1.
Glossary of vexillology
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Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
2.
Civil flag
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A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not manned by the military. In some countries, the flag is the same as the war flag or state flag but without the coat of arms, such as in the case of Spain. In others, it is an alteration of the war flag, in Scandinavia, state and war flags can be double and triple-tailed variants of the Nordic Cross flag. Many countries, particularly those with a British heritage, still have distinctive civil flags for use at sea, many based on the Red Ensign
3.
State flag
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There are two separate meanings for the term of state flag in vexillology, the flag of the government of a sovereign state and the flag of an individual subnational state. A state flag is a variant of a national flag specifically designated and restricted by law or custom to use by a government or its agencies. For this reason they are referred to as government flags. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign, state flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations, these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more referred to as the flag of the state of X. For this usage, see also, Flags of the Australian states and territories Flags of Brazilian states Flags of the U. S. states Flags of German states Znamierowski, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
4.
Ensign
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Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
5.
Civil ensign
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Civil ensign is the ensign used by civilian vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and its also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. The civil ensigns that are different from the flag can be grouped into a number of categories. Several countries use red flags with, in most cases, either the national flag or the Union Flag in the canton. British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the colonial arms in the fly. Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise-green flag, Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act, which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghana ships. Similarly, Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969, several countries have civil ensigns that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland, most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries or from other signal flags. In several countries there are two versions of the flag, a simpler one and a more elaborate one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as ensign, whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government. In Spain and Argentina the flag without the arms is only a variant for civil use, in El Salvador, the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions. France is a case, the overall proportion is the same. Civil and merchant ensigns Civil air ensign
6.
Governor of Gibraltar
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The Governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Government, the governor serves as commander-in-chief of Gibraltars military forces and has sole responsibility for defence and security. The governor has their own flag in Gibraltar, the Union Flag defaced with the coat of arms. However, at their residence, the Union flag and the flag of Gibraltar are also flown. The Convent Chief Minister of Gibraltar Governors of Gibraltar at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
7.
Defacement (flag)
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Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol or charge to another flag. For example, the New Zealand flag is the British Blue Ensign defaced with a Southern Cross in the fly, in the context of vexillology, the word deface carries no negative connotations, in contrast to general usage. It simply indicates differentiation of the flag from that of another owner by addition of elements, for example, many state flags are formed by defacing the national flag with a coat of arms. Such changing ideological emblems appeared over time, among others, on the flags of Italy, Hungary, Romania, Germany Ethiopia, an already defaced flag can be further defaced. For example, the Australian flag is already a defaced Blue Ensign, the Australian Border Force Flag is further defaced with the words border force. In the United States it is against the Flag Code to deface the flag with advertising or with any other sigil. Such flags are nevertheless available, depicting the seals of various branches of the U. S. military, Native American related objects such as tomahawks or war bonnets. It is common for football supporters travelling abroad for a match to bring a national flag defaced with the name of their home town or a similar local identifier
8.
Coat of arms of Gibraltar
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The coat of arms of Gibraltar was first granted by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on 10 July 1502 by Isabella I of Castile during Gibraltars Spanish period. The arms consists of an escutcheon and features a red castle under which hangs a golden key. The arms were described in the Royal Warrant as consisting of, the arms consist of a shield parted per fess, 1st Division, Two thirds Argent, a triple-towered castle of Gules, masoned and ajouré of Sable. 2nd Division, One third Gules, a key of Or hanging by a chain also of Or from the castle, the castle has its roots in the heraldry of the Kingdom of Castile, the largest and most important medieval Spanish kingdom, of which Isabella was Queen. The preamble to the warrant granting the coat of arms to Gibraltar said, the idea of Gibraltar being the key to Spain or the Mediterranean originated well before the Spanish conquest. The followers of Tariq ibn Ziyad, who invaded Spain via Gibraltar in 711, are said to have adopted the symbol of the key when they settled in Granada. The coat of arms was accompanied by the inscription Seal of the city of Gibraltar. The arms differ from the seal of Gibraltar, which is an image of the Rock of Gibraltar with a ship in the forefront. There is no evidence available as to when this image was created, from 1982, a banner of the arms has been used as the flag of Gibraltar. The arms also appear in the flag of the governor of Gibraltar, the arms of the government of Gibraltar are the same as the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom combined with a badge featuring the coat of arms of Gibraltar. The Royal Warrant of 1502 which granted the coat of arms was taken by the city council to San Roque along with Gibraltars standard and records, and is now in the San Roque municipal archives. The establishment became a new town in 1706, addressed by King Philip V of Spain as My city of Gibraltar resident in its Campo, therefore, they kept the old coat of arms granted to Gibraltar in 1502. In 2015, the Commonwealth of the Municipalities of the Gibraltar Countryside adopted a coat of arms, the modern Spanish Royal Crown is used as heraldic crest. List of coats of arms of Gibraltar List of coats of arms of the United Kingdom and dependencies History of Gibraltar Spanish heraldry
9.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
10.
Isabella I of Castile
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Isabella I was Queen of Castile. She was married to Ferdinand II of Aragon and their marriage became the basis for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdoms, Isabella was granted the title Servant of God by the Catholic Church in 1974. Isabella was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Ávila, to John II of Castile, at the time of her birth, she was second in line to throne after her older half-brother Henry. Henry was 26 at that time and married but childless and her younger brother Alfonso was born two years later on 17 November 1453, lowering her position to third in line. When her father died in 1454, her half-brother ascended to the throne as Henry IV, Isabella and Alfonso were left in Henrys care. She, her mother and her brother Alfonso then moved to Arévalo and these were times of turmoil for Isabella. Living conditions in their castle in Arévalo were poor, and they suffered from a shortage of money, even though living conditions were lackluster, under the careful eye of her mother, Isabella was instructed in lessons of practical piety and in a deep reverence for religion. Alfonso was placed in the care of a tutor while Isabella became part of the Queens household, some of Isabellas living conditions improved in Segovia. She always had food and clothing and lived in a castle that was adorned with gold, Isabellas basic education consisted of reading, spelling, writing, grammar, mathematics, art, chess, dancing, embroidery, music, and religious instruction. She and her ladies-in-waiting entertained themselves with art, embroidery, and she lived a relaxed lifestyle, but she rarely left Segovia as Henry forbade this. Her half-brother was keeping her from the political turmoils going on in the kingdom, though Isabella had full knowledge of what was going on, the noblemen, anxious for power, confronted King Henry, demanding that his younger half brother Infante Alfonso be named his successor. They even went so far as to ask Alfonso to seize the throne, the nobles, now in control of Alfonso and claiming that he was the true heir, clashed with Henrys forces at the Second Battle of Olmedo in 1467. Henry agreed to recognise Alfonso as heir presumptive, provided that he would marry his daughter, soon after he was named Prince of Asturias, Alfonso died in July 1468, likely of the plague. The nobles who had supported him suspected poisoning, as she had been named in her brothers will as his successor, the nobles asked Isabella to take his place as champion of the rebellion. However, support for the rebels had begun to wane, the question of Isabellas marriage was not a new one. Indeed, she had made her debut in the market at the tender age of six, with a betrothal to Ferdinand. At that time, the two kings, Henry and John, were eager to show their love and confidence
11.
Rock of Gibraltar
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The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Rock is Crown property of the United Kingdom, and borders Spain, most of the Rocks upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 300 Barbary macaques. These macaques, as well as a network of tunnels. The Rock of Gibraltar was one of the Pillars of Hercules and was known to the Romans as Mons Calpe, in ancient times, the two points marked the limit to the known world, a myth originally fostered by the Greeks and the Phoenicians. Gibraltar is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and has no contact with the Atlantic Ocean, the Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic promontory. The Main Ridge has a sharp crest with peaks over 400 m above sea level and it is a deeply eroded and highly faulted limb of an overturned fold. The sedimentary strata composing the Rock of Gibraltar are overturned, with the oldest strata overlying the youngest strata and these strata are the Catalan Bay Shale Formation, Gibraltar Limestone, Little Bay Shale Formation, and Dockyard Shale Formation. These strata are noticeably faulted and deformed, the Catalan Bay Shale Formation contains unidentifiable echinoid spines and belemnite fragments and infrequent Early Jurassic ammonites. The Gibraltar Limestone consists of greyish-white or pale-gray compact, and sometime finely crystalline and this formation comprises about three quarters of the Rock of Gibraltar. Geologists have found various poorly preserved and badly eroded and rolled marine fossils within it, the fossils found in the Gibraltar Limestone include various brachiopods, corals, echinoid fragments, gastropods, pelecypods, and stromatolites. These fossils indicate an Early Jurassic age for the deposition of the Gibraltar Limestone, the Little Bay and Dockyard shale formations form a very minor part of the Rock of Gibraltar. The Little Bay Shale Formation consists of dark bluish-gray, unfossiliferous shale, which is interbedded with layers of grit, mudstone. The Dockyard Shale Formation is an undescribed variegated shale of unknown age that lies buried beneath the Gibraltars dockyard and coastal protection structures. When the African tectonic plate collided tightly with the Eurasian plate, the Atlantic Ocean then broke through the Strait of Gibraltar, and the resultant flooding created the Mediterranean Sea. The Rock forms part of the Betic Cordillera, a range that dominates south-eastern Iberia. Today, the Rock of Gibraltar forms a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern coast of Spain, the promontory is linked to the continent by means of a sandy tombolo with a maximum elevation of 3 m. To the north, the Rock rises vertically from sea level up to 411.5 m at Rock Gun Battery, the Rocks highest point stands 426 m near the south end above the strait at OHaras Battery. The Rocks central peak, Signal Hill and the top station of the Gibraltar Cable Car, the western face, where the City of Gibraltar is located, is comparatively less steep
12.
British Overseas Territories
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The 14 British Overseas Territories are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and, with the exception of Gibraltar, are not part of the European Union, though the Cyprus SBAs are subject to EU law and use the Euro. Most of the territories are internally self-governing, with the UK retaining responsibility for defence. The rest are either uninhabited or have a population of military or scientific personnel. They share the British monarch as head of state, the term British Overseas Territory was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, replacing the term British Dependent Territory, introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were referred to as British Crown Colonies. With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Territories retain permanent civilian populations. Permanent residency for the 7,000 or so living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri. Collectively, the Territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people, the vast majority of this,660,000 square miles, constitutes the British Antarctic Territory. The current minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas is Baroness Anelay, Minister of State for the Commonwealth, the other three territories are the responsibility of Sir Alan Duncan MP, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas. The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland, where English fishermen routinely set up camps in the 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador and it retains strong cultural ties with Britain. English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown, st. Georges town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World. Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in the shaping of the English and British trans-Atlantic Empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies, separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Rhodesia. These and other large self-governing colonies had become known as Dominions by the 1920s, the Dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster. Through a process of following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia
13.
British ensign
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In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton, with either a red, white or blue field, dependent on whether the vessel is civilian, naval and these are known as the red, white, and blue ensigns respectively. Outside the nautical sphere, ensigns are used to designate many other units, government departments. The Union Flag should be flown as a jack by Royal Navy ships only when moored, at anchor, while underway and dressed with masthead ensigns, the Union Flag may also signal that a court martial is in progress. Todays white ensign, as used by Royal Navy ships, incorporates the St Georges Cross, British yachts owned by members of the Royal Yacht Squadron are authorised to apply for a permit to wear this ensign. Defaced white ensigns include that of the British Antarctic Territory, since the reorganisation of the Royal Navy in 1864, use of the White Ensign has been restricted to ships, boats, submarines and on-shore establishments of the Royal Navy. The Royal Yacht Squadron also fly the white ensign by special dispensation, the Blue Ensign undefaced is worn by masters of vessels in possession of a warrant issued by the Director of Naval Reserves, and by the members of certain yacht clubs. Such warrants are issued to officers in the active or retired lists of the Royal Naval Reserve, the master must be of the rank of lieutenant RN or above, and fishing vessels must be crewed by at least four other Royal Naval reservists or pensioners. The Ensign of the Sea Cadet Corps is a blue ensign defaced by the SCC badge, British government departments use a variety of blue ensigns defaced in the fly with the department badge, and colonial governments use blue ensigns defaced with the colonial badge. The flag of Australia and those of its states as well as the flag of New Zealand are defaced blue ensigns, several yacht clubs are also entitled to fly blue ensigns defaced by their club badge. The Red Ensign defaced by a badge is flown by Trinity House and various organisations, merchant ships and private vessels registered in British territories and dependencies, and in several Commonwealth realms, fly the Red Ensign defaced by the badge of their territory. The Red Ensign undefaced is for the use of all other British merchant navy ships, the Red Ensign is the correct flag to be worn as courtesy flag by foreign private vessels in United Kingdom waters. Merchant vessels from British overseas territories and Crown dependencies are entitled to red ensigns defaced with the badge of their territory, the flag of the British East India Company, like the Cambridge or Grand Union Flag of the American colonies, had a red and white striped field. There were similar red-and-white and green-and-white striped ensigns in the English Navy in the 16th century, the flag of Hawaii is a British ensign with a background of white, red and blue stripes. Also in existence is a Royal Air Force ensign and a civil air ensign, the RAF Ensign is defaced with the red-white-blue RAF roundel, while the field of the civil air ensign is charged with a large dark blue cross fimbriated white. The flag of Tuvalu and that of Fiji are also defaced sky blue ensigns, the white ensign of the Commissioner of the Northern Lighthouse Board is unique in that it remains the only example of a pre-1801 Union Flag in official use today. This flag is flown from vessels with Commissioners aboard. There are two yellow ensigns in use in the South Pacific, both featuring the Southern Cross, the personal flag of the Governor of Victoria, Australia, has been the flag of Victoria with a yellow instead of a dark blue background
14.
Union Jack
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The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Further, it is used as a flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Jack also appears in the canton of the flags of several nations, the claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical investigations by the Flag Institute in 2013. The origins of the flag of Great Britain date back to 1606. King James also began to refer to a Kingdom of Great Britaine, the present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Notably, the country of Wales is not represented separately in the Union Jack, being only indirectly represented through the cross of St George. The terms Union Jack and Union Flag are both historically correct for describing the de facto flag of the United Kingdom. Whether the term Union Jack applies only when used as a flag on a ship is a modern matter of debate. According to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Until the early 17th century England and Scotland were two independent kingdoms. This changed dramatically in 1603 on the death of Elizabeth I of England, because the Queen died unmarried and childless, the English crown passed to the next available heir, her cousin James VI, King of Scotland. England and Scotland now shared the same monarch under what was known as a union of the crowns, in 1606, James VI gave orders for a British flag to be created which bore the combined crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew. The result was the Union Jack, Jack being a shortening of Jacobus, the institute also notes, it is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. In 1908, a government minister stated, in response to a parliamentary question, notwithstanding Their Lordships circular of 1902, by 1913 the Admiralty described the Union Flag and added in a foot note that A Jack is a Flag to be flown only on the Jack Staff. However, the authoritative A Complete Guide to Heraldry published in 1909 by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies uses the term Union Jack, the term Union Flag is used in King Charles Is 1634 proclamation. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly per Saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, when the first flag representing Britain was introduced on the proclamation of King James I in 1606, it became known simply as the British flag or the flag of Britain. The royal proclamation gave no name to the new flag. The word jack was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag, by 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. Reinforcing the distinction the Kings proclamation of the day concerning the arms
15.
Flag of Europe
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The Flag of Europe, or European Flag is an official symbol of two separate organizations—the Council of Europe and the European Union. When representing the latter, it is known as the Flag of the European Union. It consists of a circle of twelve five-pointed yellow stars on a blue field, the flag was designed in 1955, and officially launched later that year by the Council of Europe as a symbol for the whole of Europe. The Council of Europe urged it to be adopted by other European organisations, the EU has inherited the flags use when it was formed in 1993, being the successor organisation to the EC. It has been in wide official by the EU since the 1990s and its adoption as an official symbol of the EU was planned as part of the proposed European Constitution, which failed to be ratified in 2005. Since its adoption by the European Union, it has become associated with the supranational organisation due to its high profile. It has also used by pro-EU protestors in the colour revolutions of the 2000s. There are also a number of designs used as logos or flags of other European organisations. The flag is rectangular with 2,3 proportions, its fly is one, twelve gold stars are centred in a circle upon a blue background. All the stars are upright, have five points and are spaced according to the hour positions on the face of a clock. The diameter of each star is equal to one-ninth of the height of the hoist, the graphical specifications given by the EU describe the design as, On an azure field a circle of twelve golden mullets, their points not touching. Their number shall be set at twelve, the symbol of completeness. The base colour of the flag is a blue, while the golden stars are portrayed in Yellow. The colours are regulated according to the Pantone colouring system, a large number of designs were proposed for the flag before the current flag was agreed. The rejected proposals are preserved in the Council of Europe Archives, one of these consists of a design of white stars on a light blue field, as a gesture to the peace and internationalism of the United Nations. The number of stars on the flag is fixed at 12 and this is because it originally was the flag of the Council of Europe. In 1953, the Council of Europe had 15 members, it was proposed that the flag should have one star for each member. West Germany objected to this as one of the members was the area of Saarland
16.
Gibraltar Parliament
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The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly, the term House of Assembly has been commonly used for the legislatures of British territories that are less than fully sovereign. It was replaced by the current Gibraltar Parliament by the new 2006 constitution, all 17 of the new Parliaments members are elected. Under the election system, each voter was allowed to vote for ten members of the Assembly, the system lends itself to block voting – each of the parties or electoral coalitions tended to nominate a slate of ten candidates and encourage its supporters to vote for all of them. In most cases, the party or coalition would have all ten of its nominees elected. The Parliament sits in a building overlooking Main Street and John Mackintosh Square and it was constructed in 1817 and previously served as the Exchange and Commercial Library. In 1951, the building was refurbished to host the Legislative Council, under the 1969 Constitution, the House of Assembly was established, superseding the Legislative Council. The first session of the House of Assembly was opened on 28 August 1969 by the then Governor, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg
17.
Gibraltarians
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The Gibraltarians are a cultural group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Gibraltarians are a racial and cultural mixture of the immigrants who came to the Rock of Gibraltar over three hundred years ago. They are the descendants of migrants who came to Gibraltar following its capture by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704. All but 70 of the population of 4,000 fled to the surrounding Campo de Gibraltar. Most Gibraltarian surnames are Mediterranean or British extraction, the exact breakdown is as follows, Genoese and Catalans became the core of Gibraltars first civilian population under Habsburg Gibraltar. Sephardi Jews from Tetouan in Morocco, who had previously been suppliers to English Tangier, Jews in Gibraltar by 1755 together with the Genoese formed 50% of the civilian population. In 1888 construction of the new harbour at Gibraltar began to provide an additional coaling station on the British routes to the East and this resulted in the importation of Maltese labour both to assist in its construction, and to replace striking Genoese labour in the old coaling lighter-based industry. Maltese and Portuguese people formed the majority of new population. Other groups include Minorcans, Sardinians, Sicilians and other Italians, French, the Spanish government reopened the land frontier, but other restrictions remain in place. For the period of World War II the border was closed, although Spain was nominally neutral and it points out the areas of origin of these surnames, discusses their etymology and gives their present frequency. Remarks are made on Ligurias historical importance in this locality, and above all on the linguistic, ethnographic, the following are the most common Genoese surnames in Gibraltar, according to Tosos research. The number of Gibraltarian residents who have surnames, according to Gibraltars Yellow Pages are provided in parenthesis. Parody, Baglietto, Danino, Olivero, Robba, Montegriffo, Chipolina, Ferrary, Ramagge, Picardo, Isola, Canepa, Cavilla, by 1912 the total number of Maltese living in Gibraltar was not above 700. Many worked in the dockyard and others operated businesses which were usually ancillary to the dockyard, eventually those who stayed in Gibraltar became very much involved in the economic and social life of the colony, most of them also being staunch supporters of links with the UK. Below are a list of the most common list of Maltese surnames in Gibraltar along with the current number of Gibraltarians who possess them, azzopardi, * Barbara, * Borg, * Bugeja, * Buhagiar, * Buttigieg, * Zammit. Gibraltarians are British citizens, albeit with an identity of their own. Gibraltar is sometimes referred by the generation as Gib. They are colloquialy referred to as Llanitos, both locally and in Spain, additional nicknames exist for them in English for Gibraltar relating to the Rock of Gibraltar
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Gibraltar National Day
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Gibraltar National Day, celebrated annually on 10 September, is the official national day of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Coincidentally, the 10 September was also the day the Gibraltar Legislative Council became representative, the first National Day was so successful that the avalanche of people that spontaneously turned up could not fit into John Mackintosh Square. Therefore, the Government declared the 10 September a public holiday, in 1993 the venue was changed to the larger Grand Casemates Square, until it was again changed in 1998 to the even larger Naval Ground. Instead, the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, proposed joint sovereignty with Spain, subsequent National Days have comparatively been quieter affairs with fewer invited guests and shorter political speeches. In 2007 the running of the rally was taken over by the Government from the SDGG. In July 2008 the Government announced they would change the format of National Day to take effect the same year, the main change was their decision to no longer organise a political rally. The reason given was to emphasise civic celebration of Gibraltar rather than political revindication, later a selected school choir sings songs with a Gibraltar theme, namely Llévame Donde Nací and Virgencita de Europa. The balloon release tradition has been ended this year due to the threat that it poses to wildlife, in the meantime, the school choir leads the general public in the singing of the Gibraltar Anthem. A funday for children featuring bouncy castles and fairground rides is then held at Grand Casemates Square. There is live music is played all afternoon at Governor’s Parade, since 2007, there has been a verbena for the older members of the community. The day culminates with a half-hour-long synchronised fireworks display released from the Detached Mole in the Gibraltar Harbour at night followed by a rock concert, in 2008, the Government announced that it would change the format of Gibraltar National Day celebrations with effect from this year. This followed the new Constitution in which Britain recognised Gibraltars right to self-determination, the changes to the format were intended to emphasise Gibraltars civic celebration rather than political revindication. There would be a gathering of the community at John Mackintosh Square for a celebratory event. The event was scheduled to last a maximum of 30–45 minutes, speeches were short kept to the leader of the SDGG and those of the other three parties. The event was attended and seen as a success. The GSD Government did not send a representative as they considered the main rally held at John Mackintosh Square to be the official one. The award is presented annually by the Mayor of Gibraltar prior to the release of the balloons on Gibraltar National Day. Since 2008, a Gibraltar National Day declaration is read by the Mayor of Gibraltar at a rally held at outside the City Hall
19.
Dormitory
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A dormitory or hall of residence, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students. In the United States dorm is the most common term, which comes originally from the Latin word dormitorium, on the other hand, in the United Kingdom the term hall is more usual, especially in a university context. A dormitory can also be a room containing several beds – see Sleeping dormitories. Most colleges and universities provide single or multiple rooms for their students. These buildings consist of such rooms, like an apartment building. The largest dormitory building is Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy, many colleges and universities no longer use the word dormitory and staff are now using the term residence hall or simply hall instead. Outside academia however, the dorm or dormitory is commonly used without negative connotations. Indeed, the words are used regularly in the marketplace as well as routinely in advertising, College and university residential rooms vary in size, shape, facilities and number of occupants. Typically, a United States residence hall holds two students with no toilet. This is usually referred to as a double, often, residence halls have communal bathroom facilities. In the United States, residence halls are segregated by sex, with men living in one group of rooms. Some dormitory complexes are single-sex with varying limits on visits by persons of each sex, for example, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana has a long history of Parietals, or mixed visiting hours. In the early 2000s, dorms that allowed people of opposite sexes to share a room available in some public universities. Some colleges and university coeducational dormitories also feature coeducational bathrooms, most residence halls are much closer to campus than comparable private housing such as apartment buildings. Universities may therefore provide priority to students when allocating this accommodation. Halls located away from university facilities sometimes have extra amenities such as a room or bar. Catered halls may charge for food by the meal or through a termly subscription and they may also contain basic kitchen facilities for student use outside catering hours. Most halls contain a laundry room, as of 2015 there was an expanding market for private luxury off-campus student residences which offered substantial amenities in both the United States and Britain, particularly in London
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Lego
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Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The companys flagship product, Lego, consists of interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in ways, to construct objects, vehicles, buildings. Anything constructed can then be taken again, and the pieces used to make other objects. The Lego Group began manufacturing the interlocking toy bricks in 1949, since then a global Lego subculture has developed. Supporting movies, games, competitions, and six Legoland amusement parks have developed under the brand. As of July 2015,600 billion Lego parts had been produced, in February 2015, Lego replaced Ferrari as Brand Finances worlds most powerful brand. The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, in 1934, his company came to be called Lego, derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means play well. In 1947, Lego expanded to begin producing plastic toys, in 1949 Lego began producing, among other new products, an early version of the now familiar interlocking bricks, calling them Automatic Binding Bricks. These bricks were based in part on the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, Lego modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick after examining a sample that they received from the supplier of an injection-molding machine that Lego purchased. The bricks, originally manufactured from cellulose acetate, were a development of the traditional wooden blocks of the time. The Lego Groups motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means only the best is the best. This motto, which is used today, was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality. Although a common sentiment, Lego toys seem to have become a significant exception to the dislike of plastic in childrens toys, by 1954, Christiansens son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with a buyer that led to the idea of a toy system. In 1958, the brick design was developed, however, it took another five years to find the right material for it. The modern Lego brick design was patented on 28 January 1958, in 1978, Lego produced the first minifigures, which have since become a staple in most sets. The results will be shared with schools as part of an educational project, in May 2013, the largest model ever created was displayed in New York and was made of over 5 million bricks, a 1,1 scale model of an X-wing fighter
21.
John Mackintosh Hall
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The John Mackintosh Hall is the main cultural centre in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It consists of a library, a theatre, conference hall. The hall was built on the site the old military Grand Stores as that building had been damaged by the explosion in 1951 caused by RFA Bedenham which killed 13 people. The John Mackintosh Hall was opened to the public by the then Governor, General Sir Dudley Ward, although it was originally designed as an educational institution specifically for the benefit of Gibraltars youth, it has over time been adapted to also cater for various adult cultural events. The library was expanded and the theatre can now host conferences and lectures, besides musical performances. The two major plays written in Gibraltar, La Lola se va pá Londre and Connie con cama camera en el comedor, both by Elio Cruz, debuted in the John Mackintosh Hall in 1966 and 1969 respectively
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Public library
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A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is generally funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries, Public libraries exist in many countries across the world and are often considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public access to books is not new, romans made scrolls in dry rooms available to patrons of the baths, and tried with some success to establish libraries within the empire. In the middle of the 19th century, the push for public libraries, paid for by taxes. Public libraries were started with a donation, or were bequeathed to parishes, churches. These social and institutional libraries formed the base of many academic and public collections of today. The establishment of circulating libraries in the 18th century, by booksellers and publishers provided a means of gaining profit, the circulating libraries not only provided a place to sell books, but also a place to lend books for a price. These circulating libraries provided a variety of including the increasingly popular novels. Circulating libraries were not exclusively lending institutions and often provided a place for other forms of commercial activity and this was necessary because the circulating libraries did not generate enough funds through subscription fees collected from its borrowers. As a commerce venture, it was important to consider the factors such as other goods or services available to the subscribers. The Malatestiana Library, also known as the Malatesta Novello Library, is a public library dating from 1452 in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna and it was the first European civic library, i. e. belonging to the Commune and open to everybody. It was commissioned by the Lord of Cesena, Malatesta Novello, the works were directed by Matteo Nuti of Fano and lasted from 1447 to 1452. In the early years of the 17th century, many famous collegiate, norwich City library was established in 1608 and Chethams Library in Manchester, which claims to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, opened in 1653. Claude Sallier, the French philologist and churchman, operated an early form of library in the town of Saulieu from 1737 to 1750. He wished to make culture and learning accessible to all people, the Załuski Library was built in Warsaw 1747–1795 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski, both Roman Catholic bishops. The library was open to the public and indeed was the first Polish public library, at the start of the 18th century, libraries were becoming increasingly public and were more frequently lending libraries. The 18th century saw the switch from closed parochial libraries to lending libraries, before this time, public libraries were parochial in nature and libraries frequently chained their books to desks
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Flags of the World
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Flags of the World is an Internet-based vexillological association and resource. Its principal project is the Internets largest website devoted to vexillology, containing information about all kinds of flags. The mailing list began as a group in about September 1993, while the website was founded by Giuseppe Bottasini in late 1994. FotW became the 56th member of the FIAV in 2001, both the website and the mailing list operate in the English language, though there are members from around the world and as such information from many languages is translated and included. The mailing list is monitored by the FOTW Listmaster, while work on the website is coordinated by the FOTW Editorial Director, the website is updated once a week with fresh material, some mirrors update monthly. Due to the amount of material there is an editing backlog. There are also some mirrors that have not been updated for varying periods of time, the source for material on the FOTW website are contributions to the FOTW mailing list, which has over 1000 members, of which some 100 are active contributors. The mailing list has notable minorities of Portuguese, French, Dutch, a staff of three unpaid volunteers manages and moderates the list. An affiliated Flags of the World Facebook group has established, inaugurated by Edward Mooney. As of November 2016 the group is run and moderated by a team of ten administrators, FOTW displays standardized flag images in GIF format, usually at a height of 216 pixels. While the GIF file format is capable of displaying 256 colours, the organizations flag is a design by Mark Sensen, which was selected over 10 challengers in a poll of FOTW mailing list members and was adopted 8 March 1996. Since then, March 8 has been regarded as FOTWs Flag day, Sensen described its symbolism, White on the hoist stands for peace, blue on the fly for progress. The six colours of the stars are the colours used in flags. The stars help to make one bigger symbol, the way the stars are all connected to each other represents the Internet. The flag is used as a rare representation of the Internet on a flag. List of flags List of flags by country Gallery of country flags Flags of the World Dictionary of Vexillology Flag Days Of The World FOTW mailing list
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History of Gibraltar
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The history of Gibraltar, a small peninsula on the southern Iberian coast near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, spans over 2,900 years. The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times into one of the most densely fortified and fought-over places in Europe, as one historian has put it. Gibraltar was first inhabited over 50,000 years ago by Neanderthals, Gibraltars recorded history began around 950 BC with the Phoenicians, who lived nearby. Gibraltar became part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania following the collapse of the Roman Empire and it was permanently settled for the first time by the Moors and was renamed Jebel Tariq – the Mount of Tariq, later corrupted into Gibraltar. The Christian Crown of Castile annexed it in 1309, lost it again to the Moors in 1333, Gibraltar became part of the unified Kingdom of Spain and remained under Spanish rule until 1704. It was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in the name of Charles VI of Austria, at the wars end, Spain ceded the territory to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. Spain tried to control of Gibraltar, which Britain had declared a Crown colony, through military. Gibraltar was besieged and heavily bombarded during three wars between Britain and Spain but the attacks were repulsed on each occasion, by the end of the last siege, in the late 18th century, Gibraltar had faced fourteen sieges in 500 years. In the years after Trafalgar, Gibraltar became a base in the Peninsular War. The colony grew rapidly during the 19th and early 20th centuries and it was a key stopping point for vessels en route to India via the Suez Canal. A large British naval base was constructed there at great expense at the end of the 19th century, British control of Gibraltar enabled the Allies to control the entrance to the Mediterranean during the Second World War. It was attacked on several occasions by German, Italian and Vichy French forces, the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco declined to join a Nazi plan to occupy Gibraltar but revived Spains claim to the territory after the war. As the territorial dispute intensified, Spain closed its border with Gibraltar between 1969 and 1985 and communications links were severed, Spains position was supported by Latin American countries but was rejected by Britain and the Gibraltarians themselves, who vigorously asserted their right to self-determination. Discussions of Gibraltars status have continued between Britain and Spain but have not reached any conclusion, since 1985, Gibraltar has undergone major changes as a result of reductions in Britains overseas defence commitments. Most British forces have left the territory, which is no longer seen as a place of military importance. Its economy is now based on tourism, financial services, shipping, Gibraltar is largely self-governed, with its own parliament and government, though the UK maintains responsibility for defence and foreign policy. Its economic success has made it one of the wealthiest areas of the European Union, the history of Gibraltar has been driven by its strategic position near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a peninsula at the eastern side of the Bay of Gibraltar,6 kilometres from the city of Algeciras
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Neanderthals in Gibraltar
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The Neanderthals in Gibraltar were among the first to be discovered by modern scientists and may have been among the last of their species. The skull of a Neanderthal child was discovered nearby in 1926, the caves in the Rock of Gibraltar that the Neanderthals inhabited have been excavated and have revealed a wealth of information about their lifestyle and the prehistoric landscape of the area. The peninsula stood on the edge of a coastal plain, now submerged. Unlike northern Europe, which underwent massive swings in its climate and was uninhabitable for long periods. It became a refuge from the ice ages for animals, plants and Neanderthals, the Gibraltar Neanderthals first came to light in 1848 during excavations in the course of the construction of a fortification called Forbes Barrier at the northern end of the Rock of Gibraltar. They gave a report on it to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1864 and proposed that the species be called Homo calpicus after Mons Calpe, the ancient name for Gibraltar. It was only realised that the skull was a specimen of Homo neanderthalensis. The skull was the first Neanderthal adult cranium to be discovered and, although small, is nearly complete, in 1926, a second Neanderthal skull was found by Dorothy Garrod at a rock shelter named Devils Tower, very close to Forbes Quarry. This fossil, known as Gibraltar 2, is less complete than the Gibraltar 1 skull and has been identified as that of a four-year-old child. Further excavations at the two sites are infeasible, large-scale excavations in 1947-54 by John dArcy Waechter showed that Gorhams Cave had been occupied for over 100,000 years during the Middle Palaeolithic, Upper Palaeolithic and Holocene epochs. Further excavations have been carried out in Gorhams, Vanguard and Ibex Caves since 1994 as part of the Gibraltar Museums Gibraltar Caves Project, the finds have enabled palaeontologists to reconstruct the lifestyles of the occupants and their environment in considerable detail. When Ibex Cave was discovered in 1975, fifty artefacts from the Middle Pleistocene period were found on the surface along with vertebrate remains and shells. Neanderthal tools were found in an excavation carried out there in 1994 by the Gibraltar Caves Project, most of the stone tools appear to have been deposited during a single period of occupation, perhaps as short as a single day. In July 2012, archaeologists discovered an engraving in Gorhams Cave, buried under 39, 000-year-old sediments, which has been called the oldest known example of abstract art. Consisting of a series of intersecting lines, the engraving is located about 100 metres inside the cave on a ledge that is thought to have used by Neanderthals as a sleeping place. Its meaning is not known but researchers have described it as providing the first evidence that Neanderthals had the ability to produce abstract act. Pleistocene Gibraltar was physically different from today. During the ice ages, the greater volume of water locked up in the polar ice caps
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Timeline of the history of Gibraltar
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The history of Gibraltar portrays how The Rock gained an importance and a reputation far exceeding its size, influencing and shaping the people who came to reside here over the centuries. Evidence of hominid inhabitation of the Rock dates back to the Neanderthals, a Neanderthal skull was discovered in Forbes Quarry in 1848, prior to the original discovery in the Neander Valley. In 1926, the skull of a Neanderthal child was found in Devils Tower, modern humans apparently visited the Gibraltar area in prehistoric times after the Neanderthal occupancy. While the rest of Europe was cooling, the area around Gibraltar back then resembled a European Serengeti, evidence at the cave shows the Neanderthals of Gibraltar likely used it as a shelter for 100,000 years. Cro-Magnon man took over Gibraltar around 24,000 BCE, the Phoenicians are known to have visited the Rock circa 950 BC and named the Rock Calpe. However, neither group appears to have settled permanently, plato refers to Gibraltar as one of the Pillars of Hercules along with Jebel Musa or Monte Hacho on the other side of the Strait. The Romans visited Gibraltar, but no permanent settlement was established, Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Gibraltar was occupied by the Vandals and later the Goths kingdoms. The Vandals did not remain for long although the Visigoths remained on the Iberian peninsula from 414 to 711. The Gibraltar area and the rest of the South Iberian Peninsula was part of the Byzantine Empire during the part of the 6th century. 71130 April – The Umayyad general Tariq ibn Ziyad, leading a Berber-dominated army and he first attempted to land on Algeciras but failed. Upon his failure, he landed undetected at the point of the Rock from present-day Morocco in his quest for Spain. It was here that Gibraltar was named, coming from the Arabian words Gabal-Al-Tariq. Little was built during the first four centuries of Moorish control,1160 – The Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to inspect the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the castle standing today. 1231 – After the collapse of the Almohad Empire, Gibraltar was taken by Ibn Hud,1237 – Following the death of Ibn Hud, his domains were handed over to Mohammed I ibn Nasr, the founder of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. 1274 – The second Nasrid king, Muhammed II al-Faqih, gave Gibraltar over to the Marinids,1309 – While the King Ferdinand IV of Castile laid siege on Algeciras, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán was sent to capture the town. This was the First Siege of Gibraltar, the Castilians took the Upper Rock from where the town was bombarded
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Pillars of Hercules
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The Pillars of Hercules was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar, according to Platos account, the lost realm of Atlantis was situated beyond the Pillars of Hercules, in effect placing it in the realm of the Unknown. Renaissance tradition says the pillars bore the warning Ne plus ultra, according to some Roman sources, while on his way to the garden of the Hesperides on the island of Erytheia, Hercules had to cross the mountain that was once Atlas. Instead of climbing the mountain, Hercules used his superhuman strength to smash through it. By doing so, he connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, one part of the split mountain is Gibraltar and the other is either Monte Hacho or Jebel Musa. These two mountains taken together have since then known as the Pillars of Hercules, though other natural features have been associated with the name. The Pillars appear as supporters of the coat of arms of Spain, originating in the impresa of Spains sixteenth century king Charles I and it bears the motto Plus Ultra, Latin for further beyond, implying that the pillars were a gateway. The columns of the Melqart temple at Tyre were also of religious significance, Syriac scholars were aware of the Pillars through their efforts to translate Greek scientific works into their language as well as into Arabic. The Syriac compendium of known as Ktaba dellat koll ellan. Ulysses justifies endangering his sailors by the fact that his goal is to gain knowledge of the unknown, the Pillars appear prominently on the engraved title page of Sir Francis Bacons Instauratio Magna,1620, an unfinished work of which the second part was his influential Novum Organum. The motto along the base says Multi pertransibunt et augebitur scientia, the image was based on the use of the pillars in Spanish and Habsburg propaganda. On the Spanish coast at Los Barrios are Torres de Hercules which are twin towers that were inspired by the Pillars of Hercules and these towers are the tallest buildings in Andalucía
28.
First Siege of Gibraltar
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The First Siege of Gibraltar was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista that took place in 1309. The battle resulted in a victory for the Kingdom of Castile and it was further agreed that the Aragonese monarch, James II, could not sign a separate peace accord with the Emir of Granada. A combined Aragonese-Castilian navy was formed to support the siege in a blockade of the coastal Granadian towns. It was also stipulated that the Kingdom of Castile would attack the towns of Algeciras and Gibraltar and that the Aragonese forces would attempt to conquer the city of Almería. These concessions to the Crown of Aragon led a few of Ferdinand IVs vassals to protest the ratification of the treaty, amongst them were John of Castile and Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena. The concessions to Aragon, which had begun a period of relative irrelevancy compared to Castile, Aragon had previously reached its height under the Treaty of Cazola and the Treaty of Almizra which saw its territory and influence expand considerably. Ferdinand insisted on the Aragonese alliance to cement an alliance between Aragon and the King of Morocco so that they would not intervene in the war with Granada. They also asked for the blessing of a marriage between the Infanta Eleanor of Castile, the firstborn daughter of Ferdinand IV and Jaime de Aragón y Anjou, son. The majority of this consisted of the militia councils of Seville. From Toledo, Ferdinand IV and his army marched to Córdoba where the emissaries of James II announced that the Aragonese king was prepared to besiege the city of Almeria, final preparations for the siege were carried out in Seville, where Ferdinand IV arrived in July 1309. The supply line for the army passed through Seville and crossed the Guadalquivir River. The group was further bolstered by Garci López de Padilla, the grand master of the Order of Calatrava. The forces from the Crown of Aragon, under the command of James II had already begun their own war against the Kingdom of Granada and were in place besieging the city of Almería by 15 August 1309. That ill fated venture lasted until 26 January 1310 when the forces of Aragon were obliged to withdraw from the due to stalemate. The chronicles of Ferdinand IV mention that the Castilian forces surrounded the city of Gibraltar, Guzmán and Lara allowed for some 1,125 Muslim inhabitants of the city to leave unharmed. On 12 September 1309, Ferdinand IVs army officially occupied Gibraltar, É pues veo que en ningún lugar destos non puedo fincar, yo yré allende la mar é me porné en lugar do biva en salvo é acabe mis días. - Fernando IV de Castilla The Castilian victory at Gibraltar ended almost 600 years of Muslim rule over the city, after the conquest of Gibraltar, Ferdinand IV ordered the repair of the city defences which had been damaged during the assault. He also ordered the construction of a new tower to defend the city walls and he further ordered the building of a shipyard that would serve to shelter passing ships
29.
Battle of Gibraltar (1607)
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The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place on 25 April 1607 during the Eighty Years War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a Spanish fleet anchored at the Bay of Gibraltar. During the four hours of action, most of the Spanish ships were destroyed, a Dutch fleet of 26 warships was led by Jacob van Heemskerk. Other Dutch ships were De Tijger, De Zeehond, De Griffioen, De Roode Leeuw, De Gouden Leeuw, De Zwarte Beer, De Witte Beer, a Spanish fleet of 21 ships or 10 ships, including 10 galleons, was led by Don Juan Álvarez de Ávila. The Spanish flagship San Augustin was commanded by Don Juans son, other ships were Nuestra Señora de la Vega and Madre de Dios. The Spanish fleet was covered by a fortress, although the Dutch fleet was out of range of its guns at all times, Van Heemskerk left some of his ships at the bay entrance to prevent the escape of any Spanish ships. Twenty from the Dutch fleet were ordered to focus on the Spanish galleons while the rest attacked the smaller vessels, Van Heemskerk was killed during the first approach on the Spanish flagship as a cannon ball severed his leg. The Dutch then doubled up on the galleons and a few of the galleons caught fire, one exploded due to a shot into the powder magazine. The Dutch captured the Spanish flagship but let it go adrift, following the destruction of the Spanish ships, the Dutch deployed boats and killed hundreds of swimming Spanish sailors. The Dutch lost 100 men including admiral Van Heemskerk, depending on the sources, most or all of the Spanish ships were lost and between 3500 and 4000 Spaniards killed or captured. Álvarez de Ávila was amongst the dead, armada Española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. Madrid, Spain, Est. tipográfico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, francis Vere, Salt in their Blood, The Lives of the Famous Dutch Admirals,1955. Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche zeewezen, Johannes Cornelis de Jonge 1833-1848 Vier eeuwen varen, L. M. Akveld, bosscher, J. R. Bruijn en F. C. van Oosten 1973 Warnsinck, J. C. M. Twaalf Doorluchtige Zeehelden An account from MOTLEYS HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS PDF Dutch ministry of defense
30.
Capture of Gibraltar
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The Capture of Gibraltar by Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1–3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. This strength helped persuade King Peter II of Portugal to sever his alliance with France and Bourbon controlled Spain, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt represented the Habsburg cause in the region. However, in order to compensate for their lack of success the Alliance commanders resolved to capture Gibraltar, following a heavy bombardment the town was invaded by English and Dutch marines and sailors. The governor, Diego de Salinas, agreed to surrender Gibraltar, three days later Prince George entered the town with Austrian and Spanish Habsburg troops in the name of Charles III of Spain. However, the Grand Alliance failed in its objective of replacing Philip V with Charles III as King of Spain but in the peace negotiations Gibraltar was ceded to Britain. At the start of the War of the Spanish Succession Portugal was nominally an ally of the Bourbons, France under Louis XIV, although not a belligerent, Portugals harbours were closed to the enemies of the Bourbon powers – principally the vessels of England and the Dutch Republic. However, following the Anglo-Dutch naval victory at Vigo Bay in 1702 the balance of forces had swung in favour of the Grand Alliance. Having now the ability to cut off Portugals food supplies and trade it was not hard for the Allied diplomats to induce King Peter II to sign the Methuen Treaties of May 1703 and join the Alliance. Once Peter II had committed himself to war the Alliance fleets gained access to Portugals harbours, known to his supporters as Charles III of Spain, the young pretender arrived in Lisbon – via London – with George Rookes fleet on 7 March 1704, amid great celebrations. Apart from the failed Grand Alliance attempt take Cádiz in 1702, and the subsequent attack on the Spanish treasure fleet in Vigo Bay, with Portugals change of allegiance, however, the war moved towards Spain. In May 1704 the court at Lisbon received news that French, but without supply for their forces, the coming summer heat made it impossible for them to continue with the campaign, and Philip V returned to Madrid on 16 July to a heros welcome. However, the heat did not affect the war at sea where the Alliance was in a position of strength, using Lisbon as an improvised forward base Admiral Rooke’s Anglo-Dutch fleet ventured into the Mediterranean Sea in May 1704. After seeing the Levant trading fleet safely through the Strait of Gibraltar Rooke headed towards Nice to put himself in touch with Victor Amadeus II, accompanying Rooke was Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt who had enjoyed popularity amongst the Catalans as their governor at the end of the Nine Years War. Moreover, the dissidents were incensed by the size of the Alliance force and had expected the personal appearance of Charles III, ultimatums for Velesco to surrender on pain of bombardment were ignored, and the plans for an insurrection from within the city’s walls failed to materialize. Rooke, fearing an attack from a French squadron, was impatient for departure, Prince George could do little more than order his local followers – a thousand in all – to disperse to their homes. The marines embarked on 1 June without loss, meanwhile, the comte de Toulouse, one of Louis XIV’s illegitimate sons, was sailing towards the Straits with the fleet from Brest. News from Lisbon of the French manoeuvres reached Rooke on 5 June, determined to prevent the junction of the Toulon and Brest fleets Rooke decided to risk a battle. Rooke met Shovell on 27 June off Lagos, Peter II and ‘Charles III’ sent word from Lisbon that they now wished another attempt to be made on Cádiz
31.
George Rooke
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Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay, as a captain, he conveyed Prince William of Orange to England and took part in the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland. As a flag officer, Rooke commanded a division of the Royal Navy during their defeat at the Battle of Beachy Head and he also commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur and distinguished himself at the Battle of La Hogue. He was later defeated while escorting a convoy at the Battle of Lagos and he also commanded the allied naval forces at the capture of Gibraltar and attacked the French fleet at the Battle of Málaga. Born the son of Colonel Sir William Rooke and Jane Rooke, Rooke joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1672. He transferred to the first-rate HMS Royal Prince, flagship of the Duke of York, in 1673, promoted to captain on 13 November 1673, Rooke was given command of the sixth-rate HMS Holmes and was deployed on convoy duties. After a period of service in the Army, Rooke transferred to the command of the fifth-rate HMS Nonsuch in April 1677 and conveyed Prince William of Orange to England in October 1677. In Deptford he saw action at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689 when a French fleet tried to land troops in Southern Ireland to fight against Prince William during the Williamite War in Ireland. His tactics during the battle were subsequently severely criticised at the inquiry, knighted on 20 February 1693, he commanded the escort for Smyrna convoy, which was scattered and partly captured by the French Admiral Comte de Tourville at the Battle of Lagos in June 1693. He was promoted to admiral in July 1693. Rooke became a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty on the Admiralty board led by Admiral Edward Russell in May 1694 and he also became commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1695 and then returned to England in April 1696. When the Admiralty was reconstituted under a council headed by the Lord High Admiral and he was also appointed Vice-Admiral of England later that year. The Allies resolved upon an expedition, led by Rooke, to capture the southern Spanish port of Cádiz, however, on arrival in August 1702 the Allies made little or no progress in the assault on Cádiz. However the English Government had become aware that a Spanish treasure fleet was sitting in Vigo Bay, Rooke received the thanks of Parliament in this important action in the opening stages of the War of the Spanish Succession. Rooke safely delivered Archduke Charles of Austria to Windsor Castle in December 1703, Rooke also attacked the French fleet at the Battle of Málaga later that month. He died at his home, Lawrence House in Canterbury, on 24 January 1709 and was buried at St Pauls Church in Canterbury. In November 2004 Peter Caruana, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, unveiled a statue of Rooke as part of the 300th anniversary celebration of the capture of Gibraltar, in around October 1684 Rooke married to Mary Howe. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Luttrell in January 1701, after the death of his second wife, he married Catherine Knatchbull in January 1706
32.
Treaty of Utrecht
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The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. They marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the wars of Louis XIV, the War of the Spanish Succession was occasioned by the failure of the Habsburg king, Charles II of Spain, to produce an heir. Dispute followed the death of Charles II in 1700, and fourteen years of war were the result, France and Great Britain had come to terms in October 1711, when the preliminaries of peace had been signed in London. The preliminaries were based on an acceptance of the partition of Spains European possessions. Following this, the Congress of Utrecht opened on 29 January 1712, with the British representatives being John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, and Thomas Wentworth, Lord Strafford. Reluctantly the United Provinces accepted the preliminaries and sent representatives, and this assurance was given, and so in February the Imperial representatives made their appearance. As Philip was not yet recognized as its king, Spain did not at first send plenipotentiaries, but the Duke of Savoy sent one, and the Kingdom of Portugal was represented by Luís da Cunha. With Great Britain and France having agreed upon a truce, the pace of negotiation now quickened, and the main treaties were finally signed on 11 April 1713. The treaty recognised Louis XIVs grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, as King of Spain, however, Philip was compelled to renounce for himself and his descendants any right to the French throne. In similar fashion various French princelings, including most notably the Duke of Berry, Utrecht marked the rise of Great Britain under Anne and later the House of Hanover, her exploits martial were due to Marlborough. Portugal had its sovereignty recognised over the lands between the Amazon and Oyapock rivers, in Brazil, in 1715, the Portuguese also recovered Colónia do Sacramento, previously taken by Spain in Uruguay. In North America, France ceded to Great Britain its claims to Newfoundland and they also ceded the Acadian colony of Nova Scotia. The formerly partitioned island of Saint Kitts was also ceded in its entirety to Britain, France was required to recognise British suzerainty over the Iroquois and commerce with the Far Indians was to be open to traders of all nations. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Île-Saint-Jean, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as Île Royale, a series of commercial treaties were also signed. The treatys territorial provisions did not go as far as the Whigs in Britain would have liked, considering that the French had made overtures for peace in 1706, the Whigs considered themselves the heirs of the staunch anti-French policies of William III and the Duke of Marlborough. However, in the Parliament of 1710 the Tories had gained control of the House of Commons, Queen Anne and her advisors had also come to agree. The French negotiator Melchior de Polignac taunted the Dutch with the scathing remark de vous, chez vous, sans vous, meaning that negotiations would be held about you, around you, without you. In any case, the Dutch achieved their condominium in the Austrian Netherlands with the Austro-Dutch Barrier Treaty of 1715
33.
Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar
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The Siege of Gibraltar of 1727 saw Spanish forces besiege the British garrison of Gibraltar as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Depending on the sources, Spanish troops numbered between 12,000 and 25,000, British defenders were 1,500 at the beginning of the siege, increasing up to about 5,000. After a five-month siege with several unsuccessful and costly assaults, Spanish troops gave up, following the failure the war drew to a close, opening the way for the 1728 Treaty of El Pardo and the Treaty of Seville signed in 1729. On 1 January 1727 the Marquis of Pozobueno, Spanish ambassador to the Court of St, the letter was tantamount to a declaration of war. Spain, however, was not in an advantageous position to capture Gibraltar in 1727. At the last attempt to retake Gibraltar in 1704, Spain had a strong Navy, however, following their defeat at the battle of Cape Passaro and the capture of Vigo and Pasajes, the Spanish Navy was severely weakened. The Royal Navy had complete naval supremacy in the Straits, ruling out a Spanish landing in the south, also, any attempt to scale the Rock from the east was now impossible as the British had destroyed the path. The only option of open to the Spanish was along a narrow funnel that ran between the sea and the western side of the North Face of the Rock. This narrow strip of land would come under fire from three sides, Williss battery to the east, the Grand Battery to the south, a number of Philip Vs senior military advisers warned the King that the recapture of Gibraltar was, at the present, near impossible. The Marquis of Villadarias had warned that it would be impossible to take the Rock without naval support, is going to Madrid to complain to the King. Despite Verbooms doubts, the King gave de las Torres leave to attempt an assault on Gibraltar, the count began to muster the besieging troops at San Roque at the start of 1727, in total thirty infantry battalions, six squadrons of horse, seventy-two mortars and ninety-two guns. Large parts of the army were not themselves Spanish, serving alongside the Jacobite Irish was the infamous Duke of Wharton. A notorious libertine, alcoholic, and founder of the original Hellfire Club, Wharton had fled England and he attained permission from Philip V to serve as volunteer aide-de-camp to the Count de las Torres, and was something of an embarrassment to both sides. The Duke of Wharton never comes into the trenches but when he is Drunk, and that then and he was to be badly injured in the leg during the siege and he was later declared an outlaw by the British Government. Both the Governor of Gibraltar and the Lieutenant Governor were in England when the Spanish began to amass their forces, by early February Spanish labourers had moved down from San Roque to the isthmus and started to construct battle lines. On 22 February a warning shot was fired over the heads of the working parties, the Governor gave them a Gun, at Four OClock, by way of Challenge, and, in an hour, Canonaded them very warmly. The finished trenches might have proved the attackers with a foothold from which to assault the town. Williss battery, on the North Face of the Rock, gave the Spaniards a great deal of trouble
34.
Great Siege of Gibraltar
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The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, at three years and seven months, it is the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces. In 1738 a dispute between Spain and Great Britain arose over commerce between Europe and the Americas, a short time later, the War of Jenkins Ear began, and both countries declared war on 23 October 1739, each side drawing up plans to establish trenches near Gibraltar. Seeing these first movements, Britain ordered Admiral Vernon to sail from Portobello, the passage of years failed to break the hostilities in the region. Then on 9 July 1746, King Philip V of Spain died in Madrid and his successor, Ferdinand VI, soon began negotiations with Britain on trade. The British Parliament was amenable to such negotiations, and even looked favourably upon lifting the British embargo on Spain, the neutrality adopted by Ferdinand VI quickly ended with his death in 1759. The new king, Charles III, was willing to negotiate with Great Britain. Instead, he signed a Family Compact with Louis XV of France on 15 August 1761, at that time France was at war with Britain, so Britain responded by declaring war on Spain and capturing the Spanish colonial capitals of Manila and Havana. Two years later, after cessation of hostilities, Spain recovered Manila, in the years of peace that followed both France and Spain hoped for an opportunity to launch a war against Britain on more favourable terms and recover their lost colonial possessions. Following the outbreak of the American War of Independence, both states supplied funding and arms to the American rebels, and drew up a strategy to intervene on the American side and defeat Britain. On 12 April 1779, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez wherein they agreed to aid one another in recovering lost territory from Britain, then, in June 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain, France having done so the year before. The Spanish blockade was directed by Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor, Spanish ground forces were composed of two battalions of Royal Guards, another two of Walloon Guards, with artillery and cavalry, about 13,000 in all. The artillery was commanded by Rudesindo Tilly, while the cavalry, antonio Barceló commanded the maritime forces responsible for blockading the bay, and established his base in Algeciras, commanding a fleet of several xebecs and gunboats. A fleet of 11 ships and two frigates were placed in the Gulf of Cadiz under the command of Luis de Córdova y Córdova to block the passage of British reinforcements. All the defences were strengthened, and many of the infantry, including picked men, the garrison included contingents of Hanoverian and Corsican troops. The British had anticipated an attack for some time, and a number of ships had sailed to reinforce and supply Gibraltar. The combined Spanish and French fleets blockaded Gibraltar from the sea, while on the side a enormous army constructed forts, redoubts, entrenchments. General Eliott formed a corps of sharpshooters, as the winter of 1779 came down the garrison began to suffer from want of fresh provisions, which became very scarce and dear
35.
George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield
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George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, PC, KB was a British Army officer who served in three major wars during the eighteenth century. He rose to distinction during the Seven Years War when he fought in Germany and participated in the British attacks on Belle Île and Cuba. Eliott is most notable for his command of the Gibraltar garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar and he was celebrated for his successful defence of the fortress. Eliott was born at Wells House, near Stobs Castle, Roxburghshire, Eleanors brother was the soldier and courtier William Elliot of Wells. One of his Eleanors sisters, Charlotte, had married Roger Elliott, Eliott was educated at the University of Leiden in the Dutch Republic and studied artillery and other military subjects at the école militaire of La Fère in France. He served with the Prussian Army between 1735 and 1736 and he served throughout the War of Austrian Succession between 1742 and 1748, fighting at the Battle of Dettingen, where he was wounded, and again at the Battle of Fontenoy. He became an Engineer Extraordinary in 1744 and Engineer Ordinary in 1747 when he was stationed at Sheerness, Eliott resigned from the Engineers in 1757. Eliott served as ADC to King George II between 1756 and 1759 during which time he was raised to Colonel. Appointed Brigadier for the 1758 expedition to France, where he was placed in command of the Brigade of Light Cavalry, Eliott distinguished himself in the German campaign, particularly during the Battle of Minden in 1759 when he was promoted to Major-General and the 1760 Battle of Emsdorf. He took part in the Capture of Belle Île in 1761 and he was 2nd-in-charge at the capture of Havana during the 1762 British expedition against Cuba for which he received a significant amount of prize money. He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1765, on 6 March 1775 he was made a Privy Counsellor and temporarily appointed commander of Forces in Ireland. On 25 May 1777 Eliott was appointed Governor of Gibraltar, taking over from the acting Governor, Eliott was promoted to General in 1778. In July 1779, Gibraltar was besieged by the French and Spanish, Eliott using his engineering skills to good effect in improving the fortifications. By August, it was apparent that the Spanish intended to starve the garrison. The Great Siege of Gibraltar would eventually last from 1779 to 1783, a notable letter from Eliott to the Misses Fuller survives, dated 21 September 1779 and delivered on 4 October, it said simply Nothing new. Eliott was a man, his diet comprising vegetables, biscuit. He also rarely slept for more than four hours at a time, on 13 September 1782, the French and Spanish initiated a grand attack, involving 100,000 men,48 ships and 450 cannon. Under great duress, the Garrison held its position and, by 1783, on 8 January 1783, the British Parliament sent their official thanks to Eliott and he was nominated a Knight of the Bath
36.
Gibraltar real
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The real was the official currency of Gibraltar until 1825 and continued to circulate alongside other Spanish and British currencies until 1898. After the Anglo-Dutch occupied Gibraltar in 1704, the Spanish real continued to circulate in the town, however, no distinction was made between the silver and billon reales issued by the Spanish, providing a substantial profit for the army officers making payments to troops. These roughly doubled the value of the real de vellón relative to its value in Spain, much of the currency in circulation was in the form of copper coins, since the low value of silver coins relative to billon lead to most silver being exported from Gibraltar to Spain. Copper merchants tokens denominated in quarts were issued between 1802 and 1820, in 1825, the relative values of the various circulating coins were revised and pegged to the British pound. The real de plata was subdivided into 24 quarts, valuing the real de plata at 96 maravedíes compared to 85 in Spain, the Spanish dollar was valued at 4 shillings and 4 pence and British silver coins were imported. However, because this rating of the dollar was too high, British silver coins could not circulate, although British coppers did and this discrepancy was also exploited to the profit of army officers making payments to troops. In 1842, coins were issued in ½,1 and 2 quarts denominations, a total of 387,072 quarts worth of coins were issued, allowing soldiers wages to be paid in quarts rather than pence. Other coins continued to circulate, however, until 1872, in that year, the Spanish currency became the sole legal tender in Gibraltar. In 1898, the Spanish–American War made the Spanish peseta drop alarmingly, traders currency tokens were issued in Gibraltar between 1802 and 1820 by Robert Keeling, Richard Cattons, and James Spittles. There were two denominations -1 quart and 2 quarts, note that proofs of these coins were also issued in 1860 and 1861
37.
Military history of Gibraltar during World War II
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In addition to its commanding position, Gibraltar provided a strongly defended harbour from which ships could operate in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. During the course of the war, Gibraltar came under bombardment from Vichy French aircraft. Additionally, the fortress was the focus of attacks by the Italian Royal Navy commando frogman unit. This Italian unit was based on the interned Italian ship SS Olterra in the nearby Spanish harbour of Algeciras, a number of attacks were also carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents acting on behalf of the German Abwehr. Inside the Rock of Gibraltar itself, miles of tunnels were excavated from the limestone, masses of rock were blasted out to build an underground city. In huge man-made caverns, barracks, offices, and a fully equipped hospital were constructed, complete with an operating theatre, Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, was coordinated from the Rock. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was given command of the operation, following the successful completion of the North African campaign and the surrender of Italy in 1943, Gibraltars role shifted from a forward operating base to a rear-area supply position. The harbour continued to dry docks and supply depots for the convoy routes through the Mediterranean until V-E Day in 1945. World War II dramatically changed the lives of Gibraltarians, the decision to enforce mass evacuation in order to increase the strength of the Rock with more military and naval personnel meant that most Gibraltarians had nowhere to call home. Only those civilians with essential jobs were allowed to stay but it gave the community a sense of being British by sharing in the war effort. In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco, the opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo vessels arrived under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once their own rescued servicemen had disembarked, the ships were interned until they agreed to take all the evacuees. Although Crichton was unable to obtain permission to clean and restock his ships, just beforehand, the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships at Mers el-Kebir in order to prevent them ending up in German hands. British conservative politician Oliver Stanley agreed to accept the evacuees in the United Kingdom, the Governor, he declared, had given the number of evacuees first as 13,000, then as 14,000 and finally as 16,000. The situation, replied General Liddell on 19 July, is that this is a fortress liable to heavy and immediate attack, the 13,000 was the number sent to Morocco, and more would have been sent had the situation there not altered. In London the evacuees were placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health, concern for them in Gibraltar mounted as the air raids against London intensified, coupled with the arrival of harrowing letters, describing the circumstances in which the evacuees were living. After much contention, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, however petitions followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and the lack of available shipping. The situation at the end of 1940, therefore, was that approximately 2,000 evacuees were in Jamaica, construction of a solid surface runway began in late 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing runway to a length of 1,550 yards
38.
History of nationality in Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a juridically independent area in western Europe, and forms part of the Commonwealth of Nations as a British overseas territory. In 1492, with the reconquest of the peninsula, the Catholic Monarchs took control of the area, in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet seized Gibraltar from the Spanish crown. After the surrender, most of the Spaniards who inhabited Gibraltar left for the Spanish hinterland, in 1713, Gibraltar was formally ceded by Spain to Britain in perpetuity under article X of the Treaty of Utrecht. In 1721, the number of civilians able to bear arms was 45 British,96 Catalans,169 Genoese, by 1753 the civilian population had grown to 1816 persons, the main elements in which 597 were Genoese,575 Jews and 351 British inhabitants. These numbers show the heterogeneity of the number of civilians considered official residents of The Rock in its early stages. The treaty of 1713 stipulated that in the event of any change in sovereignty, with the treaty, Her Britannic Majesty promised the Catholic King of Spain that no Jews or Moors would be permitted to live in Gibraltar. However, Gibraltar was still open to commerce with Moors, furthermore, Roman Catholics would be granted the right to exercise their religion. Gibraltar has been described as probably the most fought over and densely fortified place in Europe, as a fortress it was most useful to the British Empire, when the Royal Navy was internationally dominant. Due to its conception as a base, the constitutional development of Gibraltar was retarded. In 1720, under letters patent a civil judiciary was authorised, however, no courts were created and this jurisdiction was exercised by the military, headed by the Governor himself. After the Great Siege of Gibraltar, Gibraltar transformed from a military town into a major centre for European and Mediterranean trade. There was a spike in the percentage of the population of foreign origin. However, immigration to Gibraltar was discouraged, Gibraltar was one of the most densely populated areas in western Europe, and control of civilian population was the main concern of the British administration in the 19th century. In 1720, the first permit system was introduced in Gibraltar, aimed at restricting foreign labourers, the object of the system was to preserve peace, order and good government in Gibraltar, to add security to the fortress, and to promote the health of the garrison. By 1891, the population had grown to 19,100 which was considered problematic due to overcrowding. However, there was a trend of settling in the neibourghing Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción, because of less expensive housing. The 1891 census divided the population into British subjects and Foreigners. British Subjects were recorded as native of either Gibraltar, the UK, Malta, other parts of Her Majestys dominions, Foreigners were recorded as natives from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Morocco, or other nationalities
39.
History of the Genoese in Gibraltar
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A Genoese community has existed in Gibraltar since the 16th century and later became an important part of the population. Although labeled as Genoese, they were not only from the city of Genoa but from all of Liguria, after the conquest of Gibraltar from Spain in 1704, nearly all the original Spanish population moved away. Among those who stayed there were 30 Genoese families, most of them forming a group resident in Catalan Bay which worked as fishermen. Their main activities in the following the conquest of Gibraltar and its formal transfer to Great Britain were not only related to fishing. According to the 1725 census, on a civilian population of 1113 there were 414 Genoese,400 Spaniards,137 Jews,113 Britons and 49 others. In the 1753 census the Genoese were the biggest group of residents in the Gibraltar and up until 1830 Italian was spoken together with English and Spanish. Many Genoese in the late 18th century arrived to work for the garrison, in 1740, English Law was introduced in Gibraltar and in 1753 the first Justices of the Peace were appointed. This group became known as the Genoese Guard and in came to serve as a rudimentary Police Force when they were called upon to support the Military Authorities when dealing with civilians. Sergeants were appointed within the Genoese Guard and their titles Jews Sergeant, the Genoese Guard were subsequently disbanded sometime after the Seven Year War. After Napoleonic times many Sicilians and some Tuscans migrated to Gibraltar, indeed, the Genoese dialect was spoken in Catalan Bay well into the 20th century, dying out in the 1970s. Today, the descendants of the Genoese community of Gibraltar consider themselves Gibraltarians and their most renowned representatives are, Joe Bossano, Adolfo Canepa and Kaiane Aldorino. Historically, Catalan Bay had been populated by Genoese fishermen who were part of a larger settlement pattern along the eastern coast of The Rock during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century the Genoese dialect was so widely spoken in Gibraltar that Government notices were published in Italian. Genoese was spoken by most people in La Caleta well into the 19th century and it is even possible a confusion between the letters of Calata and Catala in the early English pronunciation of the Bay. During the 19th century only fishermen were permitted to live in Catalan Bay, the families who live in the village today are mainly descendants of these Genoese fishermen and are colloquially known as caleteños. Until the 1980s, most Gibraltarians lived densely packed around these communal patios, a prominent feature of Gibraltars architecture is the traditional Genoese wooden window shutters. Many of the Gibraltarian cuisines roots also lie in Genoa, the most notable dish of Genoese origin is Gibraltars national dish, calentita. It is a chickpea flour-based flatbread similar to the Italian farinata, even the Gibraltarian panissa, a bread-like dish similar to the calentita, shares its Italian origins, it is a descendant of the Genoese dish with the same name panissa
40.
Explosion of the RFA Bedenham
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The Naval Armament vessel formerly RFA Bedenham was a naval armament carrier that exploded while docked in Gibraltar on 27 April 1951, killing 13 people and causing a great deal of damage to the town. The Bedenham had arrived in Gibraltar on 24 April 1951, tying up at Gun Wharf, on the morning of 27 April, depth charges were being unloaded into a lighter when one of them ignited. Several men were organised to fight the fire from the quayside, all the other fighters had withdrawn but George Campbell Henderson, a sub-officer with the dockyard fire service who doggedly held a firehose into the fire. 13 people were killed in the explosion, including Henderson, who was awarded the George Cross for his bravery in attempting to extinguish the fire. The Kings Police and Fire Services Medal was posthumously awarded to Albert Alexander Indoe, Chief Fire Officer HM Dockyard, two dock workers among them Jose Moss and two traders on nearby Ragged Staff Road were killed by flying debris. Dock overseer Salvador Bula was injured by the explosion but managed to get others who were injured by the blast to safety, hundreds were injured and had to be taken to the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar, then known as the British Military Hospital Gibraltar. Another effect of the explosion was to delay the programme of housing necessary for the Gibraltarians who had been repatriated following their evacuation during World War II, the Admiralty accepted full responsibility for the damage, and approximately £250,000 in Gibraltar pounds was paid out in indemnity. The remains of the Bedenham were towed to the Tyne where they were scrapped, list of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition Benady, Tito The Royal Navy at Gibraltar, pp. 221–222. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service, its ancestry and affiliations, 1600-1968
41.
Operation Flavius
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Operation Flavius was a controversial military operation in which three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army were shot dead by the British Special Air Service in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988. The three—Seán Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell—were believed to be mounting an attack on British military personnel in Gibraltar. Plain-clothed SAS soldiers approached them in the forecourt of a station, then opened fire. All three were found to be unarmed, and no bomb was discovered in Savages car, leading to accusations that the British government had conspired to murder them. The deaths were the first in a chain of violent events in a period, they were followed by the Milltown Cemetery attack. When Savage, McCann and Farrell—known IRA members—travelled to Spain in preparation for the attack, they were tracked at the request of the British government. On the day of the shootings, Savage was seen parking a white Renault in the car used as the assembly area for the parade, McCann. After a military officer reported that Savages car should be treated as a suspected bomb. As soldiers were moving into position to intercept the trio, Savage split from McCann and Farrell, as soldiers caught up with Savage, he was alleged to have turned around to face them while reaching into his jacket, he was also shot multiple times. Almost two months after the shootings, the documentary Death on the Rock was broadcast on British television, using reconstructions and eyewitness accounts, it presented the possibility that the three IRA members had been unlawfully killed. The documentary proved extremely controversial, several British newspapers described it as trial by television, the inquest into the deaths began in September 1988. The soldiers each testified that they had opened fire in the belief that the bombers were reaching for weapons or a remote detonator. On 30 September, the inquest jury returned a verdict of lawful killing, dissatisfied, the families took the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The decision is cited as a case in the use of force by the state. The organisation was the result of a 1969 split within the previous Irish Republican Army, Daniel McCann, Seán Savage, and Mairéad Farrell were, according to journalist Brendan OBrien, three of the IRAs most senior activists. Savage was an expert and McCann was a high-ranking intelligence operative. The Special Air Service is a regiment of the British Army, the SAS was sporadically assigned to operations in Northern Ireland in the early stages of the British Armys deployment in the province, during which they were confined to South Armagh. The first large-scale deployment of SAS soldiers in the Troubles was in 1976, the SAS soon began to specialise in covert, intelligence-based operations against the IRA, using more aggressive tactics than regular army and police units operating in Northern Ireland
42.
Death on the Rock
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Death on the Rock is a controversial television documentary, an episode of Thames Televisions current affairs series This Week, broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV on 28 April 1988. The programme examined the deaths of three Provisional Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988 at the hands of the British Special Air Service, Death on the Rock presented evidence that the IRA members were shot without warning or while attempting to surrender. It was condemned by the British government, while tabloid newspapers denounced it as sensationalist, Death on the Rock subsequently became the first individual documentary to be the subject of an independent inquiry, in which it was largely vindicated. The project began after it emerged that the three IRA members shot in Gibraltar were found to be unarmed and not in possession of a bomb, the journalists also filmed the funerals of the IRA members in Belfast. The documentary was broadcast on 28 April 1988, despite two attempts by Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe to have the Independent Broadcasting Authority postpone the broadcast. Using the eyewitness statements, the documentary questioned the governments version of events, the final contributor was the lawyer recruited by Bolton, who suggested that a judicial inquiry was necessary to resolve the conflicts. The morning after the broadcast, several tabloid newspapers attacked the documentary, accusing it of sensationalism, Other newspapers accused Death on the Rock of misrepresenting the eyewitnesses statements and criticised the IBA for allowing the documentary to be broadcast. The authors made several criticisms of the documentary, but overall found it a trenchant work of journalism, made in good faith and this Week is a current affairs television series which began in 1956. In 1978, it was renamed TV Eye and took on a lighter format. The programme was broadcast simultaneously across the ITV regions and became a mainstay of ITVs current affairs programming, by 1988, the programme had interviewed several prime ministers and leaders of the opposition, including Margaret Thatcher, who had been interviewed for three full episodes. That evening, British television news reported the finding of the car bomb. All of Britains daily newspapers covered the shootings the morning, several of which cited the size of the alleged car bomb as 500 pounds. The same morning, Ian Stewart, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, told BBC Radio 4 that military personnel were involved in the shootings, and that a car bomb was found, which has been defused. In light of this response, Howe continued, they were shot by military personnel, subsequent inquiries led to the discovery of a large quantity of explosives in Marbella, along with detonators and timers. This Weeks editor, Roger Bolton, initially believed there was little merit in investigating the shootings, based on the official account of events that was presented in the immediate aftermath of the shootings, Bolton believed that most people would think the IRA members deserved what they got. Boltons interest, however, was piqued by Sir Geoffrey Howes statement, shortly afterwards, he dispatched two of This Weeks journalists, Julian Manyon and Chris Oxley, to Gibraltar and Spain to gather more information on the shootings. The Gibraltar coroner, Felix Pizzarello, welcomed This Weeks investigation, while Oxley was investigating the shootings from Gibraltar, Manyon travelled to Madrid in an attempt to learn more about the surveillance operation which took place in Spain prior to the shootings. Both witnesses statements appeared to the journalists to be inconsistent with the account of the shootings
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MV Aurora (2000)
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MV Aurora is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, at over 76,000 tonnes, Aurora is the sixth largest of eight ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 2000 and was named by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal in Southampton, United Kingdom. Aurora was refitted in 2014, during which the ship is the first of P&Os ships to receive an updated British Union flag design on her bow and her funnel repainted from yellow to blue. Aurora is a cruise ship, with an overall length of 270.0 metres, moulded beam of 32.2 metres. Her gross tonnage is 76,152 and her tonnage is 8,486 tonnes. The ship can accommodate up to 1,878 passengers in 939 cabins, Aurora is powered by four MAN B&W 14V48/60 medium-speed diesel engines with a total power output of 58,800 kilowatts. These engines provide power for various services and for two STN AEG propulsion motors. The propulsion motors drive two propellers, each of which measures 5.8 metres in diameter, for manoeuvring, the ship has three bow thrusters and a stern thruster. The ships service speed is 24 knots, though during sea trials she reached a speed of 29 knots. Aurora was designed to appeal to the British market, and was built as an extended and improved version of P&O Cruises Oriana. The ships hull and superstructure were designed to be attractive to this market with similar to more traditional ocean liners. The ships passenger cabins vary in size and facilities, outside cabins, with either a window or a balcony in the ships side, compose 69 percent of passenger cabins on board. Passengers may book inside or outside cabins, cabins with balconies, suites or one of the two penthouse suites. The two penthouse suites are situated at the end of the ship and provide accommodation on two levels. Auroras passenger facilities include numerous bars, public rooms and entertainment venues and these include a cinema, a theatre, a nightclub, a casino and a number of bars. The ship also has a spa and gym, as well as three swimming pools, outside, passengers may use the promenade deck or the upper decks. Traditional deck games such as shuffleboard and deck quoits may be played, passengers are allocated a table in one of the ships two dining rooms—the Alexandria and Medina restaurants
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MV New Flame
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MV New Flame was a Panamanian bulk-carrier cargo ship. It collided with an oil tanker off Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar on 12 August 2007, the vessel broke into two in December 2007 amid numerous unsuccessful recovery efforts. The cargo was salvaged and the section removed for scrap. Following the crews rescue, the captain was arrested for having departed without authorisation, charges of endangering shipping were later dropped. New Flame measured 190 metres long,30 metres wide and 28 metres tall and it measured 26,824 GT and had a capacity of nearly 44,000 tonnes deadweight. At time of the incident it had a crew of 23 and it was owned by Transmar, the ship was built in June 1994 by Daewoo H. I, South Korea and first named as Skaustrand. From 1995 it was named Aditya Gautam and was owned by the Indian company Century Textiles & Industries Ltd, who sold it in 2005 to Transmar for $22.5 million. In the early morning of 12 August 2007, New Flame departed from Europa Point en route to Turkey, carrying 27,000 tons of scrap metal and 750 tons of fuel oil. The tanker proceeded towards Algeciras after the collision, where it was secured, with its cargo of 39,000 tons of fuel, the ship was abandoned by the crew and thereafter became partially submerged, drifted and eventually ran aground nearby. The rescue response at the level of Gibraltar was commended, although there was considerable criticism at a local level in Spain. Removal of the fuel was initiated on 15 August with the arrival of the tug Hua-An. It was the first priority of the operation to minimise the environmental impact of the collision. On 20 August the salvage operation turned to the controlled break-up of the ship in two halves and the first reports of a minor oil-spill were reported and it was reported that 500 tons of fuel remained on board. The tug Fotiy Krylov had attempted to move the ship and divers checked the damage, by 24 August, it looked likely that the ship would be refloated, even if only partially to then tow to a safer location. The salvage companies involved were Tsavliris and Svitzer Wijsmuller Salvage, on 14 September 2007, the Government of Gibraltar announced that all fuel had been removed from the vessel, totalling 780 cubic metres. The operation had been hampered by bad weather and the location of the wreck. It was also reported that the ship would not be salvaged in a piece due to structural damage. The stern section would be removed first and towed to a safe area, on completion, the bow part would have been taken apart where it rested
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MV Fedra
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MV Fedra was a Liberian-registered bulk-carrier cargo ship. It ran aground and smashed against Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar on 10 October 2008 following severe gale force winds measuring 12 on the Beaufort scale. Five of its 31 crew members were airlifted to safety by a Spanish coast guard helicopter, the vessel broke in half shortly thereafter. About half of its 300 tons of fuel spilled into the sea, some of such oil washed ashore along Gibraltars western coast, particularly in the area of Rosia Bay and Camp Bay. Spanish sources said that fuel from Fedra had washed up on some Campo beaches having drifted as far as Tarifa. There were also oil slicks in the Bay of Gibraltar, Fedra avoided becoming a permanent shipwreck when the forward section was re-floated and towed round into the Bay of Gibraltar in February 2009. It was moored alongside the South Mole in Gibraltar Harbour, the superstructure was cut away from the hull of the aft section, and was placed the dockside at HM Naval Base. The report also explains the various aspects which led to the demise of MV Fedra, MV New Flame Searle, Dominique, Ben Harding, Tim Pearce. Cargo ship hits Gibraltar rocks in heavy seas, bulk Carrier FEDRA runs aground in severe weather. Archived from the original on October 15,2008, el vertido de fuel se extiende por el Estrecho y llega hasta Ceuta
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Geology of the Iberian Peninsula
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The geology of the Iberian Peninsula consists of the study of the rock formations on the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar. The peninsula contains rocks from every age from Ediacaran to Holocene, world class mineral deposits can also be found there. The core of the Iberian Peninsula consists of a Hercynian cratonic block known as the Iberian Massif, on the northeast this is bounded by The Pyrenean fold belt, and on the southeast it is bounded by the Betic Foldchain. These twofold chains are part of the Alpine belt, to the west, the peninsula is delimited by the continental boundary formed by the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The Hercynian Foldbelt is mostly buried by Mesozoic and Cenozoic cover rocks to the east, but nevertheless outcrops through the Iberian Chain, the Iberian Massif consists of rocks from the Paleozoic Era. It was assembled about 310 Ma, several zones occur in the Iberian Massif. These were the pieces that were assembled to form the block, on the north coast of Spain occurs the Cantabrian Zone. Then to the west and also in the Iberian Chain and Catalonian Coastal Ranges is the West Asturian-Leonese Zone, then the Central Iberian Zone appears near A Coruña, through the north of Portugal, and through the middle of Spain, including the Montes de Toledo. The Ossa-Morena Zone outcrops out to the east of Lisbon, the furthest south part is the South-Portuguese Zone. The Variscan Orogeny occurred as the European Hunic Terrane and Laurentia-Baltica continents collided, in Iberia this occurred in pre-Stephanian Carboniferous. The external part of the orogeny was the Cantabrian Zone and this was deformed in the upper crustal layers. The West Asturian Leonese Zone and Central Iberian Zone are the parts of the orogeny and are more deeply deformed and metamorphosed. These three zones are part of one terrane, the Ossa-Morena Zone and South Portuguese Zone are two different terranes that have become attached. In the Mesozoic this was covered with other sediments, which have since eroded. The Cantabrian Zone consists of Carboniferous and older Paleozoic unmetamorphosed rocks and it is bounded on the west and south-west sides by a concave arc of Precambrian rocks called the Narcea window, and the Villabandin window in the Narcea antiform. The Herreria Formation from the Lower Cambrian consists of shale and feldspathic sandstone alternating and these have a thickness of 1 to 1.5 km. The Lancara Formation consists of a couple of hundred metres of limestone, the lower part was formed in peritidal zones in the Lower Cambrian, and the upper member from the Middle Cambrian contains fossils and is red or green glauconictic and nodular limestone. The Oville Formation from Middle to Upper Cambrian contains alternating shale, trilobite fossils are common in the shale
Gibraltar topics
