Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a UK overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a British naval base.

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations.

History

Human settlement in Gibraltar can be traced back to the Phoenicians around 950 BC, although there is earlier evidence of habitation by the Neanderthals, an extinct species of the Homo genus. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals, and would later form part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania until its collapse due to the Muslim conquest in 711 AD. At that time, Gibraltar was named as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the legend of the creation of the Straits of Gibraltar.

In the initial years under Medina Sidonia, Gibraltar was granted sovereignty as a home to a population of exiled Sephardic Jews.

The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place on 1607-04-25 during the Eighty Years' War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a Spanish fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, British and Dutch troops, allies of Archduke Charles, the Austrian pretender to the Spanish Crown, formed a Confederate fleet and attacked various towns on the southern coast of Spain. On 4 August 1704, after six hours of bombardment starting at 5 a.m., the confederate fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke, captured the town of Gibraltar in the name of the Archduke Charles.

Franco-Spanish troops failed to retake the town, and British sovereignty over Gibraltar was subsequently recognised by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the war. Spain ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to the United Kingdom, which has retained sovereignty over the former ever since, despite all attempts by Spain to recapture it.

Gibraltar subsequently became an important naval base for the Royal Navy and played an important part in the Battle of Trafalgar. Guns on Gibraltar controlled the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, but plans by Nazi Germany to capture the Rock, codenamed Operation Felix, were frustrated by Spain's reluctance to allow the German Army onto Spanish soil.

In the 1950s, Spain, then under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, renewed its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, sparked in part by the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Rock's capture. For the next thirty years, Spain restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. A referendum was held on September 10, 1967, in which Gibraltar's voters were asked whether they wished to either pass under Spanish sovereignty, or remain under British sovereignty, with institutions of self-government. In response, Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links.

In 1981 it was announced that The Prince and Princess of Wales would fly to Gibraltar to board the Britannia as part of their honeymoon. The British Government restated that, in accordance with the preamble of the constitution of Gibraltar, the "UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes."

In September 2006 representatives of the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Spain concluded in Cordoba, Spain, a landmark agreement on a range of cross-cutting issues affecting the Rock and the campo Gibraltar removing many of the restrictions imposed by Spain.

Politics

As an overseas territory of the UK, the head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor of Gibraltar.

The Government of Gibraltar is elected for a term of four years. There are three political parties currently represented in the House of Assembly: the Gibraltar Social Democrats, the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party, and the Gibraltar Liberal Party.

New Gibraltar Democracy and the Progressive Democratic Party have been formed since the 2003 election.

Gibraltar is a part of the European Union, having joined under the British Treaty of Accession (1973), with exemption from some areas such as the Customs Union and Common Agricultural Policy.

After a ten year campaign to exercise the right to vote in European Elections, from 2004, the people of Gibraltar participated in elections for the European Parliament as part of the South West England constituency.

As a result of the continued Spanish claim, the issue of sovereignty features strongly in Gibraltar politics. In view of the UK Government's repeated commitment to respect the wishes of the people of Gibraltar, as laid out in the Constitution, the proposal for joint sovereignty is now considered dead.

In March 2006 Jack Straw announced that a new Gibraltar constitution had been agreed upon and would be published prior to a referendum on its acceptance in Gibraltar that year.

In July 2006, Geoff Hoon Minister for Europe, in a statement to the UK Parliament confirmed that the new Constitution confirms the right of self-determination of the Gibraltarian people. Its terrain is a narrow coastal lowland bordering the 1,397.6 foot (426 m) high Rock of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar is one of the most densely populated territories in the world, with approximately 11,154 people per square mile (4,290/km²).

Subdivisions

Gibraltar has no administrative divisions. The Major Residential Areas are listed below, with population figures from the Census of 2001:

Economy

The British military traditionally dominated the economy of Gibraltar, with the naval dockyard providing the bulk of economic activity.

Today, Gibraltar has an extensive service-based economy, dominated by financial services and tourism. Referred as an International Finance Centre , Gibraltar was among 35 jurisdictions identified by the OECD as a Tax haven in June 2000 . As a result of having made a commitment in accordance with the OECD's 2001 Progress Report on the OECD's Project on Harmful Tax Practices, Gibraltar will not be included in the next OECD's list of unco-operative tax havens .

Fiscal advantages, including no tax on capital income, are offered to the over 8.000 offshore qualified companies registered in Gibraltar .

A number of British and international banks have operations based Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a popular stop for cruise ships and attracts day visitors from resorts in Spain. Many of the large British high street chains have branches in Gibraltar, including Marks and Spencer, BHS, Dorothy Perkins, and the supermarket Morrisons.

Figures from the CIA World Factbook show that Gibraltar has a GDP of over £432 million ($769 million) with a per capita figure of £15,700 ($28,000).

The unit of currency in use is the Pound Sterling with notes issued by the Government of Gibraltar although there is an ISO code of GIP for the Gibraltar Pound.

Demographics

The population of Gibraltar was 27,884, (2005) and has been fairly constant around that number. Gibraltarians are the descendants of economic migrants that came to Gibraltar after the majority of the Spanish population left in 1704 (185 Spaniards remained in 1753).

Culture

The culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. Patients requiring medical treatment not available on the Rock receive it there as private patients paid for by the Gibraltar Government.

Gibraltar celebrates its National Day annually on September 10th, the date chosen to commemorate the 1967 Referendum which was the first act of self-determination of the people of Gibraltar.

In 2004 Gibraltar celebrated the tercentenery of its capture by the British and to honour them for their effort, and the long association as a naval base, awarded the freedom of the City to the Royal Navy.

Transport

Within Gibraltar, the main form of transport is the car. An agreement signed in Cordoba   between Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Spain on September 18, 2006 aims to improve areas of mutual interest. Spain has closed the border during disputes with Gibraltar authorities, including when the Aurora cruise ship called at Gibraltar, and for an evening by fishermen from Algeciras after a Spanish fishing vessel, The Pirana, was arrested by the Gibraltar police for illegal fishing in Gibraltar waters.

Communications

Gibraltar has a digital telephone exchange supported by a fibre optic and copper infrastructure.

International subscriber dialling is provided, and Gibraltar was allocated the access code 350 by the International Telecommunication Union.

The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation operate a television and radio station on UHF, VHF, Medium Wave and with Internet streaming of the radio service.

Military

The army garrison is provided by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, originally a part-time reserve force which was placed on the permanent establishment of the British Army in 1990. The regiment includes full-time and part-time soldiers recruited from Gibraltar, as well as British Army regulars posted from other regiments. The shore establishment at Gibraltar is named Rooke after Sir George Rooke who captured the Rock for Archduke Charles (pretender to the Spanish throne) in 1704.

British and US nuclear submarines frequently visit the Z berths at Gibraltar (source: Hansard).

The Royal Air Force station at Gibraltar forms part of Headquarters British Forces Gibraltar.

Death on the Rock

In 1988 the British SAS killed three unarmed Provisional IRA volunteers, Mairéad Farrell, Sean Savage and Daniel McCann in Gibraltar as part of Operation Flavius.

National Day

Every year Gibraltar celebrates its National Day on 10th September to commemorate the 1967 referendum where with a massive majority the people of Gibraltar voted to reject annexation by Spain.

The political rally culminates with the release of 30,000 red and white balloons representing the number of people of Gibraltar.

A good description of the occasion by Andrew Rosindell MP is:

"Gibraltar's national day, 10 September, is a magnificent celebration not only of Gibraltarians' pride in being British but of their love of their homeland."

Gibraltar UEFA Membership

The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) applied to UEFA for independent membership of the soccer confederation, which would enable it to play as a national team in international matches in Europe and around the world (as participation in FIFA flows from UEFA membership).

The Spanish football federation has objected strongly to Gibraltarian membership, leading UEFA to deny entry to the GFA.

Famous people from Gibraltar

Gibraltar in popular culture