Melilla (Spanish pronunciation: [meˈliʎa]) is an autonomous Spanish city An autonomous community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution. The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "regions and nationalities" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation" located on the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely, on the north coast of North Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country, and over any other form of legislation . This legislative corpus concedes a degree of autonomy to a subnational unit, and the articles usually mimic the form of a constitution, establishing the organization of the autonomous government, the was passed.

Melilla was a free port A free port or free zone (zona franca), sometimes also called a bonded area (US: Foreign-Trade Zone) is a port, port area or other area with relaxed jurisdiction with respect to the country of location. Free economic zones may also be called free ports before Spain joined the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5. As of 2008 it has a population of 71,448. Its population consists of Christians A Christian (pronounced /ˈkrɪstʃən/ ) is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe is the Messiah (the Christ in Greek-derived terminology) prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, and the son of God. Most Christians believe in the doctrine of, Muslims A Muslim or Moslem is an adherent of the religion of Islam. Literally, the word means "one who submits (to God)". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. All Muslims observe Sunnah, but differences in the definition of what is and what is not Sunnah has led to the emergence of sectarian movements.[ (chiefly Berber Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke various Berber languages, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Today many of them speak), and small minorities of Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos. Both Spanish Countries where Spanish has official status. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 25% or more of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 10-20% of the population. States of the U.S. where Spanish has no official status but is spoken by 5-9.9% of the population and Tarifit Tamazight Tarifit is a Northern Berber variety of Berber spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif and in other cities by about 4 million people. There are about 800,000 Tarifit-speaking immigrants in Europe-Berber are widely spoken. Spanish is the official language, while there have been calls to recognize Berber Tarifit C. Morocco Tamazight Tachelhiyt Tamasheq as well.^[1]

History

Melilla was a Phoenician Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean during the period 1550 BC to 300 BC. Though ancient boundaries of such city- and later Punic The Punics were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples originating from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician and Cypriot settlers, but also to North African Berbers. Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry. Contrary to other Phoenicians, Punics had a establishment under the name of Rusadir. Later it became a part of the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitana. As centuries passed, it went through Vandal, Byzantine and Hispano-Visigothic hands. The political history is similar to that of towns in the region of the Moroccan Rif The Rif is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Moulouya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Ouargha in the south and southern Spain. Local rule passed through Amazigh Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke various Berber languages, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Today many of them speak, Phoenician Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean during the period 1550 BC to 300 BC. Though ancient boundaries of such city-, Punic The Punics were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples originating from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician and Cypriot settlers, but also to North African Berbers. Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry. Contrary to other Phoenicians, Punics had a, Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world, Ummayyad, Idrisid, Hammudid, Almoravid The Almoravids were a Berber Moroccan dynasty of North Africa, who lived between the current Senegal and south of Western Sahara, Almohad The Almohad Dynasty , was a Berber, Muslim dynasty that was founded in the 12th century, which conquered all of northern Africa as far as Libya, together with Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia, now southern Spain and Portugal), Marinid, and then Wattasid rulers. Melilla was part of the Kingdom of Fez when The Catholic Monarchs (Spanish: los Reyes Católicos) Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon requested Juan Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, known as Guzmán el Bueno, the 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia to take the city.

The duke sent Pedro Estopiñán who conquered the city virtually without a fight in 1497^[2], a few years after (1492) Castile The Crown of Castile, as an historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and almost definitive union of the monarchies of kingdoms Castile and Toledo in one hand, and the kingdoms of Leon and Galicia in other hand, and with the union of their parliaments a few decades later. In 1217, Ferdinand III was crowned King of had taken control of the Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty or Banuu Nasri was the last Arab and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad dynasty in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Twenty-three different emirs ruled Granada from the founding of the dynasty in 1232 by Muhammed I ibn Nasr until January 2, 1492, when Muhammad XII Kingdom of Granada The Emirate of Granada was established in 1228, after the Almohad dynasty was defeated by the Christians at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. The Almohad prince Idris had left Iberia to take the Almohad leadership, then ambitious Ibn al-Ahmar established the longest lasting Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula - the Nasrids, the last remnant of Al-Andalus Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation in the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Berbers and African Muslims (given the generic name of Moors), at various times in the period between 711 and 1492. Melilla was immediately threatened with reconquest and was besieged 1694–1696 and 1774–1775. One Spanish officer reflected, "an hour in Melilla, from the point of view of merit, was worth more than thirty years of service to Spain."^[3] The Spaniards also experienced much trouble with the neighboring tribes—the turbulent Rif, independent Berbers Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke various Berber languages, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Today many of them speak (Amazighs) hardly subject to the sultan of Morocco.

The current limits of the Spanish territory around the fortress were fixed by treaties with Morocco in 1859, 1860, 1861, and 1894. In the late 19th century, as Spanish influence expanded, Melilla became the only authorized centre of trade on the Rif coast between Tetuan and the Algerian Algerian Arabic is the language used by the majority of the population. Although French has no official status, Algeria is the second Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers frontier. The value of trade increased, goat skins, eggs and beeswax Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites (the ventral shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. The size of these wax glands depends on the age of the worker and after daily flights begin being the principal exports, and cotton goods, tea, sugar, and candles being the chief imports.

In 1893 1893 was a common year that started on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar), the Rif Berbers besieged Melilla, and 25,000 men had to be dispatched against them.

In 1908 two companies, under the protection of El Roghi, a chieftain then ruling the Rif region, started mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash. Any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or lead Lead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air. Lead has a shiny chrome-silver luster when it is melted into a and iron Iron is the most common element in the earth as a whole, and the fourth most common in the Earth's crust. It is produced as a result of stellar fusion in high-mass stars, and it is the heaviest stable element produced by stellar fusion because the fusion of iron is the last nuclear fusion reaction that is exothermic. Iron is the most widely used some 20 kilometers from Melilla. A railway to the mines was begun. In October of that year the Roghi's vassals revolted against him and raided the mines, which remained closed until June 1909. By July the workmen were again attacked and several of them killed. Severe fighting between the Spaniards and the tribesmen followed.

In 1910 1910 was a common year that started on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year that started on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar), the Rif having submitted, the Spaniards restarted the mines and undertook harbour works at Mar Chica, but hostilities broke out again in 1911. In 1921 the Berbers under the leadership of Abd el Krim Abd el-Krim (full name: Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, Arabic: محمد بن عبد الكريم الخطابي‎) became the leader of a large-scale armed resistance movement in the Rif, a Berber area of northeasterm Morocco. Together with his brother M'Hammad, he led a coalition of Rifian tribes against French and Spanish colonial rule inflicted a grave defeat on the Spanish (see Battle of Annual), and were not pacified until 1926, when the Spanish Protectorate Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (Spanish: Protectorado Español de Marruecos) was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence finally managed to control the area again.

General Francisco Franco Francisco Franco y (de) Bahamonde, (de) Salgado-Araujo y Pardo de Andrade (4 December 1892 in Ferrol – 20 November 1975 in Madrid), commonly known as Francisco Franco (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko]), or simply Franco, was a military general, and head of state of Spain from October 1936 (whole country from 1939 on), and de used the city as one of his staging grounds for his rebellion in 1936, and a statue of him - the last statue of Franco in Spain - is still prominently featured.

On 6 November 2007, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia visited the city, which caused a massive demonstration of support. The visit also sparked protests from the Moroccan government.^[4] It was the first time a Spanish monarch had visited Melilla in 80 years.

Political status

Melilla and Ceuta Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Iberian peninsula. The area of Ceuta is approximately 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi) are the only two European-Union territories located in mainland Africa.

The government of Morocco has repeatedly requested from Spain the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, of Perejil Island, and of some other small areas lacking permanent population The plazas de soberanía , formerly referred to as "África Septentrional Española" (Spanish North Africa) or simply "África Española" (Spanish Africa) are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa bordering Morocco, except the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The Spanish position is that both Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of the Spanish state, and have been since the 15th century, centuries before Morocco's independence from Spain in 1956. Morocco denies these claims and maintains that the Spanish presence on or near its coast is a remnant of the colonial past which should be ended. The United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories does not include these Spanish territories as colonies.

Subdivisions

Melilla is subdivided into eight neighborhoods A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members (barrios):^[5]

1. Barrio de Medina Sidonia
2. Barrio del Real
3. Barrio de la Victoria
4. Barrio de los Héroes de España
5. Barrio del General Gómez Jordana
6. Barrio del Príncipe de Asturias
7. Barrio del Carmen
8. Barrio de La Paz

Climate

Economy

The principal industry is fishing Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. Cross-border commerce (legal or smuggled); and Spanish and European grants and wages; are the other income sources.

Melilla is regularly connected to the Peninsula by air- and sea traffic and also economically-connected to Morocco: most of its fruits and vegetables are imported across the border. Also, Moroccans in the city's influence area are attracted to it: 36,000 Moroccans cross the border daily to work, shop, or trade goods.^{[citation needed]}

City culture and society

Melilla's Capilla de Santiago or James's Chapel, by the city walls, is the only genuine Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture in Africa.

In the first quarter of the 20th century The 20th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. According to the Gregorian calendar, 2000 was the first century leap year since 1600, Melilla became a thriving port benefitting from the recently established Protectorate of Spanish Morocco Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (Spanish: Protectorado Español de Marruecos) was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence in the contiguous Rif. The new architectural style of Modernisme Modernisme also known, in English, as Catalan modernism, was the Catalan equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Symbolism, Decadence and Art Nouveau / Jugendstil, from roughly 1888 to 1911. The modernisme movement was centred on the city of Barcelona, and its best-known exponent was the architect Antoni Gaudí was expressed by a new bourgeois class. This style, frequently referred to as the Catalan version of Art Nouveau Art Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905). The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art". It is also known as Jugendstil, German for "youth style", named after the, was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century in Spain.

The workshops inspired by the Catalan architect, Enrique Nieto, continued in the modernist style, even after Modernisme Modernisme also known, in English, as Catalan modernism, was the Catalan equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Symbolism, Decadence and Art Nouveau / Jugendstil, from roughly 1888 to 1911. The modernisme movement was centred on the city of Barcelona, and its best-known exponent was the architect Antoni Gaudí went out of fashion elsewhere. Accordingly, Melilla has the second most important concentration of Modernist works in Spain after Barcelona Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 4.

Melilla has been praised as an example of multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists advocate extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without, being a small city in which one can find up to three major religions represented. However, the Christian majority of the past, constituting around 65% of the population at one point, has been shrinking, while the number of Muslims has steadily increased to its present 45% of the population.

Jews, who had lived in Melilla for centuries, have been leaving the Spanish North African city in more recent years (from 20% of the population before World War II to less than 5% today). There is a small, autonomous, and commercially important Hindu community present in Melilla, as well. The culture in this little city is thus virtually divided into two halves; ^{[citation needed]} one being European and the other Amazigh. While the first is represented all over the rest of the country, the second, being represented only in this little part of Spain, is considered by some, especially in the mainland, to be foreign.

The amateur radio call sign used for both cities is EA9.^[7]

Immigration

There is considerable pressure by African refugees to enter Melilla, a part of the European Union. The border is secured by the Melilla border fence, a six-meter-tall double fence with watch towers, yet refugees frequently manage to cross it illegally, avoiding the attempts by Spanish police to take them back to their home countries. Detection wires, tear gas dispensers, radar, and day/night vision cameras are planned to increase security and prevent illegal immigration. In October 2005, over 700 sub-Saharan migrants tried to enter Spanish territory from the Moroccan border.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

Melilla is connected to the Spanish cities of Málaga, Madrid, Granada and Almería by air as well as to Málaga and Almería by ferry. Air Nostrum flies from Melilla Airport to Madrid, Almeria, Granada, Valencia and Madrid. Ándalus Líneas Aéreas will fly from Melilla to Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Málaga and Girona. It is possible to travel from Melilla to Morocco on foot, however an ONCF train from nearby Beni Ansar is probably the most convenient method of travel.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Melilla is twinned with:

• Almería, Spain
• Ceuta, Spain
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Motril, Spain

See also

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Málaga
• Melilla (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
• Ceuta
• UD Melilla
• List of Spanish Colonial Wars in Morocco
• Spanish Morocco

References

1. ^ http://www.lukor.com/not-esp/locales/0412/03150841.htm
2. ^ http://www.ayuntamiento.es/comunidades_melilla.php
3. ^ Rezette, p. 41
4. ^ Mohamed VI "condena" y "denuncia" la visita "lamentable" de los Reyes de España a Ceuta y Melilla · ELPAÍS.com
5. ^ http://www.melilla.es/mandar.php/15108/4268_383.pdf
6. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Melilla". http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=83306&refer=&units=metric.
7. ^ http://www.ac6v.com/prefixes.htm#E

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• (Spanish) Official pages
• Official Tourism
• (Spanish) Melilla en Internet Journal
• (Spanish) Monuments of Melilla Official
• Spain's North African enclaves
• A Childhood Lost in the Cracks of Europe's Border
• Melilla in Google Maps
• Map of Melilla
• Melilla photo gallery
• (Spanish) Easter of Melilla

Categories: Melilla | Autonomous communities of Spain | Municipalities of Spain | Exclaves | Port cities in Africa | Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain | NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union | Special territories of the European Union | Morocco–Spain border crossings | States and territories established in 1995 |

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