Considered as the place that according to the myth coincided with the Pillars of Herculesbetween the rocky promontory of Calpe in Spain and Abila in Africa, Gibraltar (Gibraltar in Spanish and English) is a dominion British (a so-called exclave) in Spanish territoryin the south of the Iberian Peninsula, at the southern extreme ofAndalusia. It is located on the border with the Spanish municipality of Conception Linein the province of Cadiz and with his Strict divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. Formerly called Calpe, the name Gibraltar comes from Arabic Jabal Ţāriq or “Mount of Tariq”, as a tribute to the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad that in 711 conquered Spain.
The history of Gibraltar: how and when it passed to the United Kingdom
The ancient Greeks believed that the Pillars of Herculesformed by the two rocky promontories that form the Strait of Gibraltar, constituted a limit beyond which one could not go, due to the danger and the unknown that lurked beyond that point and therefore represented the end of the known world.
After that in 711 the Arabs conquered the Iberian peninsula, a fortress was built in Gibraltar and after alternating conquests by the Spanish and Arabs, in 1501 Gibraltar was included in reign of Isabella of Castile.
In the 1704during the Spanish Civil Waran Anglo-German fleet led by Admiral George Rooke besieged the city asking loyalty and surrender toArchduke Charles of Austriason of Charles II of Habsburg, who had been crowned the previous year king of Castile in Vienna. But the Spanish governor Diego de Salinas he didn’t want to give in and so on 1704 the Kingdom of England, with Dutch military help, he took possession of Gibraltarafter the surrender of the Spanish governor. From that moment Gibraltar came under British rule, with the official formalization taking place in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrechtat the end of the Spanish Civil War.
According to the treaty, Spain ceded ownership of the city with the castle, port, walls and surrounding forts without limits or exceptions. The issue that the Spanish government insists on is that the property was sold but not sovereigntyespecially with regards to the control of Strait of Gibraltarone of the naval hubs and choke point most important together with Suez Canal.
Geographical features of Gibraltar
With an extension of 6.5 square km58 km long, 13 km wide at its narrowest point and 44 km at its widest, Gibraltar with its Strait separates the Iberian peninsula from the coasts of Morocco and north-west Africa. With one population just under 33,000 people, entering Gibraltar from Spain gives the impression of being catapulted into the United Kingdom.
Some peculiarities are the diffusion of barbary apea monkey of the species Macaca Sylvanuswhich was originally found in northwestern Africa, particularly in Morocco and Algeria and who later arrived in Gibraltar where she now lives in a state of freedom, also interacting with the numerous visitors who visit the promontory and the city every year.
The official language of Gibraltar isEnglish although there is a local language, spoken by the majority of the population, called “Llanito“. It’s a mixture of English, Spanish, with Arabic and even Italian influences. There is in fact a strong Genoese influence in Gibraltar, due to a consistent community of Genoese who settled at the turn of the 1700s. Mainly engaged in business deep sea fishing and commercial activitiesthe Genoese represented almost half of the population in the mid-18th century, so much so that Italian was used together with English and Spanish even in the posters of the English kingdom. Especially a La Caletaa small village in the north-eastern part of Gibraltar, was spoken on Ligurian dialect and even today many Ligurian surnames survive among the population.
The legal and political status of Gibraltar
Gibraltar is part of the non-autonomous territories according to the UN; Furthermore, negotiations between Spain and the United Kingdom for an agreement have continued unabated since 1965. Il September 10th 1967 there was the first referendum for sovereignty which saw the majority of the population express themselves in favor of the proposal to remain under the sovereignty of the British crown. From that moment on September 10th Gibraltar National Day is celebrated.
In the 2002 there was a further referendum to ask Gibraltar residents whether or not they were in favor of one sharing of sovereignty between Spain and the United Kingdom, however rejected by the majority of the population (98%). With the Brexit the situation became more controversial: in 2016on the occasion of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, approximately 96% of the population of Gibraltar had expressed their opinion in favor of “remain“.
Following Brexit, however, Gibraltar also left theEuropean Union but from 2021 she became part of the Schengen areai.e. the free movement area of the European Union without internal border controls. Since then they are still ongoing post-Brexit negotiations on the future of Gibraltar, both bilaterally between the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom, and multilaterally together with the European Commission. From a legal point of view, in fact, Gibraltar maintains a independent legislation from the United Kingdom, except in respect of international affairs and defenseentirely under the responsibility of the British Crown. The military forces are in fact made up of Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and British Army.
