Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is one of the Spanish territories on North Africa off the Moroccan coast (Plazas de soberanía), along with the coastal cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the island of Peñón de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas. Vélez de la Gomera is administered from Melilla. Its tiny population is made of military personnel only. Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is located 119 km (72.7 mi) southeast of Ceuta, the largest Spanish territory in Africa. It was a natural island, but is now an artificial peninsula, permanently connected to the Moroccan coast by an 85 m (279 feet) long sand strip (the world's shortest land border). It covers about 19,000 m². In 1508 Spain launched an expedition under the command of Pedro Navarro to fight against the pirates who populated it, and who were constantly attacking and looting the coast of Southern Spain. Spain captured the Peñón, but they lost it again in 1522 after a successful berberisque attack, in which the whole Spanish garrison were slaughtered. In 1564, after some failed attempts, the Spaniards conquered it back and they have retained control of it ever since, despite having been besieged in several occasions, in 1680, 1701, 1755, 1781 and 1790. In 1871 the Spanish Congress debated abandoning the Peñón, since by that time it had lost its military interest, but in the end the proposal was dropped.
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