1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chaffarinas

CHAFFARINAS, or Zaffarines, a group of islands belonging to Spain off the north coast of Morocco, near the Algerian frontier, 21/2 m. to the north of Cape del Agna. The largest of these isles, Del Congreso, is rocky and hilly. It has a watch-house on the coast nearest to Morocco. Isabella II., the central island, contains several batteries, barracks and a penal convict settlement. The Spanish government has undertaken the construction of breakwaters to unite this island with the neighbouring islet of El Rey, with a view to enclose a deep and already sheltered anchorage. This roadstead affords a safe refuge for many large vessels. The Chaffarinas, which are the Tres Insulae of the Romans and the Zafrān of the Arabs, were occupied by Spain in 1848. The Spanish occupation anticipated by a few days a French expedition sent from Oran to annex the islands to Algeria. The population of the islands is under 1000.