Portal:Gibraltar

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The Gibraltar Portal

Location of Gibraltar (dark green)

United Kingdom shown in pale green

Gibraltar (/dʒɪˈbrɔːltər/ jih-BRAWL-tər, Spanish: [xiβɾalˈtaɾ]) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of 6.7 km² (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to some 32,688 people (2022 estimate), primarily Gibraltarians.

Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras circa 1375. It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession, and it was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It became an important base for the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, as it controlled the narrow entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, with half the world's seaborne trade passing through it.

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations, as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, and for shared sovereignty in a 2002 referendum. Nevertheless, Gibraltar maintains close economic and cultural links with Spain, with many Gibraltarians speaking Spanish as well as a local dialect known as Llanito. (Full article...)

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There have been fourteen recorded sieges of Gibraltar. Although the peninsula of Gibraltar is only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide, it occupies an extremely strategic location on the southern Iberian coast at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Its position just across the eponymous Strait from Morocco in North Africa, as well as its natural defensibility, have made it one of the most fought-over places in Europe.

Only five of the sieges resulted in a change of rule. Seven were fought between Muslims and Catholics during Muslim rule, four between Spain and Britain from the Anglo-Dutch capture in 1704 to the end of the Great Siege in 1783, two between rival Catholic factions, and one between rival Muslim powers. Four of Gibraltar's changes in rule, including three sieges, took place over a matter of days or hours, whereas several other sieges had durations of months or years and claimed the lives of thousands without resulting in any change in rule. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: James Cridland

Re-enactment by Great Siege soldiers, Casemates Square, Gibraltar. The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the Anglo-Spanish War.

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Edward Cornwallis by Joshua Reynolds (1756)

Edward Cornwallis (5 March [O.S. 22 February] 1713 – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, he was appointed Groom of the Chamber for King George II (a position he held for the next 17 years). He was then made Governor of Nova Scotia (1749–1752), one of the colonies in North America, and assigned to establish the new town of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Later Cornwallis returned to London, where he was elected as MP for Westminster and married the niece of Robert Walpole, Great Britain's first Prime Minister. Cornwallis was next appointed as Governor of Gibraltar.

Cornwallis arrived in Nova Scotia during a period of conflict with the local indigenous Miꞌkmaq peoples of peninsular Nova Scotia. The Mi'kmaq opposed the founding of Halifax and conducted war raids on the colony. Cornwallis responded with the extirpation proclamation of 1749, orders to bring back scalps of those he considered to be rebels. His administration erected forts at Grand Pre, Chignecto and Halifax and organized a militia of 840 men. Despite these efforts, the conflict would continue for several years after Cornwallis' term. (Full article...)

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Peter Caruana Joe Bossano George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield George Don (British Army officer) Joshua Hassan Bruce Cooper Alfred Holmes Alexander George Woodford Sir William Green, 1st Baronet John Thomas Jones Clive Finlayson Simón Susarte John Mackintosh (philanthropist) John Leake John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort

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Did you know...

... that Dorothy Ellicott was the first woman to be elected to two different Gibraltar Councils and was posthumously awarded the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour on Gibraltar National Day 2008?
... that in 1939, excavations beneath John Mackintosh Square in Gibraltar for the construction of an air-raid shelter revealed no signs of any foundations, suggesting it has always been an open square?
... that capital punishment in Gibraltar was last enforced in 1944 when British hangman Albert Pierrepoint travelled undercover to the territory to hang two young Spanish spies? (25 July 2012, 5,697 views)
... that the Gibraltar Museum houses the remains of a 14th-century Moorish bath house, once the private baths of the Governor of Gibraltar during the Marinid dynasty? (26 July 2012, 2,222 views)
... that the Europa Point Lighthouse at Gibraltar is the only lighthouse operated by Trinity House on continental Europe outside the United Kingdom? (27 July 2012, 4,122 views)
... that Giovanni Battista Calvi was an Italian military engineer who worked on many important Spanish defensive projects in the 1500s, to include those in the now British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar?

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General images

The following are images from various Gibraltar-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Searchlights on the Rock of Gibraltar during an air raid practice on 20 November 1942 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 2A current Gibraltar rear number plate featuring the country identifier GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 3Thousands of Gibraltarians dress in their national colours of red and white and fill Grand Casemates Square during the 2013 Gibraltar National Day celebrations (from Culture of Gibraltar)
Image 4Special passes were required to enter Gibraltar proper at night, whilst the Spanish civil war was raging 1936. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 5Foreign Secretary William Hague and Minister for Europe David Lidington with Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo at a meeting in London, 28 August 2013 (from Culture of Gibraltar)
Image 6Sir George Rooke, the commander of the Anglo-Dutch fleet that conquered Gibraltar in the name of Archduke Charles of Austria (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 7Aerial view of Gibraltar as seen in 2011 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 8Location of Gibraltar in the far south of the Iberian Peninsula (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 9The Explosion of the Spanish Flagship during the Battle of Gibraltar by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 10The Pillars of Hercules depicted erroneously as an island on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman map (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 11Timetable on a bus shelter (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 12Veüe du d'Estroit de Gibraltar et des Environs, avec les tranchées du Siège mis en 1704, by Louis Boudan (1704) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 13A map of Gibraltar and its fortifications, drawn in 1799 by Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 14Castle Street, Gibraltar, by Frederick Leeds Edridge, 1833 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 15Gibraltar's Moorish Baths, now incorporated into the Gibraltar Museum (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 16Calypso Transport open top bus on discontinued route 10 (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 17"Gibraltar Woman" – a Neanderthal who lived in Gibraltar some 50,000 years ago (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 18North View of Gibraltar from Spanish Lines by John Mace (1782) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 19The United States' Great White Fleet visiting Gibraltar harbour in February 1909 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 20Traffic drives on the right (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 21Spanish border pass for Gibraltarian residents, permitting day visits only. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 22Gibraltar Bus Company Dennis Dart on route 4 at the Both Worlds bus terminus, Sandy Bay. (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 23Gibraltar Airport and border area. Showing runway (Gibraltar) and pier behind (Spain). Officially, any exact line is still disputed (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 24Gibraltar Cable Car (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 25Gibraltar's country identifier is GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 26Annotated satellite view of the Strait of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 27The arms granted to the city of Gibraltar by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on 10 July 1502 by Isabella I of Castile (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 28The First Battle of Algeciras (6 July 1801) off Gibraltar, portrayed in Algéciras, 6 Juillet 1801 by Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 29The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the Morning of 27 November 1781 by John Trumbull, depicting a British attack that occurred during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 30The closed gates at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, 1977 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 31MV Aurora (2000) berthed adjacent to the Gibraltar Cruise Terminal at the Western Arm of the North Mole (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 32Gibraltar's Royal Navy Base (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 33View across Gibraltar looking north, by Frederick William J. Shore (1883) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 34The 14th-century Tower of Homage, the largest surviving fragment of Gibraltar's Moorish Castle (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 35Charles V Wall, built by the Spanish to control access to the south side of Gibraltar after the pirate raid of September 1540 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 36Gibraltar, 1654 by Jan Peeters I (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 37Gibraltar Bus Company bus routes (right-click to enlarge). (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 38The Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the Gibraltar Parliament), established in 1969. (from History of Gibraltar)