ABSTRACT
In 1963 a Spanish representative at the United Nations stated that Gibraltar was a "political phenomenon can be studied in its multiple facets." The area in the region of Gibraltar, known as the Campo de Gibraltar, has been occupied by human beings since prehistoric times. The period of Moslem possession of Gibraltar continued without serious interruption for almost 600 years, the only changes being from the control of one Moslem faction to another. In 1465 Henry gave the Governorship of Gibraltar to one Beltran de la Cueva. In 1693 a number of British ships, both naval and merchant, belonging to the command of Admiral Sir George Rooke, took refuge at a friendly and allied Spanish Gibraltar from the vastly superior fleet of French Admiral Tourville. The French ships which entered the Bay of Algeciras were able to do more or less as they pleased, with little interference from the shore.
