Popular opinion widely placed the blame for the disaster upon King Alfonso XIII, who according to several sources had encouraged Silvestre's irresponsible penetration to positions far from Melilla without having adequate defenses in his rear.
The role of the enclaves as a generator of conflicts between motherland and surrounding states (e.g., Britain and Spain in the case of Gibraltar, Russia and the European Union in the case of Kaliningrad, Spain and Morocco in the case of Ceuta and Melilla) is of particular interest.
At the same time, the Spanish had been establishing numerous bases in Northern Africa, since 1496: Melilla (1496), Mers-el-Kebir (1505), Oran (1509), Bougie (1510), Tripoli (1510), then Algiers, Shershell, Dellys and Tenes.
Nationalist Party of the Rif of Melilla (in Spanish: Partido Nacionalista del Rif de Melilla) is a political party in Melilla, Spain.
From 1496, the Spanish conquered numerous possessions on the North African coast, which had been captured since 1496: Melilla (1496), Mers-el-Kebir (1505), Oran (1509), Bougie (1510), Tripoli (1510), Algiers, Shershell, Dellys, Tenes.
When the kingdom passed into Catholic control in 1487 the port assumed a strategic importance as an embarkation point for Spanish soldiers in the conquest of the Rif, Melilla, Peñon de Velez and Oran, and was renamed the Port of Málaga.
The Tetouan airport continued to be relevant for the new regime and despite fuel supply restrictions two routes continued to make stopovers at Sania Ramel during the early post-war period: Madrid-Seville-Tetouan-Melilla and Seville-Tetouan-Canary Islands.
Now without support in hostile territory, General José Marina y Vega, military commander of Melilla, asked Madrid for reinforcements to protect the mines, but none were sent.
Ceuta and Melilla are two Spanish cities on the North African coast.