Portal:Gibraltar

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The Gibraltar Portal

Location of Gibraltar (dark green)

United Kingdom shown in pale green

Gibraltar (/dʒɪˈbrɔːltər/ ^ⓘ jib-RAWL-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 6.8 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 34,003 people, 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 c. 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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The tunnels of Gibraltar were constructed over the course of nearly 200 years, principally by the British Army. Within a land area of only 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), Gibraltar has around 34 miles (55 km) of tunnels, nearly twice the length of its entire road network. The first tunnels, excavated in the late 18th century, served as communication passages between artillery positions and housed guns within embrasures cut into the North Face of the Rock. More tunnels were constructed in the 19th century to allow easier access to remote areas of Gibraltar and accommodate stores and reservoirs to deliver the water supply of Gibraltar.

The 20th century saw by far the greatest extent of tunnelling when the Rock was turned into a huge underground fortress capable of accommodating 16,000 men along with all the supplies, ammunition and equipment needed to withstand a prolonged siege. The tunnelling finally ceased in 1968 when the British Army's last specialist tunnelling unit was disbanded. Since then, the tunnels have progressively been turned over to the civilian Government of Gibraltar, although a number are still owned by the Ministry of Defence and some have been sealed off entirely as they are now too dangerous to enter. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: Christina Cortes

View of Sandy Bay on the Eastern Mediterranean coast of Gibraltar, showing the old water catchments' slope restored and looking North towards Spain's Costa del Sol.

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“

Well, Gibraltar is a place which you either love or hate. I quite like it. It's a rock, that is essentially what it is. It's a British colony.

”

— Nigel Short, British chess player.

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Sir William Green, 1st Baronet

General Sir William Green, 1st Baronet FRS (4 April 1725 – 10 January 1811) was a British Army officer, of Marass, Kent. He served as chief engineer at the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

After receiving a private education in Aberdeen, Scotland and a military education at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England, he was appointed as a practitioner engineer in 1743. Green served on the European continent until 1752, after which he was in Canada. There, he continued to advance through both the ordinary military and engineering ranks. (Full article...)

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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?

General images

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

Image 1Gibraltar, 1654 by Jan Peeters I (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 2The 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 3A map of Gibraltar and its fortifications, drawn in 1799 by Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 4The 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 5Gibraltar Airport and border area. Showing runway (Gibraltar) and pier behind (Spain). Officially, any exact line is still disputed (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 6MV Aurora (2000) berthed adjacent to the Gibraltar Cruise Terminal at the Western Arm of the North Mole (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 7"Gibraltar Woman" – a Neanderthal who lived in Gibraltar some 50,000 years ago (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 8A 1779 depiction of British-controlled Gibraltar, under siege from Franco-Spanish forces. (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 10Traffic drives on the right (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 11Vice Admiral Sir Neville Syfret inspecting the men aboard the Rodney, Gibraltar, January 1943 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 12View across Gibraltar looking north, by Frederick William J. Shore (1883) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 13Location of Gibraltar in the far south of the Iberian Peninsula (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 14Thousands 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 15Special passes were required to enter Gibraltar proper at night, whilst the Spanish civil war was raging 1936. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 16The Charles 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 17The Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the Gibraltar Parliament), established in 1969. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 18Annotated satellite view of the Strait of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 19Gibraltar Bus Company Dennis Dart on route 4 at the Both Worlds bus terminus, Sandy Bay. (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 20Sir 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 21Spanish border pass for Gibraltarian residents, permitting day visits only. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 22Aerial view of Gibraltar as seen in 2011 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 23The 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 24Foreign 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 25Gibraltar Bus Company bus routes (right-click to enlarge). (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 26Castle Street, Gibraltar, by Frederick Leeds Edridge, 1833 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 27North View of Gibraltar from Spanish Lines by John Mace (1782) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 28Gibraltar's Moorish Baths, now incorporated into the Gibraltar Museum (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 29The closed gates at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, 1977 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 30Searchlights on the Rock of Gibraltar during an air raid practice on 20 November 1942 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 31The Pillars of Hercules depicted erroneously as an island on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman map (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 32The 14th-century Tower of Homage, the largest surviving fragment of Gibraltar's Moorish Castle (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 33Gibraltar's country identifier is GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 34The United States' Great White Fleet visiting Gibraltar harbour in February 1909 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 35Gibraltar's Royal Navy Base (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 36Timetable on a bus shelter (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 37A current Gibraltar rear number plate featuring the country identifier GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 38Veüe 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 39Calypso Transport open top bus on discontinued route 10 (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 40Gibraltar Cable Car (from Transport in Gibraltar)