Gibraltar Definition: Historical Dispute

British land claimed by Spain, Gibraltar is a small piece of land strategically located on the Peninsula Iberian, so that the possession of it allows to control the passage of ships from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic or vice versa.

Due to its convulsive and curious history, and the mixture of origins, the population Gibraltar has developed the characteristics of nation and, in fact, llanitos (unofficial name of Gibraltarians) refer to their land as their country or nation.

Gibraltar is located east of the bay of Algeciras, opposite the city of the same name, in the shape of a peninsula that connects by land on the border with Spain.

Has the statute of territory British overseas, with its own autonomous government and parliament that have jurisdiction over the internal affairs of the territory, while the politics foreign or defense is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Gibraltar has been, since ancient times, a place of passage between the Peninsula and, consequently, Europe, and Africa.

This is evident in the numerous remains discovered in the caves that populate the territory.

Its geographical mark is the rock, a large rocky structure in which there are natural caves and that it has also been used to drill caves by its occupants for tasks of defending.

The rock, which dominates the territory, was in classical antiquity identified as one of the Pillars of Hercules by the Greeks.

Its historical relevance goes back to the chronicles after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Visigothic Kingdom, being the entry point of the Muslim forces to the Peninsula.

It will be precisely the Muslims who establish the settlement that will give rise to the current city of Gibraltar. In 1462 it will be occupied by the Castilian troops during the process known as Reconquest.

Until the 18th century, Gibraltar went unnoticed in the eyes of history, but it will be the War of the Spanish Succession that will return it to the front page.

In 1704, an allied fleet in the service of Archduke Carlos of Austria - a pretender to the Spanish throne - landed in Gibraltar and conquered the square.

This action would allow the Austracist side to retain control of this strategic bastion until the end of the war. The fleet, made up of British and Dutch ships, also included a battalion of Catalan soldiers, who were the ones who led the assault on land landing on the beach of La Caleta, known since then as Catalan Bay (the Bay of the Catalans).

Most of the civilian population will leave Gibraltar for neighboring areas, which will later give rise to the towns of San Roque and La Línea.

The Utrecht Treaty of 1713, which almost brought the war to an end (Catalonia will remain resisting alone against the Bourbon forces) also sealed the fate of Gibraltar as a British possession.

With a keen eye for choosing territories of high strategic value (as they would also demonstrate with Hong Kong), the British they obtain from the Spanish crown the cession of Menorca (which would later be recovered) and of Gibraltar, in perpetuity.

The Utrech treaty states that if Great Britain ever decides to cede Gibraltareña territory, it will pass into the hands of the Spanish crown.

Spain will never renounce the recovery of Gibraltar, first by military means and then by diplomatic means.

As the Iberian country is one of the great traditional enemies of England (and by extension, of Great Britain), Gibraltar will be a priority objective for the Spanish monarchy.

The first attempt will be the site of 1727, while the second will take place between 1779 and 1783, taking advantage of the fact that Gran Britain was bogged down in the War of Independence from its American colonies (what would later become the United States United).

Both attempts, which consisted of besieging the rock, were unsuccessful, but - and especially the second - caused great damage to the population.

Gibraltar would once again gain relevance during the Second World War, as a base located in a strategic location.

The rock, to which new tunnels were drilled to serve the needs of the conflict, acted as an unsinkable "aircraft carrier" and was, for example, the base for Operation Torch, the assault on the possessions of Vichy France in North Africa, in addition to being a base for refueling and repairing ships and submarines.

Also from the same period, a primitive landing strip was expanded, which will be the nucleus of the current airport for both civil and military use.

The Spanish authorities complain that the Gibraltarian women are taking over "no man's land" located between the two borders and that, in addition, “create” new lands based on rock and soil discharges in jurisdictional waters Spanish. Part of this "new land" would be used to build the new airstrip.

The strategic importance of Gibraltar during the Second World War motivated the Germans to draw up plans to conquer the square.

Although these will never materialize, because in the conversations held with Spain, the dictator Franco insists that it must be Spanish troops with German logistical assistance, who conquer the square.

Hitler, for his part, is skeptical about the capabilities of the Spanish army, and between this and other demands of the Franco regime, rules out an alliance with Spain, which will prevent the entry into the war of the country.

During the Franco dictatorship, the territorial claim over Gibraltar became a recurring theme for the Spanish authorities.

This claim was made explicit both in demonstrations orchestrated by the regime itself, and in a diplomatic activity that included the claim to the United Nations, which issued various resolutions urging the establishment of talks to solve the trouble.

On the British side, and given the strategic position of Gibraltar, the will has been rather weak.

To this must be added the null will of the Gibraltarian people, who in two referendums (in 1967 and 2002) declined to become Spanish sovereignty by a wide margin, over 99% in both cases.

The border between Gibraltar and Spain has suffered on numerous occasions from the political climate that was not conducive to understanding, with episodes such as the closing of "La Verja", which blocked ground contact between the two countries.

As there are many cross-border marriages and, therefore, families, the closure of the land border led to difficulties in communication, to the point that in the case -true, explained by acquaintances of the protagonists themselves- of the burial of a relative Spanish, the family He had to take a boat to Tangier and another to Algeciras to reach the Line of the Concepción, and the same way back, a journey that, on foot, from Gibraltar, would not take much more than half an hour.

With the entry of Spain into the European Union, the situation normalizes, since Great Britain is also part of the Union.

However, the recent Brexit has once again called into question the situation, both in Gibraltar, and the future of the relationship between it and Spain.

Gibraltar voted massively in favor of the option remain, stay in the EU. But Brexit should take the territory, like the rest of Britain, out of this union.

As everything has yet to be negotiated, it is possible that a specific compromise solution could be found for Gibraltar, something that will undoubtedly be opposed by Spain, eager to force the integration of Gibraltar in its national territory.

Gibraltar has its own currency, the Gibraltar pound (equated to the pound sterling), and even with its own language, the so-called plain

This is a mix between Spanish and English, with a evolution very fast - thanks to the fact that Gibraltar is a small population, between 30 and 35,000 inhabitants.

Currently, and throughout one day of each day, the number of people we meet in Gibraltar can double easily its population, since a large number of workers enter from Spain, to which must be added the tourists.

Tourism, together with the income provided by services to ships in transit, gambling and, especially, online gambling, as well as banking services, are the main sources of income for Gibraltar.

Before, the main source of income were the military, and despite the fact that Gibraltar remains a strategic point in many respects (certain parts of the rock are still accessible restricted to civilians), the army no longer has so much infrastructure or personnel there, so revenue in this regard has diminished.

Gibraltar is a place with a great - and convulsed - history, a brilliant present, and a future with certain uncertainties, such as its relationship with the European Union.

Photos: Fotolia - Juulijs / Malajscy

Issues in Gibraltar: Historical Dispute