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Gibraltar
KNOWLEDGE OF Gibraltar
Gibraltar is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom on the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean south of Spain. A strategic location on the Strait of Gibraltar that links the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, also placing it between Europe and Africa. Gibraltar has been an important base for the British Armed Forces, and is the site of a large naval base.
The name of the rock comes from the Arabic name of Jebel Tariq (جبل طارق) meaning Tariq's mountain. It refers to the Ummayad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711. Earlier it was known asCalpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is also known colloquially as "Gib" or "the Rock".
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain requests the return of sovereignty over Gibraltar, although this has been rejected by the people of Gibraltar.
Human settlement in Gibraltar can be traced back to the Phoenicians around 950 BC, although there is earlier evidence of habitation by the Neanderthals, a prehistoric subspecies of man. Semi-permanent settlements were later established by the Carthaginians and Romans. Gibraltar was named at that time as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the legend of the creation of the Straits of Gibraltar.
The first permanent settlement was built by the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mu'min. Gibraltar then passed to a successive line of empires, eventually becoming a part of Castile and then Spain. The United Kingdom captured the territory in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. In the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the war, Spain ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to the United Kingdom, which has retained sovereignty over the former ever since, despite early attempts by Spain to recapture the town.
Gibraltar then became an important naval base for the Royal Navy, playing an important part in the Battle of Trafalgar. Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal, as it controlled the important sea route between the UK and its colonies in India and Australia. During World War II, the civilian residents of Gibraltar were evacuated, and the Rock was turned into a fortress. An airfield was built over the civilian racecourse. Plans by Nazi Germany to capture the Rock were frustrated by Spain's reluctance to allow the German Army onto Spanish soil.
In the 1950s, Spain – then under "Generalísimo" Francisco Franco – renewed its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, sparked in part by the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Rock's capture. For the next thirty years, Spain restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. A referendum was held on September 10, 1967 in which Gibraltar's voters were asked whether they wished to either pass under Spanish sovereignty, or remain under British sovereignty, with institutions of self-government. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of continuance of British sovereignty, with 12,138 to 44 voting to reject Spanish sovereignty. In response Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links.
In 1981 it was announced that The Prince and Princess of Wales would fly to Gibraltar to board the Britannia as part of their honeymoon. In response the Spanish King, Juan Carlos I refused to attend their wedding in London.
The name of the rock comes from the Arabic name of Jebel Tariq (جبل طارق) meaning Tariq's mountain. It refers to the Ummayad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711. Earlier it was known asCalpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is also known colloquially as "Gib" or "the Rock".
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain requests the return of sovereignty over Gibraltar, although this has been rejected by the people of Gibraltar.
Human settlement in Gibraltar can be traced back to the Phoenicians around 950 BC, although there is earlier evidence of habitation by the Neanderthals, a prehistoric subspecies of man. Semi-permanent settlements were later established by the Carthaginians and Romans. Gibraltar was named at that time as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the legend of the creation of the Straits of Gibraltar.
The first permanent settlement was built by the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mu'min. Gibraltar then passed to a successive line of empires, eventually becoming a part of Castile and then Spain. The United Kingdom captured the territory in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. In the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the war, Spain ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to the United Kingdom, which has retained sovereignty over the former ever since, despite early attempts by Spain to recapture the town.
Gibraltar then became an important naval base for the Royal Navy, playing an important part in the Battle of Trafalgar. Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal, as it controlled the important sea route between the UK and its colonies in India and Australia. During World War II, the civilian residents of Gibraltar were evacuated, and the Rock was turned into a fortress. An airfield was built over the civilian racecourse. Plans by Nazi Germany to capture the Rock were frustrated by Spain's reluctance to allow the German Army onto Spanish soil.
In the 1950s, Spain – then under "Generalísimo" Francisco Franco – renewed its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, sparked in part by the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Rock's capture. For the next thirty years, Spain restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. A referendum was held on September 10, 1967 in which Gibraltar's voters were asked whether they wished to either pass under Spanish sovereignty, or remain under British sovereignty, with institutions of self-government. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of continuance of British sovereignty, with 12,138 to 44 voting to reject Spanish sovereignty. In response Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links.
In 1981 it was announced that The Prince and Princess of Wales would fly to Gibraltar to board the Britannia as part of their honeymoon. In response the Spanish King, Juan Carlos I refused to attend their wedding in London.
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