumental Complex of the Royal Walls (Juan Miguel Hernández de León), the Palmeras Promenade Splitting (Carlos Pérez Marín, José Luis Pérez Marín and Antonio Molina Ortiz 2001-2003),  the Cultural Center of the Revellín (Alvaro Siza), the State Public Library (Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos). With varying and alternating regularity, Morocco carries out campaigns to claim sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, normally using migratory pressure on the border and sometimes even occupying the island of Perejil (2001) and encouraging the entry of 12,000 young Moroccans into Ceuta ( 2021), causing two of the most serious crises between the two neighbouring countries at the beginning of the 21st century. In both cases, the main fear among the Western powers lay not so much in the sovereignty of the Spanish cities and African islands but in the stability in the Strait, the second busiest maritime route in the world, after the English Channel, and fundamental part of the container ships heading from northern Europe to Asia, as well as the Sixth Fleet of the United States, one of whose bases is located in Rota (Cádiz) and which is essential for logistical support in the Middle East and for deployment in Africa. Even in contemporary times, the Strait continues to be a strategic point of first order in the world…

   After this quick review of the history of the city, and beyond the incorporation of Ceuta to the different civilisations, and therefore to a communications network that for a long period occupied the entire Mediterranean and North Africa, the fact that I would like to highlight the border, how the dividing line between civilisations has been changing throughout history, at a regional level (the Strait of Gibraltar) and at a higher level (the Mediterranean Sea) and the position that the city occupied at all times. Is this an exception or something common in other places?

Credits texts, photos and drawings: Carlos Pérez Marín