Olivenza - Claims of Sovereignty

Claims of Sovereignty

Olivenza was under Portuguese sovereignty since 1297 until it was occupied by the Spanish in 1801, and formally ceded by Portugal, after being invaded and defeated by Spain at the War of the Oranges, later that year by the Treaty of Badajoz.

Spain claims the de jure sovereignty over Olivenza on the grounds that the Treaty of Badajoz still stands and has never been revoked. Thus, the border between the two countries in the region of Olivenza should be as demarcated by that treaty. Though, the terms of the very Treaty of Badajoz undoubtedly state that if war was ever to again occur between the two countries, then the Treaty would be void. And that happened when Spain itself later invaded Portugal.

Portugal claims the de jure sovereignty over Olivenza exactly evoking the same Treaty of Badajoz, since it was revoked by its own terms (the breach of any of its articles would lead to its cancellation) when Spain invaded Portugal in the Peninsular War of 1807. Portugal further bases its case on Article 105 of the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, which Spain signed in 1817, that states that the winning countries are to "endeavour with the mightiest conciliatory effort to return Olivenza to Portuguese authority". Thus, the border between the two countries in the region of Olivenza should be as demarcated by the Treaty of Alcanizes of 1297.

Spain interprets Article 105 as not being mandatory on demanding Spain to return Olivenza to Portugal, thus not revoking the Treaty of Badajoz.

Portugal has never made a formal claim to the territory after the Treaty of Vienna, but has equally never directly acknowledged the Spanish sovereignty over Olivenza.

There is no research on the opinion of the inhabitants of Olivenza about their status. Spanish public opinion is not generally aware of the Portuguese claim on Olivenza (in contrast to the Spanish claim on Gibraltar or the Moroccan claims on Ceuta, Melilla and the Plazas de soberanía). On the other hand, awareness in Portugal has been increasing under the efforts of pressure groups to have the question raised and debated in public.