the
entrance to the Mediterranean. Landward are three lines of defence, the
inner line stretching completely across the isthmus. These
fortifications, which date from the time of the Portuguese occupation,
have been partly modernized. The citadel, El Hacho, built on the neck of
the isthmus, dates from the 15th century. The garrison consists of
between 3000 and 4000 men, inclusive of a disciplinary corps of military
convicts. Of the rest of the population about 2000 are civilian
convicts; and there are colonies of Jews, negroes and Moors, the last
including descendants of Moors transferred to Ceuta from Oran when Spain
abandoned that city in 1796.

Ceuta occupies in part the site of a Carthaginian colony, which was
succeeded by a Roman colony said to have been called _Ad Septem Fratres_
and also _Exilissa_ or _Lissa Civitas_. From the Romans the town passed
to the Vandals and afterwards to Byzantium, the emperor Justinian
restoring its fortifications in 535. In 618 the town, then known as
_Septon_, fell into the hands of the Visigoths. It was the last
stronghold in North Africa which held out against the Arabs. At that
date (A.D. 711) the governor of the town was the Count Julian who, in
revenge for the betrayal of his daughter by King Roderick of Toledo,
invited the Arabs to cross the straits under Tarik and conquer Spain for
Islam. By the Arabs the town was called _Cibta_ or _Sebta_, hence the
Spanish form _Ceuta_. From the date of its occupation by the Arabs the
town had a stormy history, being repeatedly captured by rival Berber and
Spanish-Moorish dynasties. It became nevertheless an important
commercial and industrial city, being noted for its brass ware, its
trade in ivory, gold and slaves. It is said to have been the first place
in the West where a paper manufactory was established. In 1415 the town
was captured by the Portuguese under John I., among those taking part in
the attack being Prince Henry "the Navigator" and two of his brothers,
who were knighted on the day following in the mosque (hastily dedicated
as a Christian church). Ceuta passed to Spain in 1580 on the subjugation
of Portugal by Philip II., and was definitely assigned to the Spanish
crown by the treaty of Lisbon in 1688. The town has been several times
unsuccessfully besieged by the Moors--one siege, under Mulai Ismail,
lasting twenty-six years (1694-1720). In 1810, with the consent of
Spain, it was occupied by British troops under General Sir