| Gibraltar |
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq miles), it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain by Spain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the British Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians resoundingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government. |
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| Capture of Gibraltar |
The Capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1–3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Allies had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate naval operations against the French fleet in the western Mediterranean Sea. An attempt to seize Cádiz had ended in failure in September 1702, but following the Allied fleet success at Vigo Bay in October that year the 'Maritime Powers' had emerged as the dominant naval force in the region. This strength helped persuade the Portuguese King, Peter II, to sever his alliance with France and Spain, and ally himself with the Grand Alliance in 1703. Now with access to the Portuguese port of Lisbon the Allied fleets could campaign in the Mediterranean, and conduct operations in support of the Austrian Habsburg candidate to the Spanish throne, the Archduke Charles, known to his supporters as Charles III of Spain.
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt represented the Habsburg cause in the region. In June 1704 the Prince and Admiral George Rooke, commander of the main Allied fleet, failed to take Barcelona in the name of 'Charles III'; Rooke subsequently evaded pressure from his allies to make another attempt on Cádiz.
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Capture of Gibraltar August 1–3, 1704
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| However, in order to compensate for their lack of success the Allied commanders resolved to capture Gibraltar, the small town on the southern Spanish coast. Following a heavy bombardment and the landing of British and Dutch marines and sailors, the governor, Diego de Salinas, agreed to surrender Gibraltar and its small garrison on 3 August. Three days later Prince George entered the town in the name of 'Charles III'. In the event 'Charles III' failed to depose Philip V as King of Spain, and Gibraltar was formally ceded to Britain by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. To this day 'The Rock' remains in British hands. |
| Background to the conflict |
| At the start of the War of the Spanish Succession Portugal was nominally an ally of the Bourbons: France under Louis XIV, and Spain under his grandson, Philip V. Although she was not a belligerent Portugal's harbours were closed to the enemies of the Bourbon powers – principally the vessels of England and the Dutch Republic. However, following the Anglo-Dutch naval victory at Vigo Bay in 1702 the balance of naval forces had swung in favour of the Grand Alliance. Having now the ability to cut off Portugal's food supplies and trade (particularly gold from Brazil) it was not hard for the Allied diplomats to induce King Peter II to sign the Methuan Treaties of May 1703 and join the Alliance. Once Peter II had committed himself to war the Allied fleets gained access to Portugal's harbours, in particular the port of Lisbon. In return for his allegiance Peter II had demanded military and financial aid and territorial concessions in Spain; he had also asked that the Allies send to Lisbon Emperor Leopold I's younger son, Charles – the Allies' Habsburg candidate to the Spanish throne – to demonstrate the earnestness of their support. Known to his supporters as Charles III of Spain, the young pretender arrived in Lisbon – via London – with George Rooke's fleet on 7 March 1704, amid great celebrations.
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| Apart from the failed Allied attempt on Cádiz in 1702, and the subsequent attack on the Spanish treasure fleet in Vigo Bay, the war had thus far been limited to the Low Countries and Italy. With Portugal's change of allegiance, however, the war moved towards Spain. In May 1704 the court at Lisbon received news that French and Spanish troops had crossed the frontier into Portugal. This army of approximately 26,000 men under Philip V and the Duke of Berwick scored several victories on the border: Salvaterra fell on 8 May, Penha Garcia on 11 May, Philip V personally oversaw the fall of Castelo Branco on 23 May, and T'Serclaes captured Portalegre on 8 June. But lacking supply the coming summer heat made it impossible to continue with the campaign, and Philip V returned to Madrid on 16 July to a heroes welcome. However, the heat did not effect the war at sea where the Allies were in a position of strength. |
| Prelude |
| Using Lisbon as an improvised forward base Admiral Rooke’s Anglo-Dutch fleet ventured into the Mediterranean Sea in May 1704. After seeing the Levant trading fleet safely through the Strait of Gibraltar Rooke headed towards Nice to put himself in touch with Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. The Allies had planned for a naval attack upon the French base at Toulon in conjunction with the Savoyard army and the rebels of the Cévennes; but with Amadeus busy defending his capital Turin from French forces, the Toulon expedition was abandoned and Rooke sailed for the Catalonian capital, Barcelona. |
Accompanying Rooke was Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt who had enjoyed popularity amongst the Catalans as their governor at the end of the Nine Years' War. The Prince was the great exponent of the Barcelona plan; he had been in touch with the dissidents within Catalonia and counted on the appearance of the fleet to encourage a rising in favour of 'Charles III'. On 30 May, under cover of the ships’ guns, Prince George landed with 1,200 English and 400 Dutch marines; but the governor of Barcelona, Don Francisco de Velasco, had managed to keep the city's disaffected elements quiet and Philip V's partisans on the alert. Moreover, the dissidents were incensed by the size of the Allied force and had expected the personal appearance of 'Charles III'. Ultimatums for Velesco to surrender on pain of bombardment were ignored, and the plans for a insurrection from within the city’s walls failed to materialize. Rooke, fearing an attack from a French squadron, was impatient for departure. Prince George could do little more than order his local followers – a thousand in all – to disperse to their homes. The marines embarked on 1 June without loss.
Meanwhile, the comte de Toulouse, one of Louis XIV’s illegitimate sons, was sailing towards the Straits with the fleet from Brest. News from Lisbon of the French manoeuvres reached Rooke on 5 June. Determined to prevent the junction of the Toulon and Brest fleets Rooke decided to risk a battle. However, owing to the foul bottoms of the Anglo-Dutch ships the swifter French fleet escaped Rooke’s pursuit and arrived safely in Toulon; thenceforth, Toulouse became the commander of the enlarged French fleet, now known as the Grand Fleet of France. Rooke could not venture within range of the Toulon forts nor risk attack from a superior force so far away from any port of refuge, he therefore turned back towards the Straits where the arrival of an English squadron under Cloudesley Shovell had put the Allies on a numerical equality with the French.
Rooke met Shovell on 27 June off Lagos. Peter II and ‘Charles III’ sent word from Lisbon that they now wished another attempt to be made on Cádiz. Methuen believed the place to be ungarrisoned and easy to take, but the admirals in the fleet remained sceptical, especially when considering that they were not on this occasion carrying a force comparable to the failed attempt there two years earlier. Cádiz, however, was not the only potential target. As the Allied fleet lay off Tetuan on the Barbary Coast, a council of war aboard Rooke’s flagship discussed the need to please the two kings and save their own reputations. On 28 July the Allied commanders considered the proposal of Prince George, now commander-in-chief of Allied forces in the peninsula, for an attack on Gibraltar. |
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| The idea of attacking Gibraltar was old and widely spread. The ‘Rock’ had caught the attention of Oliver Cromwell, and later William III's and Queen Anne’s ministers had marked it for England. The Moors had previously shown interest in the Rock and fortified it with a castle whose ruins still remained. Emperor Charles V had added many other works; but its immediate operational benefit was negligible. Gibraltar had little trade and its anchorage was unprotected – there was no question, at this time, of basing a fleet there. |
| Battle for Gibraltar |
The fleet crossed from Tetuan on 30 July; by 1 August Rooke, flying his flag in the Second Rate Royal Katherine, stood at the entrance to the bay while Admiral George Byng’s squadron (English under Byng and six Dutch ships under Rear Admiral Paulus van der Dussen) anchored inside, ranging themselves within the line of defences from the Old to the New Mole.
The council of war had decided that Prince George would land with 1,800 English and Dutch marines on the isthmus under cover of a naval bombardment. The marines landed at the head of the bay, and met with no resistance except for a small body of cavalry. They cut off Gibraltar from the mainland while the enemy on the nearby hills were dispersed by fire from two ships sent to the east of the rock. |
| Prince George summoned the governor, Don Diego de Salinas, to surrender in the name of Charles III. He refused, and the garrison pledged its allegiance to Philip V. Although the governor was determined to resist he knew he did not have the means to do so: his earlier requests for a reinforcements and military stores had always been in vain.[6] By his own account, Don Diego had ‘no more than fifty-six men of whom there were not thirty in service’ and could count on a few hundred civilian militia ‘of such bad quality that before they [the Allied fleet] arrived they began to run away.’ In addition, he had 100 cannon of various kinds but few were in a state to be fired, and fewer still had gunners to fire them. |
| The 2 August passed in preliminaries. Don Diego, who in Trevelyan’s words was prepared to ‘die like a gentleman’, sent back his defiant reply to the summons to surrender. Byng’s squadron warped themselves in along the sea front as close as the depth permitted and Captain Jumper brought the Lenox within actual musket range of the New Mole. These operations were carried out in a dead calm, and were not impeded by a few shots from the Spanish batteries. At midnight Captain Edward Whitaker of the Dorsetshire led a party against a French privateer anchored at the Old Mole which had been firing at the marines on the isthmus. |
| About 05:00 the following day, 3 August, Byng’s squadron of 22 ships fired in earnest on the crumbling walls and forts. Tens of thousands of shells were fired in the attack. The actual damage done was small in proportion to the expenditure of the shot, but in view of the possible approach of the French fleet the job had to be done quickly or not at all. Captain Whitaker acted as Byng’s aide-de-camp, carrying his instructions from ship to ship, including the final order to cease firing six hours after they had begun. As the smoke lifted Captain Jumper at the southern end of the line could discern the New Mole and the fort that commanded its abutment on the land. The defenders of the fort appeared to have fled, and Whitaker and Jumper agreed that a landing could be effected there unopposed. Rooke granted the request to attack, and a flotilla of row-boats raced for the New Mole. |
| The Landing |
| As the Allies prepared for their assault the priests, women, and children who had taken refuge at the chapel of Europa Point at southern end of the peninsula, began to return to their homes in the town. An English ship fired a warning shot in front of the civilian column forcing them back out of harms way, but the shot was mistaken by the rest of the fleet as a signal to resume fire, and the bombardment began again. Under cover of the guns the landing party did its work. |
The foremost sailors clambered into the breached and undefended fort at the New Mole; however, by accident or design the magazine at the fort blew up. Some of the landing party carried lighted gun-matches and, according to Trevelyan, had forgotten the possibility of a powder-magazine. Whatever the cause of the explosion the Allies suffered between 100–200 casualties.
A momentary panic ensued, for the survivors suspected an enemy-laid trap had caused the disaster. There was a rush for the boats, but at this critical moment Captain Whitaker arrived with reinforcements. The landing was supported by a number of Catalan volunteers, from who one of Gibraltar's main spots, Catalan Bay, bears its name. Within a few minutes the attackers had rallied and were proceeding north along the deserted ramparts of the seafront towards Gibraltar. On arriving near Charles V's southern wall of the town, Whitaker halted the sailors and hoisted the Union Flag in a bastion on the shore. |
| Byng now came ashore with several hundred more seamen. Thus was the town invested by Byng in the south, as well as on its stronger northern side where the marines had landed with Prince George. Meanwhile, the party of the women and children stranded at Europa Point had been captured by English sailors. Rooke had given orders that the prisoners were not to be ill-treated, but the desire to recover these women was a further inducement for the defenders to end their resistance. Seeing all was lost Don Diego agreed to terms that guaranteed the lives and property of those committed to his care. Under the capitulation French subjects were taken prisoner, while any Spaniard who would take an oath of allegiance to 'Charles III' as King of Spain could remain in the town with religion and property guaranteed. However, with the exception of a few families the Spanish elected to depart to the mainland, where shortly afterwards they founded the town of San Roque in sight of their ancient home. |
| Aftermath |
Most of the inhabitants chose to leave Gibraltar because their priests promised them that it would soon be retaken. They were also persuaded by Allied looting parties. Rooke remembered the looting at Cádiz but could not prevent a repetition at Gibraltar: the treasures at the Europa shrine were seized and all the churches save one were sacked, besides private houses.
The Allied conduct aroused anger in Spain against the 'heretics', and once again the chance of winning over Andalusians to the Imperial cause was lost. Prince George was the first to complain, which was resented by Byng who had led the fighting and who in turn blamed the Prince and his few Spanish or Catalan supporters. Rooke complained in a letter home that the Spaniards were so exasperated against the Allies that ‘they use the prisoners they take as barbarously as the Moors’. |
| The capture of Gibraltar, however, was recognized as a great achievement in Lisbon and by all the trading interests in the Mediterranean. A month after its capture Secretary of State Sir Charles Hedges described it as 'of great use to us for securing our trade and interrupting the enemy’s'. With the English navy established on the Straits the piratical Moors of the Barbary Coast became reluctant to attack English merchant shipping, and allied themselves with Queen Anne. However, Gibraltar's immediate use as a port was limited for it could only take a few ships at a time, and ministers did not think they could keep it unless a garrison could be found for its security. John Methuen recommended an English garrison. This was supplied by the marines that had helped take the place, and by several companies of regular troops. Gibraltar was, therefore, held by English troops and at English cost – but it was in 'Charles III's' name. A year later the Austrian candidate wrote to Queen Anne about “Ma ville de Gibraltar”. If he had succeeded in his attempt to ascend the throne in Madrid the difficulty of keeping the Rock for England would have been politically very great. |
| The Allied fleet returned to Tetuan to water. Before fresh orders came from Lisbon there was news of the approach of the French Grand Fleet under Toulouse. In an attempt by the French to retake Gibraltar the one full-dress naval engagement of the war was fought off Malaga on 24 August; afterwards, French and Spanish troops battered at the land approaches, defended by a small garrison of sailors, soldiers, and marines. These attempts failed, and with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 Britain formally gained control of Gibraltar which remains a British overseas territory. |
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| Siege of Gibraltar (1727) |
| The Siege of Gibraltar of 1727 saw Spanish forces besiege the British garrison of Gibraltar as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Depending on the sources, Spanish troops were between 12,000 and 25,000. British defenders were 1,500 at the beginning of the siege, increasing up to about 5,000. After a five-month siege with several unsuccessful and costly attempts, Spanish troops gave up and retired. Following the failure the war drew to a close, opening the way for the 1728 Treaty of El Pardo and the Treaty of Seville signed in 1729. |
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| Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779 - 1783 |
| The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782. It was the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces, as well as being one of the longest continuous sieges in history. |
| In 1738 a dispute between Spain and Great Britain arose over commerce between Europe and The Americas. Initially, both sides intended to sign an agreement at the Spanish Royal Palace of El Pardo, but in January of the following year, the British Parliament rejected the advice of Foreign Minister Robert Walpole, a supporter of the agreement with Spain. A short time later, the War of Jenkins' Ear began, and both countries declared war on 23 October 1739, each side drawing up plans to establish trenches near Gibraltar. Seeing these first movements, Britain ordered Admiral Vernon to sail from Portobello and strengthen the squadron of Admiral Haddock who was already stationed in the Bay of Gibraltar. |
The passage of years failed to break the hostilities in the region. Then on 9 July 1746, King Philip V of Spain died in Madrid. His successor, Ferdinand VI, soon began negotiations with Britain on trade. The British Parliament was amenable to such negotiations, and even looked favourably upon lifting the British embargo on Spain and possibly ceding Gibraltar. The neutrality adopted by Ferdinand VI quickly ended with his death in 1759. The new king, Charles III, was less willing to negotiate with Great Britain. Instead, he signed a Family Compact with the Louis XV of France on 15 August 1761. At that time France was at war with Britain, so Britain responded by declaring war on Spain and capturing the Spanish colonial capitals of Manila and Havana. Two years later, after cessation of hostilities, Spain recovered Manila and Havana in exchange for Spanish holdings in Florida as part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris.
In the years of peace that followed both France and Spain hoped for an opportunity to launch a war against Britain on more favourable terms and recover their lost colonial possessions. Following the outbreak of the American War of Independence, both states supplied funding and arms to the American rebels, and drew up a strategy to intervene on the American side and defeat Britain.
On 12 April 1779, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez wherein they agreed to aid one another in recovering lost territory from Britain. Then in June of 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain, France having done so the year before. |
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| France and Spain sought to secure Gibraltar, which was a key link in Britain's control of the Mediterranean sea, and expected its capture to be relatively quick, a precursor to a Franco-Spanish invasion of Great Britain. |
The Spanish blockade was directed by Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor. Spanish ground forces were composed of two battalions of Royal Guards, another two of Walloon Guards, with artillery and cavalry, about 13,000 in all. The artillery was commanded by Rudesindo Tilly, while the cavalry and the French dragoons were headed by the Marquis of Arellano. Antonio Barceló commanded the maritime forces responsible for blockading the bay, and established his base in Algeciras, commanding a fleet of several xebecs and gunboats. A fleet of eleven ships and two frigates were placed in the Gulf of Cadiz under the command of Luis de Córdova y Córdova to block the passage of British reinforcements.
When the Rock was first besieged, the British garrison consisted of 5,382 troops; General Eliott was the Governor-General, and his determined handling of the defence inspired all the troops under him with the greatest confidence. All the defences were strengthened, and many of the infantry, including picked men assisted the artillery in serving the guns. The garrison included contingents of Hanoverian and Corsican troops.
The British had anticipated an attack for some time, and a number of ships had sailed to reinforce and supply The Rock. They stepped up their preparations after France entered the conflict in 1778, although the French were initially more concerned with sending forces to America, and it was not until Spain joined the war that the long-expected siege commenced. |
| The blokade begins |
The combined Spanish and French fleets blockaded Gibraltar from the sea, while on the land side an enormous army was engaged in constructing forts, redoubts, entrenchments, and batteries from which to attack. General Eliott formed a corps of sharpshooters.
As the winter of 1779 came down the garrison began to suffer from want of fresh provisions, which became very scarce and dear. Bread was almost impossible to get, and was not permitted to be issued except to the sick and children. Salt meat and biscuits, and not much of that, soon became the food of the troops, with an occasional issue of four ounces of rice as a full day's ration. Fuel was exhausted, and fires were only made with difficulty, the salt-encrusted timbers of old ships broken up in the harbour for the purpose. To the rigours of the siege was added a violent outbreak of scurvy among the troops, due to the want of fresh vegetables and medicines. As the winter wore on, the scanty store of food grew so alarmingly low that the already meagre ration was reduced to just enough to keep life in the bodies of the men. But their morale remained high and the troops continued to take their turns at trench or battery, and endured the inclement weather and the shortage of food with fortitude.
The Spanish were forced to commit increasing number of troops and ships to the siege, postponing the planned Invasion of England, due to this and the cancellation of the Armada of 1779. |
| First naval relief |
Admiral George Rodney, after capturing a Spanish convoy off Cape Finesterre on 8 January 1780, and eight days later defeating a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, reached Gibraltar in the spring of 1780, bringing reinforcements of 1,052 men and an abundance of supplies. This greatly heartened the garrison, who, as soon as Rodney's fleet left, found the fortress as closely besieged as ever.
The British defenders resisted every attempt to capture Gibraltar by assault. While the two sides unceasingly exchanged shot and shell, by the end of the summer provisions again began to be meagre and scurvy began to reappear, reducing the effective strength of the garrison. Still, the British had no thought of surrender. Through the use of small, fast-sailing ships that ran the blockade they were able to keep in touch with the British forces on Minorca, until 1782 when that island fell.
Throughout the second winter the garrison faced foes, elements, disease, and starvation, until in the April of 1781 another British fleet succeeded in reaching the harbour with stores and food. |
| Second naval relief |
| On 12 April 1781 Vice Admiral George Darby's squadron of 29 ships of the line escorting 100 store ships from England laden for Gibraltar entered the bay. The Spanish fleet was totally unable to intercept Darby's relief. The Spanish frustrated by this failure opened up a terrific barrage while the stores were unloaded but only did great damage to the town. The civilians of 'The Rock' sailed with Darby who set sail for England on 21 April, again without hindrance from the blockading Spanish & French fleet. |
| Sortie |
The French and Spanish found it was impossible to starve the garrison out. They therefore resolved to make further attacks by land and sea and assembled a large army and fleet to carry this out. But the night before on 27 November 1781 they were to launch the grand attack, half the British garrison filed silently out of their defence works and made a surprise sortie.
The sortie routed the whole body of the besieging infantry in the trenches, set their batteries on fire, blew up and spiked their cannon, destroyed their entrenchments, and killed or took prisoner a large number of the Spaniards. The British did damage to the extent of two million pounds to the besiegers' stores and equipment that night. Spanish losses were over 200 and Governor Eliott claimed many were 'killed on the spot' because of the surprise. As the Spanish recovered and prepared to launch a counter-attack, the British withdrew back inside their fortifications.
This reverse postponed the grand assault on The Rock for some time. Still, the Spaniards closely maintained the siege. |
| The Grand Assault |
| Eventually on 13 September 1782 the Bourbon allies launched their great attack; 5190 fighting men both French and Spanish aboard ten of the newly engineered 'floating batteries' with heavy guns, as well as 18 ships of the line, 40 Spanish gunboats and 20 bomb-vessels with a total of 30,000 sailors and marines. They were supported by 86 land guns and 35,000 Spanish and French troops (7,000–8,000 French) on land intending to assault the fortifications once they had been demolished. An 'army' of over 80,000 spectators thronged the adjacent hills over the Spanish border, among them the highest families in the land, assembled to see the fortress beaten to powder and 'the British flag trailed in the dust'. The 138 guns opened fire from floating batteries in the Bay and the 86 guns on the land side, directed on the fortifications after weeks of preparatory artillery fire. But the garrison replied with red-hot shot to set fire to and sink the attacker's floating batteries and warships in the Bay. In that great conflict, the British destroyed three of the floating batteries, which blew up as the 'red-hot shot' did its job. The other seven batteries were scuttled by the Spanish because they were too heavily damaged to continue the fight. In addition 719 men on board the ships (many of whom drowned) were casualties. |
| Capture of the San Miguel |
| On 10 October a Spanish ship of the line San Miguel of seventy two guns under the command of Don Juan Moreno was captured by the garrison after it had lost its mizzen mast in a storm. Cannon fire from the Kings Bastion were fired at the vessel some of which penetrated causing damage and casualties. The San Miguel then trying with great difficulty to get out of danger was then grounded. Gunboats from the garrison quickly captured her being too close to the guns of Gibraltar. Moreno agreed to surrender to avoid any further bloodshed, and a total of 634 Spanish sailors, marines and dismounted dragoons were captured. An attempt on 17 December to bombard the San Miguel by the Spanish and French with mortars failed causing only minimal damage. By this time the powder magazine had been removed or thrown overboard. |
| Final relief |
In Britain the Admiralty considered plans for a major relief of Gibraltar, opting to send a larger, but slower fleet, rather than a smaller faster one. In September 1782 a large fleet left Spithead under Richard Howe, arriving off Cape St Vincent on 9 October. The following evening a gale blew up, scattering the Spanish and French fleet. This allowed Howe to sail unopposed into Gibraltar.
A total of 34 ships of the line escorted 31 transport ships which delivered supplies, food, and ammunition. The fleet also brought the 25th, 59th, and 97th regiments of foot bringing the total number of the garrison to over 7,000 Howe then sailed out and fought an indecisive battle with the combined allied fleet before withdrawing to Britain in line with his orders.
The siege was continued for some months longer, but in the spring of 1783 a preliminary peace agreement brought the cessation of hostilities. Finally, in February of 1783 the siege was lifted. The French and Spanish troops retired disheartened and defeated, after three years and seven months' conflict. |
| Aftermath |
Although the Spanish attempted to regain Gibraltar at the negotiating table, they preferred to retain Minorca and territories in the West Indies, and the final peace treaty left Gibraltar with the British. The victorious British garrison sustained a loss of 1,231 men, and expended 8,000 barrels of gunpowder.
George Augustus Eliott was awarded the Knight of the Bath and was created 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar. The Treaties of Versailles reaffirmed previous treaties. Many British regiments engaged in the defence, were given the badge of the Castle of Gibraltar with the motto 'Montis Insignia Calpe', in commemoration of the gallant part it took in the 'Great Siege'. |
| Gibraltar Naval Base |
| Gibraltar became a key base for the British Royal Navy and played an important role prior to the Battle of Trafalgar and during the Crimean War of 1854–56, due to its strategic location. Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal as it lay on the sea route between the UK and the British Empire east of Suez. In the later 19th century there were major investments in improving the fortifications and the port. |
| World War II |
During World War II, Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated (mainly to London, England, but also to parts of Morocco, Madeira and Jamaica) and the Rock was strengthened as a fortress. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's reluctance to allow the German Army onto Spanish soil frustrated a German plan to capture the Rock, codenamed Operation Felix. In the 1950s, Franco renewed Spain's claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar and restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain under British sovereignty in a 1967 referendum which led to the passing of the Gibraltar Constitution Order in 1969. In response, Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links.
The border with Spain was partially reopened in 1982, and fully reopened in 1985 prior to Spain's accession to the European Community. |
| Present day |
| In a referendum held in 2002, Gibraltarians rejected by an overwhelming majority (99%) a proposal of shared sovereignty on which Spain and Britain were said to have reached "broad agreement". The British government has committed itself to respecting the Gibraltarians' wishes. A new Constitution Order was approved in referendum in 2006. A process of tripartite negotiations started in 2006 between Spain, Gibraltar and the UK, ending some restrictions and dealing with disputes in some specific areas such as air movements, customs procedures, telecommunications, pensions and cultural exchange. |
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| Disputed status of Gibraltar |
| The Gibraltarians themselves reject any such claim and no political party or pressure group in Gibraltar supports union with Spain. In a referendum in 2002 the people of Gibraltar soundly rejected a joint sovereignty proposal on which Spain and Britain were said to have reached "broad agreement". The British government has committed itself to respecting the Gibraltarians' wishes. |
Despite this, an overwhelming majority of the population holds the view that better relations with Spain are desirable. A mass demonstration held in March 2002, whilst condemning the idea of joint sovereignty, called for good, neighbourly European relations with Spain, based on reasonable dialogue and mutual respect.
The territorial claim was formally reasserted by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in the 1960s and has been continued by successive Spanish governments.
They have insisted that the Gibraltar dispute is a purely bilateral matter and that the current Gibraltarians are mere settlers whose role and will are irrelevant.
This principle appears to have been reflected in the United Nations resolutions on the decolonisation of Gibraltar in the 1960s, which focused on the "interests" and not the "wishes" of the Gibraltarians. Speaking to the UN C24 in 2006, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, stated: "It is well known and documented and accepted by all that, since 1988, Gibraltar has rejected the Bilateral Brussels Process, and will never be content with it." Gibraltarians argue that one cannot claim to be acting in the "interests" of a population, while at the same time ignoring its wishes and democratic rights. |
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Union Flag flying over the Moorish Castle
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In 2002 an agreement in principle on joint sovereignty over Gibraltar between the governments of United Kingdom and Spain was announced. There was a robust campaign against these proposals by the Gibraltarian government and individuals, culminating in their decisive rejection in a referendum. The British Government now refuses to discuss sovereignty without the consent of the Gibraltarians.
With the election of a moderate left-wing government in Spain (2004), a new Spanish position has been adopted. The result of this new approach was the creation of a Tripartite Forum with equal participation by the Government of Gibraltar. The Spanish government says it is a new way to resolve a 300-year-old problem. On the other hand, such movement was regarded by Spanish right-wing parties as a surrender.
This resulted in a visit by the Spanish foreign minister, in July 2009, Miguel Ángel Moratinos to Gibraltar to discuss a range of mutual issues. This was the first official Spanish visit since Gibraltar was ceded. During the press conference, he said that the claim to sovereignty could not be given up by Spain. |
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| Map of Gibraltar |
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