Gibraltar
British dependency, situated on a narrow rocky promontory at the southern tip of Spain; the Rock of Gibraltar formed one of the Pillars of Hercules with Mount Acho, near Ceuta, across the Strait of Gibraltar on the north African coast; area 6.5 sq km/2.5 sq mi; population (2003 est) 29,000. Gibraltar is mainly a trading centre for the import and re-export of goods. The climate is mild and pleasant, and tourism is an important industry. Since the colony is a fortress, most of the area is taken up by military installations and the population is kept small.
History
The fortress was taken by the Moorish leader Tarik in 711. The Spanish took the peninsula in 1309 and held it until 1333, but did not definitively recover it from the Moors until 1462. Captured from Spain in 1704 by English admiral George Rooke (1650–1709), it was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). A UN-supervised referendum in 1967 confirmed the wish of the people to remain in association with the UK, but Spain continues to claim sovereignty and closed the border from 1969 to 1985. In 1989, the UK government announced it would reduce the military garrison by half. Ground troops were withdrawn in 1991, but navy and airforce units remained.
Features A strategic naval and air base is located here, with NATO underground headquarters and communications centre; there are numerous caverns and galleries cut out in the rock, the largest of which is 70 m/230 ft long. The frontier zone is adjoined by the Spanish port of La Línea. A colony of Barbary apes resides on the Rock. |
| The governor has executive authority, with the advice of the Gibraltar council, and there is an elected house of assembly. |
| The population is mostly of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Maltese, and Jewish descent. English is the official language and the currency is Gibraltar government notes and UK coinage. The predominant religion is Roman Catholic. |
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