GIBRALTAR 



wind, or Levanter. The town is of 

 great importance as a coaling 

 station. The harbour, of 260 acres, 

 can accommodate the Mediter- 

 ranean fleet. The population of the 

 permanent civilians is estimated at 

 17,943. The Rock of Gibraltar and 

 Mount Abyla on the African coast 

 were known to the ancients as the 

 Pillars of Hercules. An executive 

 council 011 which non-official in- 

 habitants are represented was 

 formed in 1922. 



Gibraltar, SIEGES or. Military 

 operations conducted by the 

 British, the Spaniards, and others. 

 A large number of sieges of this 

 dominant rock are recorded before 

 the appearance of the British in 



1704. It was taken by the Moors in 

 711, and they were deprived of it 

 by the Castilians in 1309. The 

 Moors soon recovered it and held it 

 against several attempts made by 

 the Christians. The latter, how- 

 ever, recovered it in 1462, and the 

 next sieges were due to the desire 

 of one Spaniard to oust another 

 from it. 



In July, 1704, a British and 

 Dutch fleet under Sir George 

 Rooke, with an army of 30,000 

 men on board, was sent against 

 Cadiz. At the last minute Gibraltar 

 was substituted for Cadiz, and on 

 July 22 the fleet appeared in the 

 bay. Some marines were landed 

 and the place was bombarded for 

 six hours ; at the end of that time 

 the garrison, under 500 men, offered 

 to surrender. ___ ___ ___ 



Gibraltar thus be- 

 came British, July 

 24,1704(0.8.). It 

 cost 61 men killed 

 and 252 wounded. 

 r In the autumn 

 of 1704 the 

 Spaniards, aided 

 by their French 

 allies, began an 

 attempt to re- 

 cover the fort- 

 ress. This siege 

 lasted until April, 



1705, and was 



3523 



Gibraltar. Map of the strait which separates Europe 



from North Africa 



marked by a daring attempt to 

 surprise the place, and by several 

 naval encounters. In 1736 the 

 Spaniards tried ,__ 

 again, but with !j 

 equal unsuccess, : 

 and then came the ; 

 siege of 1779-83. A 



Gibraltar at this \ 

 time was defended 

 by Sir G. A. Eliott, 

 afterwards Lord 

 Heathfield. The 

 French and Span- 

 ish fleet got into 

 the bay and the 

 blockade began. 



GIBRALTAR 



The fortress was 

 assailed also by 

 land, and exten- 

 sive siege works 

 were constructed. 

 A good deal of 

 damage was done 

 by the besiegers, 

 w hile British ships 

 from time to time 

 succeeded in 

 attacking the 

 enemy. However, 

 the garrison was 

 in great straits 

 when, in June, 



1780, Rodney 

 got provisions 

 through. 



Again, however, 

 provisions ran 

 short, but in April, 



1781, a British 



fleet got in with supplies. A terrific 

 bombardment was then tried, but 

 the defenders stuck to their guns 



and in Nov. they partially des- 

 troyed the siege works by a sortie. 

 The final attack was made in 

 Sept., 1782. An army of 40,000 

 men were collected, while off the 

 bay was a strong French and 

 Spanish fleet. Floating batteries 

 were built, and from sea and land 

 a* continuous and heavy bom- 

 bardment was maintained, to 

 which Eliott replied with red-hot 

 shot. On the 13th the attack was 



Gibraltar. 1. General view of the Rock from Spain. 2. Governor's residence at Europa Point 3. The signal station. 



4. The North Town 



