Subject: Minor Spanish possessions in Morocco<br/>
Date: Oct 16, 2001 @ 00:25<br/>
Author: Grant Hutchison (&quot;Grant Hutchison&quot; &lt;granthutchison@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-1805008698">I&#39;m trying to find out more about the three Spanish penal colonies in <br/>
Morocco: Velez de la Gomera, Alhucemas and the Chaferinas.<br/>
<br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.warflag.com/shadow/history/spainmorocco.html">http://www.warflag.com/shadow/history/spainmorocco.html</a><br/>
says that they were all still in action in 1911, with hundreds of <br/>
civilians, soldiers and prisoners, but I&#39;m having trouble finding <br/>
their current status. Does anyone at all live there? I guess at least <br/>
Velez de la Gomera isn&#39;t a prison anymore, in view of Mats&#39; story <br/>
about the sand-spit that now connects it to shore, after dumping from <br/>
road-building. Seems like too good an escape route ...<br/>
<br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.425dxn.org/dc3mf/penon.html">http://www.425dxn.org/dc3mf/penon.html</a><br/>
gives a nice map, history and picture of Alhucemas, from which I <br/>
guess that the place is abandoned but for the lighthouse. From the <br/>
dimensions given I find it difficult to believe 500 people once lived <br/>
there.<br/>
<br/>
From somewhere (I think Prescott) I&#39;ve gleaned that the largest of <br/>
the Chaferinas (Isla de Isabella II) used to hold the prison, and now <br/>
has a lighthouse. Spain must be pretty keen on retaining these, since <br/>
they&#39;re offshore from a promontory and create a diverging set of <br/>
equidistance lines that link to the rest of Spanish waters across the <br/>
Med. (Velez de la Gomera, the Alhucemas and Melilla are all in bays, <br/>
and so their maritime claims are quickly pinched off by Moroccan <br/>
waters.) So is there any sort of Spanish presence securing these <br/>
places?<br/>
<br/>
Also I&#39;ve seen mention of the Isla Perejil (Arabic: Leila) in the <br/>
Straits of Gibraltar as both a Spanish and a Moroccan possession. Can <br/>
anyone tell me which?<br/>
<br/>
Grant</div>