Gibraltar

Great Britain acquired Gibraltar in 1704 during the Wars of the Succession and was signed over in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Since then Spain has held claim to the territory despite a referendum in Gibraltar concluded overwhelming support for remaining British.

The name comes from a Moorish word for “Mountain of Tariq”, referring to the Rock of Gibraltar. The Moors entered the Iberian Peninsula in 711AD through Gibraltar, and ruled over it until 1462 when the Spanish won it back. Interestingly, the territory uses the same coat of arms that the Spanish kings used at that time.

“The Rock” consists of just 2.5 square miles but has 7.5 miles of coastline plus a border with Spain of ¾ of a mile. It has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with temperatures averaging 16c in January and the high 20’s in the summer. The population is just under 30,000.

Gibraltar has been a key base for the British Royal Navy and played a crucial role in the Battle of Trafalgar and during the War in Crimea. The opening of the Suez Canal increased its strategic value. During WWII the residents of Gibraltar were evacuated while the territory was turned into a fortress. It was never captured, mainly due to General Franco’s reluctance to allow the Nazis to enter by the land. Unfortunately General Franco closed the border in the 1950’s after re-asserting Spain’s claim to the colony. Even after a referendum in 1967 which British ownership was supported, Spain closed the border again, and it wasn’t opened again until 1985 in advance of Spain’s entry into the European Union.

The Rock itself is a nature reserve inhabited by hundreds of Barbary Macaques (a kind of monkey). It was one of the Pillars of Hercules, the other being the African side of the straight. These two points once marked the end of the known world.

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