1.
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
2.
Telephone numbers in Europe
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Telephone numbers in Europe are managed by the national telecommunications authorities of each country. The country calling codes start primarily with 3 and 4, however, some countries that by the Copenhagen criteria are considered part of Europe have country codes from the Asia range, the international access code has been standardized as 00. † = Disputed state, may not be recognized as an independent state by some or all European Union members, *A variable dialing plan has different dialing procedures for local and long distance telephone calls. A call within the city or within an area is dialed only by the subscriber number, while for calls outside the area. For fixed dialing plan it is required to dial all digits of the complete telephone number, including any area codes. Calls between member states would no longer require the use of the access code 00. Instead the digit 1 was proposed for these calls, replaced by +3 for call from outside the EU, each country would have a two-digit country code after the 1 or the +3. Calls inside each country would not be affected, option 3, Creation, in addition to providing numbers for special services, of a clear European numbering identity by using the number 3 to proceed current national country codes. This would liberate up to 50 new country codes within Europe and this would create four different ways of calling someone. For example, to call a number in Berlin, in Germany, a disadvantage would have been that every local number beginning with 1 would have had to be changed. wtng. info/wtng-reg. html#Europewide
3.
Telephone number
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A telephone number serves as an address for switching telephone calls using a system of destination code routing. Telephone numbers are entered or dialed by a party on the originating telephone set. The exchange completes the call either to another locally connected subscriber or via the PSTN to the called party, telephone numbers were first used in 1879 in Lowell, Massachusetts when they replaced the request for subscriber names by callers connecting to the switchboard operator. Telephone numbers are dialed in conjunction with other signaling code sequences, such as vertical service codes. When telephone numbers were first used they were short, from one to three digits, and were communicated orally to a switchboard operator when initiating a call. As telephone systems have grown and interconnected to encompass worldwide communication, in addition to telephones, they have been used to access other devices, such as computer modems, pagers, and fax machines. The number contains the necessary to identify uniquely the intended endpoint for the telephone call. Each such endpoint must have a number within the public switched telephone network. Most countries use fixed length numbers and therefore the number of endpoints determines the length of the telephone number. It is also possible for each subscriber to have a set of numbers for the endpoints most often used. These shorthand or speed calling numbers are translated to unique telephone numbers before the call can be connected. Some special services have their own short numbers The dialing plan in some areas permits dialing numbers in the local calling area without using area code or city code prefixes. For example, a number in North America consists of a three-digit area code, a three-digit central office code. If the area has no area code overlays, seven-digit dialing may be permissible for calls within the area, for each large metro area, all of these lines will share the same prefix, the last digits typically corresponding to the stations frequency, callsign, or moniker. In the international network, the format of telephone numbers is standardized by ITU-T recommendation E.164. This code specifies that the number should be 15 digits or shorter. For most countries, this is followed by a code or city code and the subscriber number. ITU-T recommendation E.123 describes how to represent an international telephone number in writing or print, starting with a plus sign and the country code
4.
Telecommunication
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Telecommunication is the transmission of signs, signals, messages, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems. Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between communication participants includes the use of technology and it is transmitted either electrically over physical media, such as cables, or via electromagnetic radiation. Such transmission paths are divided into communication channels which afford the advantages of multiplexing. The term is used in its plural form, telecommunications. Early means of communicating over a distance included visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, other examples of pre-modern long-distance communication included audio messages such as coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, and loud whistles. Zworykin, John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth, the word telecommunication is a compound of the Greek prefix tele, meaning distant, far off, or afar, and the Latin communicare, meaning to share. Its modern use is adapted from the French, because its use was recorded in 1904 by the French engineer. Communication was first used as an English word in the late 14th century, in the Middle Ages, chains of beacons were commonly used on hilltops as a means of relaying a signal. Beacon chains suffered the drawback that they could pass a single bit of information. One notable instance of their use was during the Spanish Armada, in 1792, Claude Chappe, a French engineer, built the first fixed visual telegraphy system between Lille and Paris. However semaphore suffered from the need for skilled operators and expensive towers at intervals of ten to thirty kilometres, as a result of competition from the electrical telegraph, the last commercial line was abandoned in 1880. Homing pigeons have occasionally used throughout history by different cultures. Pigeon post is thought to have Persians roots and was used by the Romans to aid their military, frontinus said that Julius Caesar used pigeons as messengers in his conquest of Gaul. The Greeks also conveyed the names of the victors at the Olympic Games to various cities using homing pigeons, in the early 19th century, the Dutch government used the system in Java and Sumatra. And in 1849, Paul Julius Reuter started a service to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service that operated for a year until the gap in the telegraph link was closed. Sir Charles Wheatstone and Sir William Fothergill Cooke invented the telegraph in 1837. Also, the first commercial electrical telegraph is purported to have constructed by Wheatstone and Cooke. Both inventors viewed their device as an improvement to the electromagnetic telegraph not as a new device, samuel Morse independently developed a version of the electrical telegraph that he unsuccessfully demonstrated on 2 September 1837
5.
Telephone exchange
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A telephone exchange is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network or in large enterprises. In historical perspective, telecommunication terms have been used with different semantics over time, the term telephone exchange is often used synonymously with central office, a Bell System term. Often, an office is defined as a building used to house the inside plant equipment of potentially several telephone exchanges. Such an area has also referred to as the exchange. Central office locations may also be identified in North America as wire centers, All central offices within a larger region, typically aggregated by state, were assigned a common numbering plan area code. For corporate or enterprise use, a telephone exchange is often referred to as a private branch exchange. Smaller installations might deploy a PBX or key telephone system in the office of a receptionist and this made it possible for subscribers to call each other at homes, businesses, or public spaces. These made telephony an available and comfortable communication tool for everyday use, one of the first to propose a telephone exchange was Hungarian Tivadar Puskás in 1877 while he was working for Thomas Edison. The first experimental telephone exchange was based on the ideas of Puskás, the worlds first commercial telephone exchange opened on November 12,1877 in Friedrichsberg close to Berlin. George W. Coy designed and built the first commercial US telephone exchange opened in New Haven. The switchboard was built from carriage bolts, handles from teapot lids and bustle wire, Charles Glidden is also credited with establishing an exchange in Lowell, MA. with 50 subscribers in 1878. In Europe other early telephone exchanges were based in London and Manchester, Belgium had its first International Bell exchange a year later. In 1887 Puskás introduced the multiplex switchboard, later exchanges consisted of one to several hundred plug boards staffed by switchboard operators. Each operator sat in front of a panel containing banks of ¼-inch tip-ring-sleeve jacks. In front of the jack panel lay a horizontal panel containing two rows of patch cords, each connected to a cord circuit. When a calling party lifted the receiver, the loop current lit a signal lamp near the jack. The operator responded by inserting the rear cord into the jack and switched her headset into the circuit to ask, Number. For a local call, the operator inserted the front cord of the pair into the partys local jack
6.
Government of Gibraltar
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Her Majestys Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The government has Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, elections in Gibraltar are held every four years, with a unicameral parliament of 18 members. The terms are four years. The leader of the majority party is appointed by the governor as the Chief Minister. The Cabinet is generally formed by 10 of the 17 elected Members of Parliament, the seven remaining members constitute the Opposition. The last general election was held on 26 November 2015
7.
System X (telephony)
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System X was the 2nd national digital telephone exchange system to be used in the United Kingdom. The first was a UXD5-Glenkindie Scotland 1979, System X was developed by the UK Post Office, GEC, Plessey, and Standard Telephones and Cables and first shown in public in 1979 at the Telecom 79 exhibition in Geneva Switzerland. In 1982, STC withdrew from System X and, in 1988, in the late 1990s, GEC acquired Siemens 40% stake in GPT and, in 1999, the parent company of GPT, GEC, renamed itself Marconi. When Marconi was sold to Ericsson in January 2006, Telent plc retained System X and continues to support, the first local digital exchange started operation in 1981 in Woodbridge, Suffolk. System X covers three types of telephone switching equipment. Many of these switches reside all over the United Kingdom, concentrators are usually kept in local telephone exchanges but can be housed remotely in less populated areas. DLEs and DMSUs operate in major towns and cities and provide call routing functions, the concentrator unit consists of four main sub-systems, line modules, digital concentrator switch, digital line termination units and control unit. Its purpose is to speech from analogue signals to digital format. It also receives dialled information from the subscriber and passes this to the DLE, in normal circumstances, it does not switch signals between subscriber lines but has limited capacity to do this if connection to the DLE is lost. Each line module unit converts analogue signals from a maximum of 64 subscriber lines in the network to the 64 kilobit/s digital binary signals used in the core network. This is done by sampling the incoming signal at a rate of 8 kS/s, the line module also strips out any signalling information from the subscriber line, e. g. dialled digits, and passes this to the control unit. Up to 32 line modules are connected to a digital concentrator switch unit using 2 Mbit/s paths, the other two time slots on each channel are used for synchronisation and signalling. Concentrator units can either stand alone as remote concentrators or be co-located with the local switching unit. The Digital Local Exchange connects to the concentrator and routes calls to different DLEs or DMSUs depending on the destination of the call, the heart of the DLE is the Digital Switching Subsystem which consists of Time Switches and a Space Switch. Incoming traffic on the 30 channel PCM highways from the Concentrator Units is connected to Time Switches, the purpose of these is to take any incoming individual Time Slot and connect it to an outgoing Time Slot and so perform a switching and routing function. To allow access to a range of outgoing routes, individual Time Switches are connected to each other by a Space Switch. The Time Slot inter-connections are held in Switch Maps which are updated by Software running on the Processor Utility Subsystem. The Digital Main Switching Unit deals with calls that have been routed by DLEs or another DMSU and is a trunk switch, as with DLEs, DMSUs are made up of a Digital Switching Subsystem and a Processor Utility Subsystem, amongst other things
8.
Switchboard operator
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Each pair of plugs was part of a cord circuit with a switch associated that let the operator participate in the call. Each jack had a light above it that lit when the receiver was lifted. Lines from the office were usually arranged along the bottom row. Switchboard operators are required to have very strong communication skills. Before the advent of automatic exchanges, an operators assistance was required for anything other than calling telephones across a party line. Callers spoke to an operator at a Central Office who then connected a cord to the circuit in order to complete the call. Being in complete control of the call, the operator was in a position to listen to private conversations, automatic, or Dial systems were developed in the 1920s to reduce labor costs as usage increased, and to ensure privacy to the customer. As phone systems became more sophisticated, less direct intervention by the operator was necessary to complete calls. As well as the people that were employed by the networks, operators were required at private branch exchanges to answer incoming telephone calls. Today, most large organizations have direct-dial extensions, smaller workplaces may have an automated system which allows callers to enter the extension of the called party, or a receptionist who answers calls and performs operator duties. Operators employed in healthcare settings have other duties, such as entry, greeting patients and visitors, taking messages, triaging. Experienced, well trained operators generally command a higher salary, in January 1878 George Willard Croy became the worlds first telephone operator when he started working for the Boston Telephone Dispatch company. Emma was hired by Alexander Graham Bell, and reportedly, could remember every number in the directory of the New England Telephone Company. Emma Nutt became the first female telephone operator on 1 September 1878 when she started working for the Boston Telephone Dispatch company, more women began to replace men within this sector of the workforce for several reasons. The companies observed that women were generally more courteous to callers, however, a contributing factor to women entering this workforce was because womens labour was cheap in comparison to mens. Specifically, women were paid from one half to one quarter of a mans salary, attendant console Operator assistance Private branch exchange Telephone operator Telephone switchboard Media related to Telephone operators at Wikimedia Commons
9.
Gibtelecom
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Gibtelecom is the largest telecommunications provider in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Its headquarters is located on John Mackintosh Square, the first telephones were introduced to Gibraltar in 1886 by a private company which was later taken over by the colonial authorities. Since 1926, the service was operated by the City Council. Upon the approval of the 1969 Constitution and the dissolution of the City Council, until 1990, all telephone services were operated by the Gibraltar Government Telephone Department. International circuits were provided by Cable & Wireless, which had founded as the Falmouth, Malta. This later operated as the Eastern Telegraph Company from Mount Pleasant in Gibraltar, however, Cable & Wireless left Gibraltar in 1987. Gibtel was subsequently granted a licence to offer mobile telephony introducing a GSM900 network, in 1990, the Government decided to privatise its Telephone Department and therefore entered into a joint venture with Nynex of the United States. Gibraltar Nynex Communications Ltd became responsible for fixed-line telephony, GNC was the first acquisition of Nynex outside the Americas. In 1997, GNC, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GNC Networks, GNC Networks was later renamed GibConnect. ADSL services were introduced in 2002, in 2001, BT sold its 50% stake in Gibtel to GNC. Both companies subsequently merged to form Gibtelecom, a joint venture between the Government of Gibraltar and Nynexs successor company, Verizon, the name Gibtelecom begun to be used in July 2002, and as of 1 October 2003 this name was formally adopted by the company. In April 2007, Verizon sold its shares to Telekom Slovenije which is the incumbent part-State owned telecommunications operator in Slovenia and is quoted on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, Telekom Slovenije paid €36. 7m for Verizons 50 per cent stake in Gibtelecom. In 2009, the Government of Gibraltar announced it may sell its stake in Gibtelecom, however, as at October 2010, no decision has been made. Gibtelecoms Board of Directors is made up of six directors, whereas the owners nominate three each, the current Chairman is Joseph Garcia, Minister for Enterprise, Development & Technology and Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar, which succeeded Joe Holliday in December 2011. Holliday was appointed to this post as Minister for Telecommunications in 2007, therefore, competences over Telecommunications were transferred to the Minister of Housing, retaining Holliday as Chairman of Gibtelecom. Tim Bristow is the CEO, a post he holds since the foundation in 2001. At that time he was the Financial Secretary of Gibraltar, a post he held for several years, Gibtelecom is authorised to provide fixed line, internet, mobile, satellite and other radio-communication services under Gibraltars Communications Act 2006. Gibtelecom is structured around three brands, GibWireline, Gibtel and GibConnect, GibWireline is the brand under which fixed line telephony services are provided
10.
GSM
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As of 2014 it has become the de facto global standard for mobile communications – with over 90% market share, operating in over 219 countries and territories. This expanded over time to include communications, first by circuit-switched transport, then by packet data transport via GPRS. Subsequently, the 3GPP developed third-generation UMTS standards followed by fourth-generation LTE Advanced standards, GSM is a trademark owned by the GSM Association. It may also refer to the most common voice codec used, the decision to develop a continental standard eventually resulted in a unified, open, standard-based network which was larger than that in the United States. In February 1987 Europe produced the very first agreed GSM Technical Specification, the MoU drew-in mobile operators from across Europe to pledge to invest in new GSM networks to an ambitious common date. In 1989, the Groupe Spécial Mobile committee was transferred from CEPT to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, in parallel, France and Germany signed a joint development agreement in 1984 and were joined by Italy and the UK in 1986. In 1986 the European Commission proposed reserving the 900 MHz spectrum band for GSM, the former Finnish prime minister Harri Holkeri made the worlds first GSM call on July 1,1991, calling Kaarina Suonio using a network built by Telenokia and Siemens and operated by Radiolinja. In the following year,1992, saw the sending of the first short messaging service message, work began in 1991 to expand the GSM standard to the 1800 MHz frequency band and the first 1800 MHz network became operational in the UK by 1993 called and DCS1800. Also that year, Telecom Australia became the first network operator to deploy a GSM network outside Europe and the first practical hand-held GSM mobile phone became available. In 1995, fax, data and SMS messaging services were launched commercially, in the same year, the GSM Association formed. Pre-paid GSM SIM cards were launched in 1996 and worldwide GSM subscribers passed 100 million in 1998, in 2000 the first commercial GPRS services were launched and the first GPRS-compatible handsets became available for sale. In 2001 the first UMTS network was launched, a 3G technology that is not part of GSM, worldwide GSM subscribers exceeded 500 million. In 2002 the first Multimedia Messaging Service were introduced and the first GSM network in the 800 MHz frequency band became operational, EDGE services first became operational in a network in 2003 and the number of worldwide GSM subscribers exceeded 1 billion in 2004. By 2005, GSM networks accounted for more than 75% of the cellular network market. In 2005 the first HSDPA-capable network also became operational, the first HSUPA network launched in 2007. Worldwide GSM subscribers exceeded three billion in 2008, GSM is a second-generation standard employing time-division multiple-Access spectrum-sharing, issued by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. GSM, for the first time, set a standard for Europe for wireless networks. It was also adopted by many countries outside Europe and this allowed subscribers to use other GSM networks that have roaming agreements with each other
11.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
12.
Francisco Franco
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Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish general who ruled over Spain as a military dictator for 36 years from 1939 until his death. As a conservative and a monarchist, he opposed the abolition of the monarchy, with the 1936 elections, the conservative Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups lost by a narrow margin and the leftist Popular Front came to power. Intending to overthrow the republic, Franco followed other generals in attempting a coup that precipitated the Spanish Civil War. With the death of the generals, Franco quickly became his factions only leader. Leaving half a million dead, the war was won by Franco in 1939. He established a dictatorship, which he defined as a totalitarian state. Franco proclaimed himself Head of State and Government under the title El Caudillo, under Franco, Spain became a one-party state, as the various conservative and royalist factions were merged into the fascist party and other political parties were outlawed. Although Francos Spain maintained a policy of neutrality during World War II. Francos regime has been called a fascist one, Spain was isolated by the international community for nearly a decade after World War II. By the 1950s, the nature of his regime changed from being openly totalitarian, by the 1960s Spain saw incremental reforms and progressive economic development. After a 36-year rule, Franco died in 1975 and he restored the monarchy before his death, which made King Juan Carlos I his successor, who led the Spanish transition to democracy. After a referendum, a new constitution was adopted, which transformed Spain into a democracy under a constitutional monarchy. Franco was born at half past noon on December 4,1892, at 108 Calle Frutos Saavedra in Ferrol and his father was of Andalusian ancestry. His mother was María del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade, Francisco was to follow his father into the Navy, but as a result of the Spanish–American War the country lost much of its navy as well as most of its colonies. Not needing any more officers, the Naval Academy admitted no new entrants from 1906 to 1913, to his fathers chagrin, Francisco decided to try the Spanish Army. In 1907, he entered the Infantry Academy in Toledo, graduating in 1910 as a lieutenant, two years later, he obtained a commission to Morocco. Spanish efforts to occupy their new African protectorate provoked the protracted Rif War with native Moroccans and their tactics resulted in heavy losses among Spanish military officers, and also provided an opportunity to earn promotion through merit. It was said that officers would receive either la caja o la faja, Franco quickly gained a reputation as a good officer
13.
Disputed status of Gibraltar
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Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, is the subject of an irredentist territorial claim by Spain. It was captured in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish Crown formally ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown in 1713, under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain later attempted to recapture the territory during the thirteenth siege, British sovereignty over Gibraltar was confirmed in later treaties signed in Seville and the Treaty of Paris. The Gibraltarians themselves reject any such claim and no party or pressure group in Gibraltar supports union with Spain. In a referendum in 2002 the people of Gibraltar rejected a joint sovereignty proposal on which Spain, the British Government has stated that it would never. Enter into an agreement on sovereignty without the agreement of the Government of Gibraltar, Spain insists that the Gibraltar dispute is a bilateral matter purely between the United Kingdom and Spain. This principle appears to have been reflected in the United Nations resolutions on the decolonisation of Gibraltar in the 1960s, Gibraltarians argue that one cannot claim to be acting in the interests of a population, while at the same time ignoring its wishes and democratic rights. In 2002, an agreement in principle on joint sovereignty over Gibraltar between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain was announced, there was a campaign against these proposals by the Government of Gibraltar and individuals, culminating in their rejection in a referendum. The British Government now refuses to discuss sovereignty without the consent of the Gibraltarians and this was ratified by the 2006 Cordoba Agreement. After meetings in Malaga, Faro, and Mallorca, the Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos went to Gibraltar in July 2009 to discuss a range of mutual issues and this was the first official Spanish visit since Gibraltar was ceded. The issue of sovereignty was not discussed, Gibraltar was captured in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of the Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish Throne. After the battle, almost all the inhabitants decided to leave to the surrounding areas of Campo de Gibraltar. In that treaty, Spain ceded to Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever. The British and Gibraltarian governments assert that Gibraltar has been effectively decolonised, on the other hand, the Special Committee on Decolonization maintains Gibraltar on its list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Spain opposes any attempt to remove it from this list and Spanish commentators still describe Gibraltar as a colony, during the 1960s, the UN General Assembly passed five resolutions on the issue. The resolutions on the decolonisation of Gibraltar focused on the interests, from such a point of view, Gibraltarians are seen as mere settlers from the United Kingdom and other countries and only their interests, not their wishes, need be safeguarded. Therefore, Spain has insisted that the Gibraltar dispute is a bilateral matter with the United Kingdom and has ignored the role. The first formal proposal on how to achieve the return of Gibraltar to Spain was made on 18 May 1966 by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the proposal comprised three clauses, The cancellation of the Treaty of Utrecht and the subsequent return of Gibraltar to Spain
14.
Mobile phone
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A mobile phone is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area. The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the systems of a mobile phone operator. Most modern mobile telephone services use a network architecture, and, therefore. Mobile phones which offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones, the first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing c.4.4 lbs. In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first commercially available mobile phone. From 1983 to 2014, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew to seven billion, penetrating 100% of the global population. In first quarter of 2016, the top smartphone manufacturers were Samsung, Apple, a handheld mobile radio telephone service was envisioned in the early stages of radio engineering. In 1917, Finnish inventor Eric Tigerstedt filed a patent for a pocket-size folding telephone with a thin carbon microphone. Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships, the race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with developments taking place in many countries. These 0G systems were not cellular, supported few simultaneous calls, the first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing c.4.4 lbs. The first commercial automated cellular network was launched in Japan by Nippon Telegraph and this was followed in 1981 by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone system in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Several other countries followed in the early to mid-1980s. These first-generation systems could support far more simultaneous calls but still used analog cellular technology, in 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first commercially available handheld mobile phone. In 1991, the digital cellular technology was launched in Finland by Radiolinja on the GSM standard. This sparked competition in the sector as the new operators challenged the incumbent 1G network operators, ten years later, in 2001, the third generation was launched in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on the WCDMA standard. This was followed by 3. 5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G enhancements based on the high-speed packet access family, allowing UMTS networks to have data transfer speeds. By 2009, it had become clear that, at point, 3G networks would be overwhelmed by the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications. Consequently, the industry began looking to data-optimized fourth-generation technologies, with the promise of speed improvements up to ten-fold over existing 3G technologies
15.
Government of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Government, commonly referred to as the UK government or British government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the Prime Minister, who all the remaining ministers. The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, the government ministers all sit in Parliament, and are accountable to it. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. Under the uncodified British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the prime minister, the Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments, the current prime minister is Theresa May, who took office on 13 July 2016. She is the leader of the Conservative Party, which won a majority of seats in the House of Commons in the election on 7 May 2015. Prior to this, Cameron and the Conservatives led a government from 2010 to 2015 with the Liberal Democrats. A key principle of the British Constitution is that the government is responsible to Parliament, Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament and this constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with the Magna Carta in 1215. Parliament is split into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the House of Commons is the lower house and is the more powerful. The House of Lords is the house and although it can vote to amend proposed laws. Parliamentary time is essential for bills to be passed into law, Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords, since the start of Edward VIIs reign, in 1901, the prime minister has always been an elected member of Parliament and therefore directly accountable to the House of Commons. Under the British system the government is required by convention and for reasons to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply, by convention if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a General Election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital, a government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the Responsible house, the prime minister is held to account during Prime Ministers Question Time which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject
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Government of Spain
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Spain is a parliamentary monarchy whose government is defined by the Constitution of Spain. This was approved by a referendum of the people of Spain in 1978. The final interpretation of the Constitution, in the case of dispute, is the business of the Constitutional Court of Spain, the king is also the commander in chief of the Spanish Armed Forces in which capacity he suppressed the 23-F Spanish coup détat attempt in February 1981. The king, currently Felipe VI, has held this position since 19 June 2014 and his predecessor, Juan Carlos I, abdicated the throne. Daughters can inherit only if the monarch has no sons, the heir presumptive is Leonor, Princess of Asturias. The Military Chief of Staff is General of the Army Fernando Alejandre Martínez, President of the Government, sometimes misleadingly called the Spanish President, is the first minister and is elected by the Congress of Deputies. He is informally but internationally and commonly referred to as the Prime Minister, the current holder is Mariano Rajoy Brey, who was elected on 21 December 2011. He appoints a number of vice-presidents ordered numerically according to rank and responsible for their respective major ministries such as Finance, Foreign affairs, Domestic administration, etc. Minister for the Presidency and Vice President, María Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría Antón, the following is the list of members of the Cabinet of Spain formed after the 2016 general election. Shown here is the logo of the Government of Spain. Below it is a variant design for the Ministry of Finance, Spanish cabinets from 1931 to 2004 Official website Law 50/1997, of the Government Boe. es
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Landline
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A landline telephone refers to a phone that uses a metal wire or fibre optic telephone line for transmission as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, which uses radio waves for transmission. In 2003, the CIA reported approximately 1.263 billion main telephone lines worldwide, china had more than any other country at 350 million and the United States was second with 268 million. The United Kingdom has 23.7 million residential fixed homephones, the 2013 statistics show that the total number of fixed-telephone subscribers in the world was about 1.16 billion. The number of landline subscribers continuously decreases due to upgrades in digital technology, a fixed phone line can be hard-wired or cordless and typically refers to the operation of wireless devices or systems in fixed locations such as homes. Fixed wireless devices usually derive their power from the utility mains electricity, unlike mobile wireless or portable wireless. Although mobile and portable systems can be used in fixed locations, efficiency, mobile or portable, battery-powered wireless systems can be used as emergency backups for fixed systems in case of a power blackout or natural disaster. So-called leased lines are invariably of the type, the implications of a land line in this context are security and survivability. For example, a military headquarters might be linked to units by landline to ensure that communication remains possible even if the conventional telephone network is damaged or destroyed. Another example of this is in airports, all air traffic control towers have dedicated lines connected to the police, fire department, hospitals, army, etc. Deployed as a precaution in case of emergency, these can be used at any time, in many countries the landline has not been readily available to most people. In some countries in Africa, the rise in cell phones has outpaced any rise in landline telephones, between 1998 and 2008, Africa added only 2.4 million landlines. However, during this time the number of mobile phone lines that have been subscribed to has skyrocketed. Between 2000 and 2008, cell phone use has risen from less than 2 in 100 people to 33 out of 100. In developing countries it is difficult to install landline copper that is accessible to everyone than it is to install mobile wireless towers that people can connect to from anywhere. In the early 21st century, the telephone has declined due to the advancement of mobile network technology. Some see this happening as soon as the year 2025, in 2004, only about 45% of people in the United States between the ages of 12 and 17 owned cell phones. At that time, they had to rely on landline telephones, in just 4 years time, that percentage climbed to about 71%. That same year,2008, about 77% of adults owned a mobile phone, in the year 2013, 91% of adults in the United States owned a mobile phone
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Fiber to the x
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Fiber to the x is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic cables are able to much more data than copper cables, especially over long distances. FTTX is a generalization for several configurations of fibre deployment, arranged into two groups, FTTP/FTTH/FTTB and FTTC/N, the telecommunications industry differentiates between several distinct FTTX configurations. The terms in most widespread use today are, FTTP, This term is used either as a term for both FTTH and FTTB, or where the fiber network includes both homes and small businesses. FTTH, Fiber reaches the boundary of the space, such as a box on the outside wall of a home. Passive optical networks and point-to-point Ethernet are architectures that deliver services over FTTH networks directly from an operators central office. FTTD, Fiber connection is installed from the computer room to a terminal or fiber media converter near the users desk. FTTO, Fiber connection is installed from the main computer room/core switch to a special mini-switch located at the user´s workstation or service points and this mini-switch provides Ethernet services to end user devices via standard twisted pair patch cords. The switches are located all over the building, but managed from one central point. FTTE and FTTZ are not considered part of the FTTX group of technologies, FTTF This is very similar to FTTB. In a fiber to the front yard scenario, each fiber node serves a single subscriber and this allows for multi-gigabit speeds using XG-fast technology. The fiber node may be reverse-powered by the subscriber modem, FTTN is often an interim step toward full FTTH and is typically used to deliver advanced triple-play telecommunications services. FTTC is occasionally ambiguously called FTTP, leading to confusion with the distinct fiber-to-the-premises system, the FTTH Councils do not have formal definitions for FTTC and FTTN. While fiber optic cables can carry data at speeds over long distances, copper cables used in traditional telephone lines. For example, the form of gigabit Ethernet runs over relatively economical category 5e, category 6 or augmented category 6 unshielded twisted-pair copper cabling. However,1 Gbit/s ethernet over fiber can easily reach tens of kilometres, therefore, FTTP has been selected by every major communications provider in the world to carry data over long 1 Gbit/s symmetrical connections directly to consumer homes. FTTP configurations that bring fiber directly into the building can offer the highest speeds since the segments can use standard ethernet or coaxial cable. Google Fiber provides speed of 1 Gbit/s, still, the type and length of employed fibers chosen, e. g. multimode vs. single-mode, are critical for applicability for future connections of over 1 Gbit/s
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Communications in Gibraltar
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Communications in Gibraltar comprise a wide range of telephony systems, Internet access, broadcasting and satellite control. There is also printed and online media, regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting are the responsibility of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, established by means of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Act in 2000. The first submarine telegraph cable started its operation in Gibraltar in 1870 and it was the first direct link between Australia and Great Britain. The company that laid the first part of the cable took the name of Falmouth, Gibraltar and this company later operated as the Eastern Telegraph Company from Mount Pleasant in Gibraltar and eventually became Cable & Wireless. The first telephones were introduced to Gibraltar in 1886 by a company which was later taken over by the colonial authorities. The first wireless message was transmitted to Gibraltar in 1903, since 1926, the telephone service was operated by the City Council. An automatic exchange was installed in the last floor of the City Hall, upon the approval of the 1969 Constitution and the dissolution of the City Council, the telephone service was transferred to the newly formed Government of Gibraltar. In the 1970s there were three generations of automatic telephone exchange equipment in use with four and five digit numbers, the volume of calls grew and a System X digital exchange was installed. Until 1990, all services were operated by the Gibraltar Government Telephone Department. International circuits were provided by Cable & Wireless, present in Gibraltar since 1870 as the Falmouth, Malta, however, Cable & Wireless left Gibraltar in 1987. Gibtel was subsequently granted a licence to offer mobile telephony introducing a GSM900 network, in 1990, the Government decided to privatise its Telephone Department and therefore entered into a joint venture with Nynex of the United States. Gibraltar Nynex Communications Ltd became responsible for fixed-line telephony, GNC was the first acquisition of Nynex outside the Americas. In 1997, GNC, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GNC Networks, GNC Networks was later renamed GibConnect. ADSL services were introduced in 2002, in 2001, BT sold its 50% stake in Gibtel to GNC. Both companies subsequently merged to form Gibtelecom, a joint venture between the Government of Gibraltar and Nynexs successor company, Verizon, the name Gibtelecom begun to be used in July 2002, and as of 1 October 2003 this name was formally adopted by the company. In April 2007, Verizon sold its shares to Telekom Slovenije which is the incumbent telecommunications operator in Slovenia and is quoted on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. Telephone jacks are also British Standard BS6312, as opposed to the RJ11 versions found in parts of Europe. Calling code, +350 Telecommunication services in Gibraltar were subject to Spanish restrictions until February 10,2007, Gibtelecom was also prevented from having roaming agreements with Spanish GSM networks so its mobile phones did not operate in Spain
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
28.
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
29.
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
30.
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
31.
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
32.
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
33.
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
34.
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
35.
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
36.
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
37.
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
38.
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
39.
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
Gibraltar topics
