Last weekend, the incidents at the border between Spain and Gibraltar may have had the hallmarks of a summer squabble between two normally friendly nations. Without warning, Spanish police imposed severe restrictions on traffic, resulting in six hour delays and causing hardship for the elderly, children and the unwell in searing temperatures.
The tension was only abated when David Cameron contacted his Spanish counterpart and demanded that the harassment of people entering and leaving this British territory on the Iberian peninsula cease forthwith.
Arguably, the incident is yet further evidence that the EU’s goal of a complicated system of overlapping loyalties arising in Europe from the abolition of borders is flawed and unworkable.
Spain wants Gibraltar back even though it has been a British crown territory for exactly 300 years – that is since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 when it ceded the town and harbor of Gibraltar ‘forever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever’. But one might ask the question, what would they do with it?
For those who don't know the history of Gibraltar, here is a quick summary:
Gibraltar was seized in 1704 by the British as part of its operations against the French in the War of the Spanish Succession. The goal of the war was to prevent the French from inheriting the Spanish throne in addition to their own considerably wealthy kingdom. The British and their Dutch allies were planning to enter the Mediterranean sea in an attempt to apply pressure on the French to the South and to get the French to divert some of their naval resources from the Atlantic and the Caribbean. It was hoped that they could form a bridgehead somewhere in Southern Spain in order to advance on Madrid.
In May 1704, Admiral Rooke took 30 English ships and 19 Dutch Ships of the Line into the Mediterranean. Additionally, they carried 2,400 marines who were to be commanded by Prince George von Hesse-Darmstadt who was the Queen's cousin. They were going to attempt to seize Nice but diverted themselves to Barcelona instead. They did capture this city but were to abandon it shortly afterwards. They then heard the disturbing news that the French Brest Fleet had entered the Mediterranean seeking to rendezvous with the Toulon fleet which would have created un unassailable combined strength of some 95 ships of the line. The British and Dutch fleet needed to find a safe anchorage West of Toulon in order to plan their next move. They considered trying to take Cadiz but assumed that it would be very heavily defended. The Prince then suggested Gibraltar - it would be garrisoned but not to the extent that Cadiz would be.
On August 1st, the fleet entered Gibraltar Bay. Boatloads of Marines were despatched to the Isthmus to close off the Peninsular. The Spanish Governor was asked if he would surrender in face of the overwhelming firepower at the British and Dutch command. The Spanish governor refused as a point of honour.
A thunderous bombardment commenced on August 3rd against the Spanish garrison. The overwhelming gunfire was quickly followed up by the marines who swarmed into the devastated Spanish batteries and defences. It was all over by nightfall. The Spanish requested a three day grace period to tend to the sick and wounded. On August 6th the Prince claimed the port - but not for England - but for the Austrian Charles of Habsburg who was the candidate the English were backing for the Spanish throne.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Protestant British and Dutch treated the local Catholic population brutally and harshly. Churches were ransacked, property was looted and women were raped as officers lost control of their troops. Utterly traumatised by these events, the population fled into exile, many of them setting up a new version of the town in nearby San Rocque. Indeed, San Rocque still has the ecclesiastical and civic records from the original Spanish settlement in Gibraltar.
The seizure of Gibraltar allowed the English and Dutch fleet to meet the French off of Malaga on August 24th. After a hard fought battle in which the English virtually ran out of ammunition, the two fleets broke off from one another. Although technically a draw, the result went hand in hand with the land victory at Blenheim on the very same day. These combined results were a serious setback for the French backed candidate. The war would drag on for another 8 years before the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 would finally close the conflict. It was to be this Treaty that would formally cede Gibraltar (along with Minorca) to the British in perpetuity. This would give the British a permanent base in the Mediterranean for the first time.
With the Spanish population virtually eliminated from the colony, a fresh population was imported from a variety of trading and maritime ports. In particular settlers came from Britain, Genoa and Sephardic Jews - these would later be joined by Maltese. The welcoming of Sephardic Jews was particularly resented by Spain as they had specifically included a clause in the Treaty of Utrecht to ban the settlement of Jews in Gibraltar.
Over time, this non-Spanish population would evolve an identity that was more closely tied to the fortunes of the Empire's maritime fortunes than in wishing to be re-united with Spain. Suspicion of Spain would be further tested with attempts by the Spanish to recapture Gibraltar in 1727 and then again in 1782 during the American War of Independence. Spain considered swapping the island of Puerto Rico in 1783 but finally changed its mind.
The British victory at Trafalgar in 1805 would cement the security and indispensability of the port to Britain's burgeoning Twentieth Century Empire. There would be no more attempts to seize Gibraltar by force and none even considered until the Twentieth Century.
After General Franco became the Fascist leader of Spain after the Spanish Civil War, he began to consider its re-incorporation into Spain. In fact, during WW2, the Germans discussed the possibility of Nazi troops seizing Gibraltar and returning it to Spain. However, Franco did not wish to be dragged into the war and also was suspicious of the motives of the Third Reich. He did not want to give them an excuse to march through Spain and so resisted the temptation. There were in fact rumours that the British hinted that they would return it to Spain in return for Franco's neutrality, although this has never been confirmed.
In fact, it was to be the Cold War that gave the greatest threat to the British presence in Gibraltar. The US was looking for its own version of a Gibraltar port for its Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The anti-Communist credentials of Franco could not be faulted and a joint US/Spanish port and airbase was constructed at Rota some 60 miles North West of Gibraltar in the 1950s and a series of pacts and trade deals were signed between the US and Spain.
Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Gibraltar for its 250th anniversary in 1954. Franco, emboldened by his new acceptance by America, felt confident enough to up the pressure on Britain. He used the visit as an excuse to close its consulate in Gibraltar and introduced border restrictions.
Britain was having to come to terms with its own dimunition of power. This would be confirmed by the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956 which severely dented Britain's military and diplomatic credibility in the Mediterranean. Franco took his claim on Gibraltar to the United Nations which agreed to back its claim in the General Assembly.
Britain's response was to empower the Gibraltarians by giving them a constitutional veto on the issue of its return to Spain. This was technically an amendment to the original Treaty of Utrecht. Originally, Britain had sole control over the sovereignty of the Rock but now it had joint sovereinty with the population of the Rock.
This granting of a veto further infuriated Franco who responded by closing the border and severing all communications links between Spain and Gibraltar. This would last for 13 long years.
In 1973, Britain joined the EU and as a dependent territory, Gibraltar did also. Spain would not join until 1986. Tensions have relaxed between Spain and Gibraltar in recent years. Gibraltar is part of the South West Constituency in the European Parliament.
Despite the less bellicose relationship, the Spanish would still love to see the Rock returned to them and still test the territorial integrity of waters around Gibralter.
In 2002, a referendum asked the question:
"Do you approve of the principle that Spain and the United Kingdom should share sovereignty over Gibraltar?"
Just 187 people voted Yes, whilst 17,900 voted No. This 99% majority demonstrated that the population was yet to be convinced of the merits of changing the status of its sovereignty and of exercising their veto rights gained in 1969.
In many ways, Gibraltar is probably the most significant remaining dependent territory for the British. It still holds a strategically vital position and it still maintains port and airfield facilities and can monitor flows of shipping into and out of the Mediterranean.
So should the British give it back?