Portugal conquered Ceuta in 1415, and the city remained under the Portuguese Crown until 1580. Its later transfer to the Hispanic Monarchy was a separate milestone: Portugal came under Felipe II in the dynastic union, while retaining its own laws and institutions.
Castilian troops invaded and conquered most of Navarra in 1512, and it was incorporated into the Crown of Castile in 1515. Ceuta passed under the Hispanic Monarchy in 1580, after the Portuguese Crown came under Felipe II. Portugal and Spain separated politically in 1640, while Ceuta remained under Spanish control; the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668 confirmed its continued Spanish domain. These dates distinguish Portugal’s conquest of Ceuta from the city’s later association with the Hispanic Monarchy.
At a pre-campaign event organised by La Razón on 4 November 2026, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo defended Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta against Morocco. He said the city had never been Moroccan and had been Spanish for five centuries. Feijóo stated in Spanish: «Ceuta era española antes de que fuese Navarra española», meaning Ceuta was Spanish before Navarra was Spanish.
Feijóo had also linked his Ceuta remarks to migration and border management. In a Telecinco interview reported by Europa Press on 2 November 2026, he claimed that 15,000 people who had entered illegally during the summer remained in the city and criticised the government over its engagement with Moroccan authorities.
Melilla may account for some confusion: Castile conquered it in 1497, before the invasion of Navarra. It was the North African city under Castilian control before Navarra, not Ceuta. The historical comparison has also appeared in earlier coverage of Feijóo’s position on Ceuta.
