How did Britain acquire sovereignty over Gibraltar?
Gibraltar was captured in 1704 during the war of Spanish succession by an Anglo-Dutch fleet. British sovereignty was formalised in 1713 by the treaty of Utrecht and Gibraltar became a British colony in 1830. Spain has made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture it: the Rock has endured 15 sieges, the most famous of which started in 1779 and lasted more than three years. General Franco, the Spanish dictator, closed the border with Gibraltar in the 1940s and a second cut-off was imposed in the 60s. How is Gibraltar ruled today? The British governor’s monopoly of legislative authority ended only in 1950, with the establishment of a legislative council. In 1963 Gibraltar’s status came before the UN’s special committee on decolonisation. Spain tried to revive its claim to the Rock and increased restrictions at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, a process that culminated in the closure of the frontier and the end of direct communications with the mainland in 1969. In the same year B
