Gibraltar

GIBRALTAR HISTORY FACTS

First inhabited 50,000 years ago by the Neanderthals, Gibraltar may have been one of their last refuges before their extinction.

To the Carthaginians and Romans Gibraltar was one of the Pillars of Hercules at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.

Moors from North Africa first settled and fortified the area, calling it Jebel al-Tarik, later corrupted into Gibraltar.

Castile contested Gibraltar and eventually conquered it on August 29, 1462, after which it became part of Spain.

The patron saint of Gibraltar is St Bernard of Clairvaux, for no better reason than the fact that the Moors were permanently expelled from Gibraltar on his August 29th feast day.

Gibraltar's North Bastion and South Bastion were built by Spain to protect it against attacks from either direction.

An Anglo-Dutch force seized Gibraltar during The War of the Spanish Succession on August 4, 1704. It was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht, signed on April 11, 1713.

First edition of the Treaty of Utrecht

Spain unsuccessfully besieged Gibraltar in 1727 and 1779–83; its status is still disputed.

Civilian government in Gibraltar only emerged in the 20th century because its governors gave priority to its role as a military fortress.

It was revealed on December 8, 1945 at the Nuremberg Trials that Nazi Germany had high hopes that Spain would join its side in World War II and seize the strategic British territory of Gibraltar, The Nazis believed that capturing Gibraltar would sever Britain's naval communications with its empire and its Mediterranean allies, crippling its ability to wage war.

In October 1940, Adolf Hitler met with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in Hendaye, France, to discuss Spain's participation in the war. Franco was hesitant to join the Axis, citing Spain's economic and military weakness. However, he did agree to allow German troops to cross Spanish territory to attack Gibraltar, codenamed Operation Felix. Operation Felix was never carried out. 

If the Axis had captured Gibraltar during World War II, the British planned to seal six men in a secret cave overlooking the harbour to secretly monitor and radio back enemy movements. The cave had enough provisions for the men to stay for up to seven years.

In a referendum in Gibraltar on whether to remain British held on September 10, 1967, 99.64 per cent voted in favor.

In 2002, a proposal to adopt shared British and Spanish nationality was rejected by 98.5 per cent.

Overlooked for nearly two centuries, Gibraltar's status as a city was officially recognized in 2022. The British territory had initially applied for city status that year but was unsuccessful. However, a subsequent discovery revealed that Queen Victoria had granted it the title 180 years prior, a fact that had somehow been omitted from official records.

GIBRALTAR FUN FACTS

Notable natives include singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, who was born in London to Gibraltarian parents and raised on the Rock, and fashion designer John Galliano.

John Lennon married Yoko Ono at the Rock of Gibraltar in 1969. The Beatles song “The Ballad of John and Yoko” describes their ordeal finding a location for the nuptials.

The so-called ‘Barbary apes’ in Gibraltar, are in fact tailless macaque monkeys, not apes. Feeding the macaques in punishable under Gibraltar law by a fine of up to £4,000.

The first person to swim across the Straits of Gibraltar was Miss Mercedes Gleitze of the UK in 1928. She was also the first British woman to swim the English Channel.

There are 11,007 people per square mile in Gibraltar, a population density exceeded only by Macao, Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Gibraltar was confirmed as UEFA's 54th member on May 24, 2013. Their first international football match was a 0-0 draw against Slovakia. Gibraltar has since played in a number of UEFA competitions, including the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA European Championship qualifiers. They have yet to qualify for a major tournament, but they have made significant progress in a short period of time.

Gibraltar starting XI in UEFA debut against Slovakia

Gibraltar awaits IOC approval to have its own Olympic team but Gibraltarian Peter Dignan won a bronze rowing for New Zealand in 1976..

Source Daily Express