The fortifications of Gibraltar are an incredibly evocative place to visit, having been fought over for many centuries. This remarkable peninsula is visible for miles and provides a tiny British outpost on the European mainland. A throwback to the Treaty Of Utrecht of 1713 the status of the territory has been muddied with Brexit.
Visiting Gibraltar
This visit was a day trip whilst we were staying near Marbella and exploring the area, detailed in my travel blog here. It’s easy to get to Gibraltar, in theory you either fly in, dock from a ferry or, as we did, drive from Spain. At the time of this visit the Spanish were making things difficult and we had to queue for a long time to actually cross the border. Once across everything is familiar and, tourism being a major income source, it is very easy to find tours, attractions and cafes.
My Experience
We spent the first hour sat in a traffic jam (and it was worse coming out of the place) and then drove straight to a car park to dump the car. The roads were, not surprisingly, narrow and windy and I was nervous enough about driving anyway.
We walked back towards the main square and then took a Rock tour from one of the many drivers offering them – which saved walking like some mad fools were doing! We left the driver at the top and ambled down the rest of the way so we could spend more time at the sights. St Micheal’s cave on Gibraltar was impressive and obviously there are plenty of WW2 and Napoleonic era fortifications too. It was also nice to see the Moorish castle and learn a bit about the history of the place without jingoistic flag waving.
Gibraltar is quite an incredible place and I’m so glad we visited. We had lunch on the main square, in one of the many tourist cafes, with the surreal sight of British bobbies, red postboxes and blue sky!
Gibraltar Photo Gallery
History
After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals, who crossed into Africa at the invitation of Boniface, the Count (or commander) of the territory.
The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania for almost 300 years, from 414 until 711 AD.
Following a raid in 710, a predominantly Berber army under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa in April 711 and landed somewhere in the vicinity of Gibraltar (though most likely not in the bay or at the Rock itself). Tariq’s expedition led to the Islamic conquest of most of the Iberian peninsula. Mons Calpe was renamed Jabal Ṭāriq (جبل طارق), “the Mount of Tariq”, subsequently corrupted into Gibraltar.
In 1160 the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mu’min ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath (City of the Victory). The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today.
From 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada (in 1237 and 1374), the Marinids of Morocco (in 1274 and 1333) and the kings of Castile (in 1309). In 1462 Gibraltar was captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, from the Emirate of Granada.
After the conquest, Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. Six years later, Gibraltar was restored to the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who sold it in 1474 to a group of 4350 conversos (Christian converts from Judaism) from Cordova and Seville and in exchange for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years, after which time they were expelled, returning to their home towns or moving on to other parts of Spain. In 1501 Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, and Isabella I of Castile issued a Royal Warrant granting Gibraltar the coat of arms that it still uses.
In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet, representing the Grand Alliance, captured the town of Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Austria in his campaign to become King of Spain. Subsequently, most of the population left the town with many settling nearby. As the Alliance’s campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated, which ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britain’s withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779 to 1783), during the American War of Independence.
After the destructive Great Siege, the town was almost entirely rebuilt. Giovanni Maria Boschetti, who arrived in Gibraltar in 1784 as a 25-year-old from Milan, where he is thought to have been a stonemason or engineer, built the Victualling Yard (completed in 1812) and many other buildings. Boschetti is regarded as having been responsible for setting the old town’s style, described by Claire Montado, chief executive of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust, as “military-ordnance-style arched doorways, Italianate stucco relief, Genoese shutters, English Regency ironwork balconies, Spanish stained glass and Georgian sash and casement windows.”
During the Napoleonic Wars, Gibraltar became a key base for the Royal Navy and played an important role leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805). Its strategic location made it a key base during the Crimean War of 1854–1856. In the 18th century, the peacetime military garrison fluctuated in numbers from a minimum of 1,100 to a maximum of 5,000. The first half of the 19th century saw a significant increase of population to more than 17,000 in 1860, as people from Britain and all around the Mediterranean – Italian, Portuguese, Maltese, Jewish and French – took up residence in the town.
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, major investments were made to improve the fortifications and the port.
During the Second World War, most of Gibraltar’s civilian population was evacuated, mainly to London, but also to parts of Morocco and Madeira and to Gibraltar Camp in Jamaica. The Rock was strengthened as a fortress. On 18 July 1940, the Vichy French air force attacked Gibraltar in retaliation for the British bombing of the Vichy navy. The naval base and the ships based there played a key role in the provisioning and supply of the island of Malta during its long siege. As well as frequent short runs, known as “Club Runs”, towards Malta to fly off aircraft reinforcements (initially Hurricanes, but later, notably from the USN aircraft carrier Wasp, Spitfires), the critical Operation Pedestal convoy was run from Gibraltar in August 1942. This resupplied the island at a critical time in the face of concentrated air attacks from German and Italian forces. 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 the 1967 Gibraltar sovereignty 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 before Spain’s accession to the European Community.
In the early 2000s, Britain and Spain were in negotiations over a potential agreement that would see them sharing sovereignty over Gibraltar. The government of Gibraltar organized a referendum on the plan, and 99% of the population voted to reject it. The British government committed 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.
In the British referendum on membership of the European Union 96% of Gibraltarians voted to remain on an 84% turnout. Spain renewed calls for joint Spanish–British control of the peninsula; these were strongly rebuffed by Gibraltar’s Chief Minister. On 18 October 2018, however, Spain seemed to have reached an agreement with the United Kingdom in relation to its objections to Gibraltar leaving the EU with the UK, with Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez stating, “Gibraltar will no longer be a problem in arriving at a Brexit deal.”
On 31 January 2020, the UK left the European Union and consequently so did Gibraltar. Under the terms of the transition phase in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Gibraltar’s relationship with the EU continued unchanged until the end of 2020 when it was replaced by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. On 31 December 2020, the UK and Spain agreed in principle on a basis for the EU and the UK to negotiate an agreement through which Gibraltar would participate in the Schengen Area, to avoid a hard border with Spain. The arrangements have not entered into force, but both sides aim to keep delays at the border at a minimum in the meantime.
References
The history above is copied from the Wiki site here.
There’s a good write up of the fortifications of Gibraltar here.
The Gibraltar museum has excellent information on the fortifications here.
Abandoned Spaces has some great photos of the Gibraltar fortifications here.