History of GibraltarThree hundred years of British history have endowed Gibraltar with a rich British heritageIn this comprehensive history of Gibraltar, we will begin with its creation and geology and cover the various attempts to own Gibraltar, leading up to the British/Dutch invasion and the Great Siege; we also include a brief update through to modern day. Creation The Rock of Gibraltar, located off the south-west tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula is 426 metres high (1,396 feet). The Rock is crown property of the United Kingdom and borders to Spain. The sovereignty of Gibraltar was transferred to the United Kingdom by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. (This was of great significance in the history of Gibraltar). Most of the Rock’s upper area is covered by a nature reserve, home to around 250 Barbary Macaque monkeys (the only wild primates found in Europe).
The Rock of Gibraltar is made of limestone and was created during the Jurassic period of the history of Gibraltar (200 million years ago). The African tectonic plate had collided tightly with the Eurasian plate and the Mediterranean became a lake which dried up over the course of time during the Messinian salinity crisis. The Atlantic Ocean then broke through the Strait of Gibraltar and the resultant flooding created the Mediterranean Sea. The Rock forms part of the Betic Cordillera, a mountain range that dominates south-east Iberia. Today, the Rock of Gibraltar forms a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern coast of Spain. To the north, the Rock rises vertically from sea level up to 411.5 meters. The near-cliffs, along the eastern side of the Rock, drop down to a series of wind-blown sand slopes that date to the Glaciations, when sea levels were lower than they are today.
As the mineral that makes up limestone (calcite) dissolves slowly in rainwater, over time this process can form caves and therefore the Rock contains over one hundred caves, created during the history of Gibraltar. St Michael’s Cave is located halfway up the western slope and is the most prominent and popular cave.
Next, in the history of Gibraltar, the Atlantic Ocean broke through the Strait of Gibraltar and the resultant flooding created the Mediterranean Sea. The Rock forms part of the Betic Cordillera, a mountain range that dominates south-east Iberia. Today, the Rock of Gibraltar forms a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern coast of Spain. To the north, the Rock rises vertically from sea level up to 411.5 meters. The near-cliffs, along the eastern side of the Rock, drop down to a series of wind-blown sand slopes that date to the Glaciations, when sea levels were lower in the history of Gibraltar than they are today.
As the mineral that makes up limestone (calcite) dissolves slowly in rainwater, over time this process can form caves and therefore the Rock contains over one hundred caves, created throughout the history of Gibraltar. St Michael’s Cave is located halfway up the western slope and is the most prominent and popular cave.
Neanderthal Gibraltar An amazing moment in the history of Gibraltar is the evidence that has been found in Gorham’s Cave that Gibraltar was the last known hold-out of human habitation (Neanderthal Man) between 128,000 and 24,000 BCE. While the rest of Europe was cooling down, the area around Gibraltar resembled a European Serengeti with hundreds of wild-life, cattle, birds and sea-life (all in abundance)which probably helped the Neanderthals to keep going. Gorham’s Cave evidence shows that it was used as a shelter for 100,000 years. An amazing discovery during the history of Gibraltar was the skull (Gibraltar woman),discovered approximately 8 years before the Neanderthal skull and was safely stored away in the Garrison Library as its origin and importance was unknown at the time. If the Gibraltar skull had been recorded at discovery, we would today be referring to "Gibraltar Woman" as opposed to Neanderthal Man! Cro-Magnon man took over Gibraltar around 24,000 BCE. Within the recorded history of Gibraltar, the first inhabitants of the Rock were the Phoenicians, around 950BC and the Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements here. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar was briefly controlled by the Vandals and the Rock and surrounding area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania (Spain) until the Muslim conquest in 711 AD.
Pillars of Hercules The history of Gibraltar tells us that the Rock of Gibraltar is one of the Pillars of Hercules and was know to the Greeks as the Mons Calpe. The other pillar is the Mons Abyla or Jebel Musa, on the African side of the strait of Gibraltar and can be seen quite clearly (most of the time) from the top of the Rock or at Europa Point (southern tip of Gibraltar). In ancient times these two points ‘marked’ the limit to the known world that should not be crossed (a myth originally created by the Phoenicians).
The Moors A significant stage in the history of Gibraltar was the Moors invasion. In 711 (April 30th) the Umayyad General Tariq ibn Zeyad lead a Berber-dominated army across the Strait of Gibraltar, from Ceuta. He first attempted to land in Algeciras, but failed and managed to land at the southern point of Gibraltar. Unfortunately the first four centuries of Moorish control brought little development to the Rock, but in the 1150s the Almohad Sultan, Abd al-Mu’min, built the first permanent settlement in the history of Gibraltar and ordered the construction of a fortification on the Rock, Moorish Castle, which still remains today. Gibraltar would later become part of the Kingdom of Granada until 1309 when Castilian troops briefly occupied it. In 1333 the Muslim Spain invaders, Marinids, conquered Gibraltar, but ceded it to the Kingdom of Granada in 1374. The Duke of Medina Sidonia re-conquered Gibraltar in 1462, finally ending 750 years of Moorish control.
The Spanish Although the Duke of Medina Sidonia had been left sole possession of Gibraltar, the town was claimed by King Henry IV (of Castile), who also added it to the Crown patrimony and added King of Gibraltar to his many titles. In 1462 King Henry added the territory of the Algeciras town to Gibraltar, creating a hinterland to be known as Campo Llano de Gibraltar.
The history of Gibraltar often saw the Rock as a 'barganing chip'and in 1468, during the quarrels that took place over Henry’s reign, the town and municipality of Gibraltar were restored to the Duke of Medina Sidonia. In 1474, Medina Sidonia sold Gibraltar to a population of Jews from Cordoba and Seville (led by Pedro de Herrera). Gibraltar was exchanged for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years and a group of 4,350 Jews set themselves up in the town, but this lasted only two years as the Duke of Medina Sidonia expelled them to Cordoba and the Inquisition in 1476.
In 1501 Gibraltar again passed under the Spanish Crown and in 1501 Isabella of Castile (in Toledo) issued a Royal Warrant granting Gibraltar the coat of arms that is still used today.
Not so well known in the history of Gibraltar, but on 25 April 1607 the naval "Battle of Gibraltar" took place when a Dutch fleet surprised and attacked a Spanish fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar. The entire Spanish fleet was destroyed within four hours.
Anglo-Dutch The Anglo-Dutch expedition to Spain, the Iberian Peninsula, in 1703 was under the official command of Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt (cousin of Archduke Charles, the Austrian Emperor and pretender to the Spanish Crown). In a desperate attempt to get Charles of Austria established as the new King of Spain, they planned to take hold of Cadiz, but Cadiz was too well protected.
In 1704, Prince George then tried Barcelona, but this also failed to promote Charles as the new King of Spain. Admiral Rooke (under command of Prince George) had received a personal letter from Queen Anne instructing him to obey the ‘King of Spain’ (Archduke Charles) and in a reluctance to return home with a poor war record, decided to have a go at capturing Gibraltar. It was the summer of 1704 when Admiral Sir George Rooke invaded Gibraltar from his warships, almost destroying everything in the process as Gibraltar was militarily understaffed and the Spanish defences were very weak. The Spanish Governor of the Rock reluctantly surrendered and Gibraltar was taken in the name of Charles III of Spain (Archduke Charles of Austria).
Charles II of Spain (who was very sick) had then upset plans by willing his throne to his great nephew, Philip V of Spain (grandson to the Sun King Louis XIV of France). The British flag has since been flying from Gibraltar, even after several attempts at removing it. From then onwards, Rooke’s victory has created problems for Gibraltar, via Spain’s continued claim to Sovereignty, because this invasion was conducted on behalf of Archduke Charles of Austria, who was a claimant to the Spanish throne (through the marriage of an Austrian Princess to Charles II of Spain, who had no heir). The 4,000 Spanish residents on the Rock decided to leave Gibraltar and took up residence in the nearby Campo area where many already had land. There remained several Genoese (Italian) families who felt that life in Spain could have been worse than remaining in Gibraltar.
Soon after the victory, Prince George, diplomatically appointed an Englishman as Governor (Brigadier General John Shrimpton) as the British had been paying for the expedition. His first choice, Henry Nugent, had been killed by cannon-fire after only one month in office. Shrimpton soon left Gibraltar to pursue a more exciting army career and not because of his blatant theft. Colonel Elliott (no relation to Sir George Eliott of the Great Siege) was the next Governor of Gibraltar and both these Governors had been abusive extortionists. In 1710 the London authorities eventually ordered Colonel Elliott to return home.
The border to Spain was now closed off and fresh supplies were not an option from Spain so the garrison turned to the Barbary coast for supplies. In 1706 Queen Anne had declared Gibraltar as a free port which encouraged various people from the Mediterranean and Morocco to investigate the commercial possibilities Gibraltar could offer. Some of the soldiers decided to remain in Gibraltar after their service contracts had ended, to set up a business rather than return to England.
There were several Spanish attempts to regain Gibraltar since the Anglo-Dutch invasion and the War of the Spanish Succession lingered on for another eight years. After lack of success and years of negotiations, the Treaty of Utrecht was created in 1713 and has become the most significant document in Gibraltar’s history. This treaty grants the Rock of Gibraltar to Great Britain.
The Great Siege 1779 – 1783 (the Siege of Gibraltar) As Britain’s military had been weakened by the American War of Independence, Spain took this opportunity and declared war on Britain in June 1779. Since 1770 the King of Spain had been searching for a winning plan to capture Gibraltar, but Britain anticipating Spain’s plan, had head-hunted an outstanding soldier to be the new Governor of Gibraltar – General Sir George Eliott.
Eliott was a hard, frugal and incorruptible man who was much admired by his subordinates. In September 1779 the first British retaliation shot was ceremoniously fired. Great hardships were endured by the entire population during this siege of Gibraltar; near death was averted by the timely arrival of the English relief ships in 1780. Spain continued their daily cannon fire on Gibraltar (with a traditional Siesta between 1.30 and 5pm). The cannons destroyed the town and were desperate to stop any British relief ships docking safely, but failed.
Knowing that the joint Spanish-French forces were preparing for a full invasion, General Eliott had a surprise attack planned and on 27th November 178 he sent out a raiding party at night (a Sortie) through Landport Gate. Within just one hour the surprise attack had smashed defences, spiked the guns and exploded three batteries, incurring the loss of only five British soldiers.
Spain retaliated with their floating batteries (Flotillas) which were designed to fire at Gibraltar from close range. These so called ‘fireproof’ and ‘unsinkable’ batteries were built from wood and had layers of wet sand in between. The British soldiers were yet again ready, with their Hot Potato invention (ultra heated cannon balls) which would explode and sink the Flotillas. Some of the planks of wood from these Flotillas remain today in the Governor’s house dining room. They were initially used for the dining table, but then used for the service doors. On December 17th 1783 the war was officially over and Gibraltar was never attacked again by land or sea. Circa 1783 the British Nation, overwhelmingly insisted to King George III that Gibraltar remain a British National Treasure (and not to exchange or sell it) after the heroic Great Siege.
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