ABSTRACT
Gibraltar was captured by Britain in 1704 (and later renounced by Spain by the Treaty of Versailles, in exchange for Florida and Minorca). It has been held by Britain longer than by Spain, for Spain had not taken it from the Moors until 1462. For two centuries it was a key British naval base; it resisted a siege by French and Spanish forces from 1779 to 1783, and it showed its usefulness at the time of the great naval battles at Cape St Vincent (1797) and Trafalgar (1805). When the Suez route was Britain’s imperial lifeline, Gibraltar and Malta were important stages along it (42). Malta became independent in 1964; but independence did not seem a practical aim for Gibraltar. Although its population is as large as that of such micro-states as San Marino (23), it is only a four-mile-long peninsula, overshadowed both by the 1,400-foot Rock and by Spain’s recurring claims.
