Ceuta
 State flag  Civil flag | |
| Languages: | |
| Official: | Castilian |
| Others: | Arabic, Aragonese, Berber, Chavacano, French, Ladino (Haketia), Tagalog, various West Papuan languages |
| Cities: | |
| Capital: | Ceuta |
| Other: | - |
| Monarch: | King Francisco José |
| Alcalde-Presidente: | Juanes |
| Area: | 18.5 km 2 (7.1 mi 2) |
| Population: | 88,990 ceutíes/ceutís (singular: ceutí). 'Caballas' (caballa) is the colloquial term. |
| Currency: | 1 escudo = 4 duros = 20 pesetas = 240 peniques (1) |
Ceuta is an integrated territory of El Reyno de Castilla i León. This exclave on a promontory in North Africa matching that of Gibraltar is completely surrounded by the Maghreban Caliphate. In Arabic it is known as Sebta, which spelling is occasionally used in French. The total land area of this exclave is roughly 28 square kilometers.
Ceuta was first subjugated by the Carthaginians, then by Romans, Visigoths and Arabs. It was wrested from these last by the Portuguese on August 14, 1415.
Portugal yielded Ceuta to Castilla i León on January 1, 1668, as a peace offering in the English-brokered Lisbon Treaty between D. Afonso VI of Portugal and Carlos II of Castilla i León.
It is officially known as Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta, or the Autonomous City of Ceuta, and is a free port. This gives Ceuta a rank somewhere between the average Spanish city and an autonomous community. Prior to the grant of autonomy, Ceuta was adminstrated from Cádiz province.
The caliph of Morocco has regularly called for the integration of Ceuta and Melilla, an Aragonese city, into the caliphate's national territory, comparing their claims to the claims of Castilla i León on Gibraltar. The king in Madrid rejects these claims, stating that Ceuta has long been a Castillian holding, and will remain such.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Entities | |||
| Castilian Spain | New Kingdom of Granada | Central American Community | Canary Islands | |||
| Overseas Territories and Colonies | |||
| Castilian Polynesia | Castilian West Africa | Corregimiento de Manila | Guam | |||
| Protectorate | |||
| Chiapas | |||
| Autonomous Cities and the Sovereign Localities | |||
| Ceuta | Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera | Parsley Island (La Isla de Perejil) | Alhucemas Islands | Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera |
