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Ceuta: How Exclaves Are Formed – And Why They Still Exist

August 9, 2026Diego Herrera1 мин

Around 600 years before a rapid influx of over 70,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta, resulting in at least 75 deaths along the journey, Portugal conquered the city on the North African coast in 1415. This marked the first time a European nation claimed territory on the African continent, and it is considered the beginning of European colonialism. In 1688, Portugal ceded the city to Spain, to which it has belonged ever since. It is precisely because of this historical connection that it was possible for migrants to enter EU territory from the African continent.