Portal:Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Portal

Gibraltar (/dʒɪˈbrɔːltər, -ˈbrɒl-/ ^ⓘ jih-BRAWL-tər, -⁠BROL-, 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. Gibraltar is home to around 38,000 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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Western face of the Rock of Gibraltar, in April 2006

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone mountain 426 m (1,398 ft) high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea at the Strait of Gibraltar. It is situated near the end of a narrow 9-kilometre-long (5.6 mi) promontory stretching due south into the Mediterranean Sea and is located within the British territory of Gibraltar. The rock is 27 km northeast of Tarifa, Spain, the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The rock serves as a fortress and contains a labyrinthine network of man-made tunnels known as the Tunnels of Gibraltar. Most of the Rock's upper area comprises a nature reserve which is home to about 300 Barbary macaques. It is a major tourist attraction.

The Rock of Gibraltar, the northern of the two historic Pillars of Hercules, was known to the Romans as Mons Calpe ("Mount Calpe"); the southern Pillar of Hercules on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar was known as Mons Abila, with a modern name of either Monte Hacho or Jebel Musa. According to an ancient legend fostered by the Greeks and the Phoenicians and later adopted by the Romans, the two pillars marked the western limit of the known world. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: User:RedCoat10

Main Street, Gibraltar's main arterial street recognised today as Gibraltar’s main commercial and shopping district.

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“

Britain's Gibraltar made possible the invasion of North-West Africa. Without it the vital air cover would not have been quickly established on the North African Fields.

”

— Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star General and the 34^th President of the United States.

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Portrait of Lord Heathfield by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1787

General George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, KB, PC (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served as the governor of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1790. Eliott rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in Germany and participated in the capture of Belle Île and siege of Havana. He is most notable for his command of the Gibraltar garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which lasted from 1779 to 1783, during the American War of Independence. He was celebrated for his successful defence of the fortress and decisive defeat of Spanish and French attackers. (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?

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General images

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

Image 1View across Gibraltar looking north, by Frederick William J. Shore (1883) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 2Gibraltar's Moorish Baths, now incorporated into the Gibraltar Museum (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 3The 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 4A 1779 depiction of British-controlled Gibraltar, under siege from Franco-Spanish forces. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 5Gibraltar Bus Company Dennis Dart on route 4 at the Both Worlds bus terminus, Sandy Bay. (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 6The 14th-century Tower of Homage, the largest surviving fragment of Gibraltar's Moorish Castle (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 7Calypso Transport open top bus on route 10 (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 8Sir 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 9The First Battle of Algeciras, which took plane on 6 July 1801 off Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 10The 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 11The 2023 Gibraltar bus network map. (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 12Foreign 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 13"Gibraltar Woman" – a Neanderthal who lived in Gibraltar some 50,000 years ago (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 14Aerial view of Gibraltar as seen in 2011 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 15The United States' Great White Fleet visiting Gibraltar harbour in February 1909 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 16Gibraltar Airport and border area. Showing runway (Gibraltar) and pier behind (Spain). Officially, any exact line is still disputed (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 17Searchlights on the Rock of Gibraltar during an air raid practice on 20 November 1942 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 18A map of Gibraltar and its fortifications, drawn in 1799 by Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 19Gibraltar Cable Car (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 20Traffic drives on the right (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 21The 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 22Gibraltar's country identifier is GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 23MV Aurora (2000) berthed adjacent to the Gibraltar Cruise Terminal at the Western Arm of the North Mole (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 24Special passes were required to enter Gibraltar proper at night, while the Spanish civil war was raging 1936. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 25Annotated satellite view of the Strait of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 26Thousands 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 27The Pillars of Hercules depicted erroneously as an island on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman map (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 28A current Gibraltar rear number plate featuring the country identifier GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 29Spanish border pass for Gibraltarian residents, permitting day visits only. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 30Gibraltar's Royal Navy Base (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 31View of Gibraltar in the 19th century (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 32Timetable on a bus shelter (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 33Gibraltar, 1654 by Jan Peeters I (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 34The closed gates at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, 1977 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 35The Explosion of the Spanish Flagship during the Battle of Gibraltar by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 36Veüe 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 37Location of Gibraltar in the far south of the Iberian Peninsula (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 38North View of Gibraltar from Spanish Lines by John Mace (1782) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 39Vice Admiral Sir Neville Syfret inspecting the men aboard the Rodney, Gibraltar, January 1943 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 40Castle Street, Gibraltar, by Frederick Leeds Edridge, 1833 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 41The Black Watch on Parade at Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 42The Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the Gibraltar Parliament), established in 1969. (from History of Gibraltar)