Plazas de soberanía

The plazas de soberanía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθas ðe soβeɾaˈni.a]), meaning "strongholds of sovereignty", are a series of Spanish overseas territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco, or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa.

Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called "major places of sovereignty", comprising the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the "minor places of sovereignty", referring to a number of uninhabited islands and a small peninsula along the coast. Now the term refers mainly to the latter. Ceuta in particular was also historically part of the so-called "African Algarve" (Spanish: Algarbe Africano, Portuguese: Algarve Africano) within the Kingdom of the Algarves, a title which the Spanish monarchs still hold in pretense.

Morocco has claimed those territories (except the island of Alborán, further away from Africa) since its independence in 1956. A rise in nationalist sentiment in Morocco can be attributed to this ongoing tension, as well as an appeal to the decolonial objective in the Charter of the United Nations.