Are Gibraltarians actually English expatriates living amongst Spanish inhabitants on the Rock?
No, when the Dutch and English captured the Rock in 1704 there was a Spanish garrison with a small number of Spanish civilians who were expelled. As the Dutch and British strengthened their garrison they needed civilian support such as carpenters, sail makers, bakers and people providing services in one form or another. Most of these civilians came from Genoa in Italy, others from Malta, Portugal, North Africa and some Spaniards returned. Today many generations have passed and the community has expanded to include a large number of Indian Hindu’s, Jews and Moroccan Muslims. The number of British expatriates is very small within the 30,000 inhabitants. The Gibraltarians as they now call themselves speak Spanish and English in true bilingual fashion. The Rock plays host to thousands of english speaking tourists daily, and therefore most of them feel surrounded by the British aspects of the culture, but this is misleading, the bulk of the culture is non-English Gibraltarian.
