The historical memory harbors a striking and ironic paradox; the city of Ceuta, which marked the beginning of European colonial expansion into the African continent in 1415, now finds itself at the epicenter of the collapse of the final remnants of that imperial era. The escalating crisis of migration at the city's borders accurately embodies this radical transformation.
In this context, the American writer has placed Spanish and European diplomacy in front of an undeniable truth that they continuously attempt to evade; Madrid finds itself compelled, under the pressure of demographic shifts and geopolitical realities, to return this city to Moroccan sovereignty. Maintaining a colonial enclave on African soil in the twenty-first century represents a blatant historical anomaly, making Morocco's reclamation of its territories a matter of time rather than a question of doubt or speculation.
French, an esteemed contributor at Foreign Policy and a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has grounded his insights in the foundation of his prominent intellectual research, notably his books "Born in the Shadow: Africa and Africans in the Making of the Modern World" and "The Second Liberation: Nkrumah, African Unity, and the Global Wave of Blackness." He elucidates the complexities surrounding the tensions enveloping the occupied enclave, dismantling the myth of Spain's eternal sovereignty over the city.
The Inevitable Reclamation Imposed by Historical Logic
According to French's analysis, Spain is on a path of forced relinquishment of its ambitions regarding Ceuta under the weight of political logic and structural transformations in the Mediterranean basin. This reality does not merely reflect theoretical conjectures; it denotes an inevitable historical rendezvous. The American scholar asserts, "I bet that Spain will ultimately, gradually and perhaps soon, recognize the wisdom of abandoning its territorial claims in Africa based on pragmatism, a realism that has so far eluded the British regarding Gibraltar." This conclusion rests on a critical factor: the accelerating demographic shock. While Europe grapples with unprecedented aging, as evidenced by Spain's and Italy's average fertility rates hovering around one child per woman, Africa is experiencing a burgeoning youth wave.
From this perspective, the insistence on fortifying closed and militarized land borders on the fringes of the African continent to protect an isolated enclave measuring only a few kilometers is a form of geopolitical absurdity destined for inevitable failure.
An Unsustainable Status Quo
The continued Spanish dominance over Ceuta has become an unviable option and a draining financial burden. French highlights the stark contradiction of a colonial presence that yields only recurring crises. The author explains that "maintaining public order in Ceuta against the influx of migrants imposes exorbitant and permanent financial costs on the state, while simultaneously igniting tensions within the European household itself." The legal and geographical status of this enclave transforms it into a perpetual political powder keg. The American analyst asserts that clinging to this land strip now only provides "a source of pride for Spanish citizens steeped in nostalgia for the wreckage of their former empire," while repeatedly destabilizing European cohesion.
This fragility becomes evident with the rising tides of migration, as panic seeps into European capitals; Italy, Spain's neighbor, hastily imposed monitoring and inspection measures on arrivals from Spanish territories to ensure no African migrants infiltrate through the North African enclave. This clearly underscores how Spanish presence in Ceuta threatens the stability of the Schengen space and continental solidarity as a whole.
One of the central tenets of Howard W. French's analysis is his scathing critique of how Western media engages with the issue, reducing a centuries-old historical dispute to a mere fleeting security incident. The writer harshly criticizes this analytical shortcoming, stating, "I was shocked by the narrow view adopted by major media outlets in covering the events in Ceuta; a substantial portion of coverage presented what was happening as merely a severe migration crisis, treating the existing geographical reality and the deep historical background behind current headlines as a given not open to debate." In contrast, detaching Ceuta from its colonial context constitutes a blatant distortion of historical facts.
In pursuit of placing the issue of Ceuta within its precise context, Howard W. French revisits the beginnings of the European presence initiated by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator in 1415. Countering glorifying narratives, the author confirms that the assault on the coastal city was driven purely by material ambitions. He clarifies that "what Henry sought was neither the spread of Christianity nor the annexation of vast territories to the Kingdom of Avis, but rather the acquisition of the immense gold flows that had been traversing from Mediterranean Africa and the depths of the South towards Europe for centuries." In another historical irony, the transition of Ceuta from Portuguese guardianship to Spanish control was a direct result of a crushing military defeat suffered by the invaders on Moroccan soil. In 1578, during the Battle of Alcazarquivir (the Battle of the Three Kings), King Sebastian of Portugal met his demise, leaving a significant royal vacuum in Lisbon. French notes, "The Portuguese succession crisis of the sixteenth century arose from a sweeping invasion of Morocco that culminated in a military disaster and the death of King Sebastian and many members of his family."
King Philip II of Spain exploited this situation to seize the Portuguese throne in 1580, and when the Portuguese regained their independence after six decades, "this strip of Moroccan land known as Ceuta was ceded to the Spaniards." However, the world has changed drastically since then, and according to French, it is incumbent upon Madrid to make a courageous decision that breaks with this legacy by returning the enclave to the Moroccan kingdom.
French articulates this decisive stance with utmost clarity, stating, "At this point, Spain must do what reason dictates and return this geopolitically insignificant region to Morocco, thereby definitively closing the door on its exploitation as a backdoor into the European Schengen space." Such a move would liberate Madrid from an embarrassing historical burden and provide it with the chance to lead a mature and innovative European approach toward African neighbors, transcending the illusion of managing the movement of peoples from Africa and the Global South solely through security solutions. Ultimately, ending the occupation of Ceuta is the foundational step toward dismantling the colonial legacy and building a shared and sustainable prosperity between the two shores of the Strait.
As reported by ar.le360.ma.
