Why is Gibraltar British?
1702 saw the outbreak of the Spanish War of Succession, something that had been brewing in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The King of Spain, Charles II, was a man mentally and physically handicapped and when he died without an heir, two rivals laid claim to the Spanish throne. Louis XIV wanted to see his Grandson, Philip of Anjou, named as King, whilst the Austrians put forward the Hapsburg candidate, Archduke Charles supported by England, Holland and the Vatican. As always with European affairs however the balance of power was a key issue. If the Bourbon Philip came to the Spanish throne then the threat of European domination by the French, and of course domination of Spanish colonies and markets, would be lethal to British interests. When Philip of Anjou became Philip V of Spain, war was inevitable and indeed did break out. The alliance system that William III of Orange had built up kicked in even after his death and by 1703 England under Queen Anne, the Dutch Provinces, Portugal, and Austria had aligned against the Bourbons.

As George Hills points out in his book, Rock of Contention, the idea that Gibraltar became 'British' in 1704 is an oversimplification. On the 4th August 1704, the English fleet, under Admiral Sir George Rooke, entered the Gibraltar Bay. At 3pm 1,800 English and Dutch marines were landed close to the Rock with the Dutch Prince Hesse at the head. After several days of fierce fighting the Spanish surrendered the Rock. One intention was to prevent Gibraltar being used to unify the French Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets. Overall command was vested in the Austrian Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt and the mission as a whole was being undertaken for 'Charles III' of Austria. It seems therefore that some further insight is needed into who was who, and what they were doing!

Now as we know it was the Treaty of Utrecht that gave Britain Gibraltar, but of course this treaty was concerned with the much wider issue of ending Britain's involvement in the war. The period of Gibraltar's history between 1704 and 1713 then is one of hazy distinction. When Admiral Rooke and Hesse-Darmstadt took Gibraltar they did so for the Austrian claimant to the Spanish throne. The garrison surrendered to Hesse-Darmstadt. There is also the argument that the British forces did not even want to stay at the Rock and that those in government were already wondering as to its usefulness. However, there is of course a much stronger line of British interest in the Rock. Throughout 1702-4, Rooke had orders that if his primary targets were unassailable he was to take Gibraltar. This was consistent with the Whig government's desire to improve trading roots with the colonies, and also Marlborough's desire to turn the Med' into an English pond. It seems that in the light of these considerations there can be little doubt that England did not take the Rock in a 'fit of absence of mind', but that indeed that it was policy. Indeed the first three governors of Gibraltar were Dutch and they were acting in the interests of Charles III, yet by 1708 England had prevailed a British governor upon the Rock and indeed by 1713 the Rock was ceded to Britain. More to the point the Dutch wanted the benefits of the Rock, but not the costs of garrisoning and supplying it, hence the accentuation of British interests there. That Britain was ceded Gibraltar shows a more long-term commitment by government. By 1713 the Tories were in power and they did not have the same commitment as the Whigs had to economic concerns, yet still the town and garrison of Gibraltar was desired.

Article X of Treaty of Utrecht, signed on July 13, 1713, confirms the yielding of the town, castle, port, fortifications and forts of Gibraltar from the King of Spain to the British Crown for ever - not that Spain gave up the attempt to recapture the Rock by both force of arms and negotiation. Unfortunately the Treaty did not provide a map defining exactly the area so described, thus giving both parties the opportunity to interpret the wording as it suited them, causing much controversy in later years.