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Hi , you're uploading great videos SoGal, I knew the recent history of Gibraltar but tbh have always just accepted it as a British colony & not questioned why ! Thanks for enlightening me on the full history, albeit slightly quick !
The French, Spanish and Dutch all heavily financed the rebellion of 1776. The French spent the same amount as Britain in the war and provided most of the military and military supplies. The Dutch and Spanish heavily financed the war, Spain used gold and silver to finance the siege of Yorktown.
@@Blackbeard007 I'll add on the Florida issue. Spain and France had their alliance still when "The 7 Years War" was fought. Where George Washington served for the British. After that war, Britain acquired Florida from Spain. Because Florida was being colonized by newly arriving Brits and what remained of the Spaniards (most left for Cuba) it did not side with the Americans. During the war, Florida served as a place that British loyalists from the USA hoped to turn into a new home. Loyalist refugee camps if you will. Late in the war, the Spanish began conquering Florida. After the war, with Spain having troops on the ground in Florida, Britain didn't feel Florida was defensible as it was surrounded by enemies. The USA, France (Haiti&Louisiana), and Spain (Cuba) so it was given back to Spain during the peace treaty. Also, there was the evacuation of the Loyalist refugees from Florida back to Britain. So it is actually a very interesting and overlooked part of history.
For America at the time the 'War of Independence' was the main match. For Britain at the time it was a minor side issue in a larger world wide war against France. Something I suspect American histories 'overlook'. 😄
The fact that Britain never sent her most trusted and experienced generals to fight the American upstarts was also a key in the revolutionists gaining the upper hand. France was always considered the 'proper' enemy. Plus the indy war never really had the backing of parliament and was seen by many as George III's folly.
America at that time was not seen as a major asset to Britain, in fact was during the French and Indian wars a financial liability, hence the tax increase to cover the protection of its people. In the new world the focus of the navy was on the sugar islands in the Caribbean which paid investment well while America was a good place to offload condemn Ed criminals (a role passed on to Australia after independence). Apart from the embarrassment of losing a colony there was not much else lost in that conflict. Cornwallis in fact surrendered (not in person but through his 2IC) to the French commander as they were seen as being the major player and this was referred by the French to Washington to rather rub salt into the wound as he had less than a sterling reputation as a commander when serving in the British militia. Wheels within wheels....
Yanks aren't taught true history only the bits that bolsters themselves. They don't know that they had France and Spain fighting with them. It would be like America fighting Britain Russia and China at once today, America would surrender within six months.
Gibraltar held a referendum in 2002 on whether they should join Spain or remain with the UK, the voting was 187 for joining Spain and 17, 900 for staying with the UK. Very decisive result. English is the official language as well.
No the referendum of joining spain or remaining with the uk was in 1967 and the 2002 referendum was about joint sovereignty of uk with spain and uk option won
Most Gibraltarians have Spanish ancestry but would describe themselves as British. Many speak a kind of Spanglish called 'Llanito', basically Andalucian Spanish mixed with English, Ligurian and words from other Mediterannean languages. Only about 20% of the population of about 34,000 have UK ancestry.
8:04 Spanish and French troops helped the independent army defeat the British army in British America, British America expanded to Canada as well. Remember the top three colonial armies at the time were, British, French and Spanish. Britain took on the French, Spanish and American Independence troops. The British lost as they had less troops. France and Spain and the Dutch all lost in the long run. France had a revolution and was without money. Spain had independence problems in South America. Dutch lost trade with France and Spain nations due to them being without money. Britain gained more losing the American independence war. They gained more French and Spanish colonies later on and gained more control of the seas. The US turned on their Spanish allies and declared war on Spain to control Florida and pushed for more Spanish territory. The US then did the dirty with France and Napoleon sold French America to the US so Napoleon had money to wage war in Europe as Napoleon saw the Americas as too far to defend and too much to control, Europe mainland was his prize. That is why the US got French America. Al in all the US turned on its masters, the British. Turned on its allies the French and Spanish. And took on the British again to control Canada and lost. The big take away here is don't trust America.
" The big take away here is don't trust America." - because they behave exactly the same as everybody else. "There's no such thing as friends, only interests."
The real issue with the USA was bankrolling Napoleon's wars by giving him gold when they could have taken Louisiana Territory for nothing. The US then further allied with Napoleon in 1812 to grab Canada and ended up ith their coastal cities being raided and then having DC burnt down.
@@uingaeoc3905 history looks different from here. At the time the USA where trying to grow and be a big player. They saw Britain as a threat to that. So they obviously wanted France and Britain to weaken each other and allow us expansion
@@damedusa5107 Which 'expansion' blew up in Madison's face when he had to run for it and leave DC to burn, BRAVE. Then of course the siege of Baltimore which did not result in ay counter attack by the US forces. The US need not have sided with Napoleon nor Britain, Jefferson could take Louisana Territory for nothing and Madison need not have then commenced an invasion of Canada - the first disgraceful episode in US history, siding with an imperialist dictator against independent and neutral nations in Europe.
Why does Spain own land in Morocco, America own Alaska etc. America owns many 'rocks' around the world, very likely more than the UK. So do France and others. Nobody seems to question them.
China are already building islands from rocks and sand in the China Sea. I think they are very much questioned...especially when they also build aircraft landing-sites on them and tell any plane that gets too close to them to "f***k off otherwise...
If you used to think Gibraltar was an island, that could be confusion with Malta. Malta also has strong historical links with Britain. It is an island in the Mediterranean, between Italy and Tunisia, with a fascinating history of its own.
My dad was born in Malta GC in a military hospital. When my grandparents came back to the UK, and my dad as a teenager applied for a passport, he was told by the Passport Office he might not be eligible for one!
@@DMG00111-p Its more useful to the ruling class of kleptocrats who run the UK as a tax haven. These small islands with little resources know they can keep their economies buoyant by selling their sovereignty to the highest bidder. That only works if they are a separate legal and tax jurisdiction.
Spain were also fighting us during your war of independence. I know its taught as a great american victory in history classes over there but in reality it was a small revolt that would have been crushed were it not for the help of the 2nd and 3rd most powerful countries in Europe at the time.
@@JJaqn05 yes there was. The French and Spanish empires were also fighting Britain as retaliation for the seven years war, and were using the American rebellions to weaken the British empire.
@@robokill387 Yes but that wasn't a seperate war. It was still the same American Revolution. The reason the British lost is because its near impossible to hold a colony on a different continent that takes months just to get to in full rebellion and also having to fight the other European nations involved. Britains troops were spread too thin. The war was too costly and public opinon was very anti war. Im also British not American
@@JJaqn05 don't call people stupid I suspect you're from the USA so suggest you tell this lovely girl (your fellow US citizen) to not make such a public spectacle of her general ignorance about....everything. it's not a good look for the USA
Yeah History Matters was saying Britain lost the American Revolutionary War. What a lot of Americans don't realise is that Britain had a lot more on it's hands than just the Americans during the Revolutionary War. America had almost total backing from the French who sent soldiers, money, weapons and advisors to help the Americans, whilst also sinking British ships heading to America and directly fighting the British in multiple places across the globe. Then there was the Spanish who also sided with America and used the opportunity to siege Gibraltar, though unsuccessfully. So Britain was never able to direct it's full attention towards the American colonies since it had the French and other European nations like the Dutch as well creating inconveniences for them which affected their war effort. Plus the British public was against the war, didn't see the point in it and the British government even had a hard time recruiting soldiers to fight in it to the point where they had to reduce the amount of servecing time a soldier would be obligated to do in order to entice people to fight the Americans.
@@markcopsey4729 America was a bit more like Australia is today in terms of how it was viewed by Britain at the time. It was (then at least) predominantly settled by British & Irish people with a smattering of other Europeans, mostly Dutch, French and Spanish. Many people in Britain had family members who lived in America, many were still immigrating there from Britain right up to the Revolution. There was also some irony there, many American colonial soldiers would have had English accents, and many of the British soldiers would have had American accents. The Revolution was a civil war in many ways; that bit of unpleasantness in the 1860's was actually the II.
I did my Army basic training over 30years ago and I trained with lads from the Gibraltar Regt. They all considered themselves Brits even though some of them had quite strong Spanish accents, some were ex pats, but they were all proud to be part of the British Army.
some of them? they all speak spanish with a strong southern andalucian accent, culturally they are spaniards, but it's better for them being a colony because that's the way to be a tax haven. They consider themselves brits? it's all a joke 🤦
What you have to remember basically, is an this point their really isn't such a thing as "America" its just a bunch of European powers battling over colonies all across the globe. At times chasing each other across whole oceans. UK, Spain and France had their slice of "the new world" and it was a kind of "My enemies enemy is my Friend". So any rebellion such as the uprising in British America will always be supported by the rival powers. Attacking Gibraltar at this time was effectively just opening up another front against the British, stretching their Navy. (All the Europeans wanted a piece of the action everywhere, its why you see places like Hong Kong, British territory, and Macau, Portuguese territory along side each other in China.... Or in South America, Guyana, formerly British Guyana, Suriname, formerly Dutch Guyana and French Guyana alongside each other) Same Story in the US with Spain having the west coast, French centrally, setting up New Orleans to control the Mississippi & Quebec etc and British having the East coast. (If there's one thing I've learned though, its that whenever anyone was onto a good thing, the British generally rocked up not long after to take control...For example a French man set up the Suez canal company and did the digging, once the British realised how good an idea it was they took control of Egypt and whole Aden peninsula...Albeit in more modern times but it was the same old story)
Gibraltar was taken from the Spanish in 1704 by the Royal Marines and the Royal Netherlands Marines. The Royal Marines have many battle honours but Gibraltar is part of their corps emblem.
Spain’s continued demands for the return of Gibraltar is in contrast to its attitude towards Ceuta and Melilla, two colonial possessions in Morocco that Spain maintains control over!
Ceuta an Melilla are two autonomous cities that have parliamentary representation at Spain Parliament. Therefore there aren’t colonies. Gibraltar does not have representation at Westminster. Gibraltar is a colony.
@@danieloj7974 actually it does have one M.P in Westminster that has a duel dual responsibility over her own constituency in England and also looks after Gibraltar currently this is Wendy Morton M.P
@@danieloj7974 It's not a colony, it's an overseas territory. The vast majority of Gibraltarians consider themselves British, and do not want to be ruled by a country that is known for it's appalling treatment of minorities groups. Of course the Spanish could always try and take it by force I suppose, but we all know how that would end.
Ceuta and Melilla are part of Spain before Morocco was Morocco. You pirates kept Gibraltar after Spain was already Spain, same thing with Malvinas in Argentina. Ah, pirates.
I first lived in Gibraltar as a member of the UK Army, after my time in the Army I left Gibraltar and returned to the UK. Five years later I was back in Gibraltar working in the famous Rock Hotel. I stay for about 5 more years before returning to the UK to spend the rest of my life. In a NUTSHELL, Spain lost the War against the UK and the Treaty of Utrech was signed by both Countries Permanatly signing the Rock over to the UK FOREVER.
Erm no, Spain didnt loose the war. It was a civil war the Dutch, British and Spanish took the rock. It was the French and British agreement by which France got what it wanted ( a French King on the Spanish throne) and the British got something in exchange, after backstabbing the Spanish claimer they backed to the throne. And no the Treaty doesnt say it was given forever, theres a clause.
@@anthonyrobinson5694 Looked it up its the last paragraph. Not that it matters because the Treaty also states what is given to Britain and atleast the airport is out of that land given.
Another reason for the failure to take Gibraltar, is British turned "The Rock" as the British nicknamed it into bascially a Ship of the Line on land, if you ever go to Gibraltar you'll find its covered in gun posistions. Also rather unknown fact but during WW2 the British had a plan called Operation Tracer, the idea was if Gibraltar ever fell to the Germans or Spain joined the Axis and took it for the Germans, the British was to bury a small group of men alive with enough food and water to last a year or two and their job was to radio back an Axis shipping movements with the hope of trying to take "The Rock" back before their supplies ran out.
@@shoutinghorse No the men would be in a special bunker which was made in preperation and was cut into "The Rock" once the operation started the entrance would then be burried and the men inside it, making it either impossible or hard for the Axis to find the entrance to the bunker and eliminate it, meaning the men could radio away without to much worry about being found, at least until the food started to run out then they could worry.
Just a quick point, Italy wasn't a united country at this time, the blue bit on the 'boot' was the kingdom of Naples, i think Italy became a unified country about 1870.
5:47 It is odd that he never verbally highlights it. Gibraltar is basically a mountain called 'the Rock'( the white hill. looks like the white cliffs of dover with windows, in the background of the cartoon) with port facilities clinging to it on either side. Its a natural fortress with very narrow land access and miles of tunnels within.
We don`t own Gibraltar, it`s a British territory. I have been to Gib quite a few times. I asked why they prefer to stay British and not Spanish. Everyone that I spoke to said that they prefer to be a British territory, rather than a Spanish one. One woman said to me, it`s like having 2 grandmothers. One is always there for you if you need her, she lets you get on with your life. The other grandmother constantly tells you what to do, how to live your life. Britain is the `good grandmother`. lol
The almost constant and crippling bureaucracy and relative inefficiency of Spain's governnental system and its economy, plus its high and complex taxes, is alone enough to convince any rational and thinking person to stay under British 'control'.
Sorry, but most people would have difficulty distinguishing between being owned by Britain and being a British territory. So you choose to call it a British territory. What's the essential difference? As you yourself say, the people of Gibralter regard themselves as British.
Gibraltar is nicknamed "The Rock", since it is a mountain, and it was not easy for Spain to come across a narrow peninsula across open terrain when they were facing fortified artillery positions on the high ground. The Royal Navy was too strong for them to attempt landing operations anywhere, so they could only attack along that narrow front.
It was Royal Marines and Royal Netherlands Marines who captured it from the Spanish in 1704 . Among the vast amount of battle honours the Royal Marines have Gibraltar appears on the Royal Marines emblem.
The italian territories are: Duchy of Savoy against France (the Duchy of Savoy end up forming Italy in 1860 like Prussia forms Germany in 1870), and with France: the Duchy of Milan (north) and the Kingdom of Naples (south). Both Milan and Naple swere Spanish possesssion since the the XVI century. After the War of Spanish Succession, both were handed over to Austria; Naples become independent but under Austrian protection some years later; both will be conquered by the Savoy dinasty in 1859-60 (Italian "Risorgimento", the birth of the modern Italian nation-state that still exists today).
Today Gibraltar is a very useful staging post into Africa and the Mediterranean for the British armed forces. Additionally It also has a significant naval dockyard and plays an important role in signals intelligence (SIGINT).
@@foxquetzal420 I didn't know that. I lived in Gibraltar from 1967 - 1969 when there was a strong presence from all 3 branches of the armed forces. I know the military accommodation we had has now been passed in to civilian use, and that the RN doesn't have the same presence in the dockyard, so am amazed that the drydocks are still in use. Thanks for the update.
I was born in the UK and live in Gibraltar if you ever have any questions on it. Long story short, the only way into the middle east by sea is via the Straights of Gibraltar. It's position means it's ideal for refuelling and resupplying ships that have sailed from the UK.
OK, so when the American War of Independence occurred, Britain was already at war with France and Spain. The French and Spanish supported the Americans, not because they particularly cared about American independence (they were imperial powers themselves, terrible precedent), but because they needed to open a second front against the British. The war he's talking about is this wider European war, in which the War of Independence was one theatre. Britain didn't really fight too hard to keep hold of the Thirteen Colonies largely in part to the wider conflict, but also because there wasn't really the popular support for it in Britain. The Americans of 1775 were still very much our cousins and sometimes brothers in a literal as well as a figurative sense. The islands you couldn't thinkof the name for are called the Balearics, by the way.
@@robokill387 The amount of men lost and needed couldnt be keeped up by the French in the long run. Hell, they did it so well eveyone calls it guerilla warfare. Spanish word guerilla meaning little war. It was also key to beating the French in Spain jy the amount of intel these units could collect on the French Armee.
The land border between Gibraltar and Spain is very short, not much more than 1000 yards as I recall. Spain laid siege to the territory (hardly half heartedly) at the same time as the American war of independence. The Royal Navy had to keep lifting the siege and this was a major distraction which contributed to Britain's eventual defeat in North America. Spanish attempts to retake Gibraltar failed though. It's hard to get troops across a short land border under withering artillery fire, especially when it's raining down from high on the Rock. I've been a couple of times and it's not hard to see why Gibraltarians want to remain under UK rule. Economically booming, largely self governing with London far away and mostly left to their own devices. And Spain being a dictatorship for much of the 20th century didn't help their image much.
A former manager of mine is married to a lovely Spanish lady. When their first child was born, my colleagues and I bought them a bib for a baby with "GIB IS BRITISH" plastered all over it. They weren't too amused with us. At least the comments here will be mild compared with an equivalent video explaining why the Falkland Islands are British.
except you're a colony and a tax haven far from the british islands, closer culturally to Spain, it's quite funny listening to you speaking andalucian... while Canada is an independent sovereign State. Appart from that yeah, keep telling that to yourself
Britain held it for three reasons. 1, our superior military 😂 2, our navy could resupply the troops with no problems as we had sea superiority, an 3, by no means the least there was a bloody great rock in the way so the only easy passage to invade the Spanish could use was by sea. Go back to point 2. It’s that simple. Besides, the Spanish gifted this land to us, and we didn’t take it by force to begin with. As we still possess one of the most effective navies in Europe, it’s probably a good geopolitical and strategic move to let us hold on to it for the good of all Europeans.
@@laurencefraser Just because we are not a part of the European federal bureaucracy doesn’t mean we wouldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with our European friends if Russia or China started trouble. After all, we will actually fight rather than fold
@@araptorofnote5938 And if it had been left up to de Gaulle we would have been left out of the EEC, despite the fact that we and the Yanks shed blood to liberate France. Thank God Adenauer spoke up for us. 🙄
Britain has historically had the same mindset towards the French that us Danes have had against the Swedes: If you get the chance to smack them around a little, you better believe you carpe that diem. Which is the true reason they went against Spain, a rich and powerful France is one thing, a super rich and powerful France + Spain, would be entirely unacceptable to the British.
It's also a little smaller than Florida when you compared on the map - It has an area of 2.6 miles, and the airfield mentioned is unusual - as it crosses the main road or the main road crosses it. When a plane is coming to land barriers drop like you would see at a railway crossing to stop the cars - there are plenty of videos of it.
3:05 The blue part of Italy was the kingdom of Naples, which belonged to Spain at this point in history. After the war of 1701-1714 it became an Austrian territory.
GIB is strategically very important to us because it's the gateway to the Med & it's reckoned we have sophisticated underwater sonar equipment that can track unfriendly countries subs in & out of the Med.
We don't just track unfriendly subs, we track the freindly ones too! And they almost certainly track ours how successful it is nobody knows (or is at liberty to say) but I'm sure all nuclear countries track each others subs as a matter of course
@@dasy2k1 Yes, no doubt you're right, but because it's highly classified security they won't elaborate on security, so we can only make educated guesses which are probably right.All the best.
The American war of Independence. Was fought by French, Spanish and Germans (mostly mercenary’s) vs the British. When we (Uk) said we lost we were also at war with Spain. Cause Spain helped The colonies along with a large amount of funds from France. It lead to a negotiation in Europe.
On that map of Spain and France vs everyone else at 3:17, those areas in Italy actually belonged to Spain's monarchy at the time, including 'that blue patch' at the top that you weren't sure where it was lol, thats why they were in blue as well. Italy was still split into several smaller regions at this point, not a united country.
Gibraltar is in an extremely important strategic location as it controls the entrance into the Mediterranean. Britain's navy in the 18th century was superior to Spain's and it eventually became the largest navy in the world. The American war of independence was, in fact, a European war for control of possessions in North America. That's why it spilled over into other areas outside of North America.
Actually the Spanish king had intended to inherit his Empire to the Bavarian prince Joseph Ferdinand from the House of Wittelsbach (it ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 and also a bunch of other places were ruled by it during the centuries). The Spanish king wrote in his will in 1698 that Joseph Ferdinand should inherit the entire Spanish Empire, but the prince died the next year at the age of 6. His father was the Bavarian Elector Maximilian II. Emanuel, who was pretty ambitious. He fought as an ally of the Austrians against the Ottomans during the Great Turkish War (1683-1699) and also against France during the Nine Years War (1688-1697). In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) he allied Bavaria with France. After the defeat at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, in which troops of France and Bavaria were defeated by the allied troops commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy, Bavaria was occupied for the remaining duration of the war.
@@highpath4776 Winston Churchill's father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a younger son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. The full family name is Spencer-Churchill (yes, the 'Spencer' comes from the Earls Spencer of Althorpe) and the current Duke is the 12th Duke.
@@highpath4776 Yes. Winston Churchill was a grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Sir Winston was born at Blenheim Palace, the family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough. Blenheim named after the Battle of Blenheim won under the Generalship of John Spencer-Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. His wife Sarah was famously the best friend of Queen Anne, until they fell out 😉
Us brits were able to hold out against the Spanish at Gibraltar in various ways. One way to hold out was to keep supply cache's inside gibraltar rock and take advantage of the cave system. Tunnels were built to supply guns placed in and around the rock for defensive purposes. It's an interesting place to explore. Thesedays theres a cavern that is used as an opera house.
i have recently started to use yt I found you reportihg about the uk and was fascinated i have since checked loads of your content and find it very entertaining. Keep up the good work and educating others and learning as you go.
Gibraltar is one or was one of the great runs ashore in the Royal Navy, along main street Irish town, Catalan Bay, I speak from personal experience have served there for a year in 76/77 at the Royal Naval Hospital when the border was shut, then subsequently on many visits with the grey funnel line.. have nothing but fond memories throw in the obligatory race up the Rock on a Sunday morning whilst usually hungover . Character building
England always wanted to control sea choke points so that it could rule the seas. In the Mediterranean, the west side is controlled by Gibraltar, in the middle was Malta from 1813 until it became independent in 1964 and in the east was Cyprus, Egypt and the Suez Canal. After Naser's Egypt kicked the British out in 1956 and nationalized the Suez Canal, the British still maintain two large bases in the Island of Cyprus, controlling the East Med and the Middle East from there (you may want to check the Suez Canal crisis and the failed British and French attempt to take it back, along with the second Arab Israeli war of 1956). These two bases were formally established after Cyprus became independent in 1960 after a 5 year bloody guerilla war against Britain and like Gibraltar they are British sovereign territories. Of course the Cypriots paid for their audacity by Britain reintroducing the Turks in the affairs of the Island as a guarantor power, because 18% of the population were Turkish Cypriots, something that led to a number of crises in 1963, 1964, 1967 and finally the Turkish invasion of 1974 that partitioned the Island to north and south by occupying 36% of Cyprus to this day. These are videos regarding the 1974 events : th-cam.com/video/DPxyCuzFGOQ/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/WHlHnCwFp5c/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/P70bieUxe4U/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/wvaipVj_-oU/w-d-xo.html
I believe the country that you can't name were Prussia, the Holy Roman Roman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy (archduchy of austria, Hongary, Bohemia),the Kindom of Naples in Soutern Italy, Duchy of Mantua in North Italy and the Duchy of Savoy.
When i explained to a German friend that the airport runway in Gib cut across the high street and they would have to stop road traffic so that planes could land she accused me of telling porkies until she googled it. I believe you mentioned that you have an Irish ancestry, has anyone ever mentioned that you talk like a Northern Irish person? It's not the accent or grammar, it's the shape of your mouth when forming your words. To imitate a Northern Irish accent as opposed to an Irish one, is to keep the top lip stiff ( i hope you are trying this at home). Maybe your next song would be Simple Minds's Belfast Child, it would be most fitting.
Gibralter is a wonderful place, I got married there 6 yrs ago, they are very loyal to the UK crown, have a look at Ceuta, something Spain don't mention, its a a spanish part of North Africa, those Islands in the med by Spain are the Balearic Islands, very popular holiday spots for the European peoples.Even this week Spain find a reason to kick off, the USS Albany drops in and Spain complain.
Making sense of the map is difficult as a LOT of Europe's borders have changed since 1713. To summarize, the blue bits are France & Spain, the (Italian) kingdom of Naples, and the (Italian) kingdom of Milan. The Italian bits were allied with Spain as these shared a king with Spain. The red bits to the right of France were the Holy Roman Empire, consisting of most of what is now Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Modern Italy and Germany didn't exist as political states back then. The added complication is that just before this conflict Belgium and Holland (now shown in red) would have been allied with Spain as they were effectively Spanish territories, but they had been mostly lost to the reformer movements influenced by German nobles and Britain. If you want to make sense of the political state of Europe from 1600 onwards it is worth looking at the influence of the Hapsburgs, as that explains a lot. If you think this is confusing, the map got even messier through the 18th Century, in the wake of the French revolution, their intrigues in Italy, and the rise of Prussia foreshadowing the unification of Germany.
It's inconceivable to imagine that the UK would ever give Gibraltar back to the Spanish without a fight (literally), it's considered to be far too important strategically to ever give up. After all the Spanish did give it to the British voluntarily and "IN PERPETUITY", besides which Gibraltar's inhabitants overwhelmingly wish to remain British, and the UK government's policy is always to defend the wishes of the local people - witness: The Falkland Islands. Over many years Spain has huffed, puffed, dripped and bleated about Gibraltar being "returned" to them as if the UK somehow had illegal ownership. But it's interesting to note that Spain themselves occupy Ceuta and Melilla - two enclaves of Morocco which Moroccans consider belong to their country - but which they have no apparent intention of returning to Morocco. Seems quite a hypocritical attitude to be taking.
The British were also at war with India during the Maratha Wars 1775-82 and again the 2nd Anglo-Mysore War 1780-1784. The 4th Anglo-Dutch War 1780-83 . So we were kind of busy against 5 countries Fance, Spain, US, Dutch Republic and India not bad for a small Island.
You must understand: every alliance in europe always depended on the ruling noble families. If the same noble family rules france as well as spain that means that normally these two countries are allies. Exceptions are possible.
The war at the start of the 18th c when Gibraltar was first taken by the British is commonly referred to by historians as The war of Spanish Succession. Thats the one where John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough did very well against the French and was awarded Blenheim Palace for his efforts. Why did the Spanish not re-take it? They certainly tried. If you look at pictures of Gibraltar ( which the film didn't show) you'll see that most of it is a large rock, or mountain. This is honeycombed with tunnels and gun positions, so it is a natural citidel. The film did point out that Britain's dominant navy could resupply the rock easily. It's been held because it is sited at such a strategic position. It was vital in WWII to enable supplies to get through to Malta ( an island fortress in the Med. that proved a thorny issue to the axis countries ) - It bottled up the axis navy and shipping in the Med. preventing them from slipping out into the Atlantic. - The docks there proved useful for resupply and repair of damaged ships. - Escaped PoWs who made their way to Spain could cross into Gibraltar and get repatriated. Going back to the war of US independence, the rebel colonial's were only successful because the rest of Europe were supporting them. Particularly France, but also Spain, Denmark, Austria. The only European states on Britain's side at the time were a few of the German states. Britain really had its hands full. You would have become independent sooner or later, but probably through dominion status, like Canada and Australia.
It's kind of like the Falklands and Argentina, when Argentina or Spain has some domestic problems they find these territories a useful shift of focus. While Spain hasn't invaded Gibraltar they have blockaded it and stopped transport to Spain several times causing problems for the people living there. The EU in their Brexit papers called it a colony, trying to invoke imperialist Britain. Spain gets a lot of money from British tourists but it's hard to really call them an ally. I suppose some just see the UK as an easy target, I doubt anywhere would try that stuff on America.
@@j.b.2263 Whatever your interpretation/opinion on history that was 200 years ago. Maybe the Spanish will thank us for kicking Napoleon out of Spain, eh?
@@starrynight1657 I said never faced him. Napolean was the military genius not his army. He dedicated himself to what he thought most important, his eastern front.
Lol. It’s a heck of a lot smaller than Florida 😂 Gibraltar has the only airport runway in the world where regular traffic crosses it when no planes are taking off.
With Gibraltar, the Mediterranean remains open - without it, the Mediterranean is closed according to Spain's will. It meant more to Britain than those barely profitable American colonies ever did.
It's interesting to think how history world be different (and the future) if Gibraltar had not been British. The British Empire would have been very different! For example would Spain still remain linked with Italy and 'box in France, would France take Italy and link with Austria as THE major Mediterranean power -. Would the Suez canal be built. Without British involvement in Middle East would the oil reserves be developed as quickly, would the Ottoman Empire stay strong until smashed by the Russians.
If it's any comfort to you, I don't imagine many British people understand why Gibraltar belongs to the UK either - I know I didn't...! It is one of 14 'UK Overseas Territories' as they are currently known - actually remnants of what was once the British Empire, that have historic constitutional connections to the UK (the others are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Isles; Sovereign Base areas of Dekhelia and Akrotiri (within Cyprus) & Turks and Caicos Islands). Those with permanent populations that are not military bases have some form of devolved self-government, relying on the UK only for defence, foreign policy and trade. Each also has an Administrator or Governor acting as the de facto, deputy Head of State, who is of course the Queen in all cases. In all except Gibraltar, the Union Flag forms part of their national flags.
The 18th century was an almost constant war-zone. Excluding skirmishes which lasted less than one year, of which there were several, Britain was at war for 57 years during this century. I count 9 major wars that included Britain. There were also several wars which Britain did not involve itself in. Each peace treaty brought a redistribution of colonial assets. Colonies were also traded in peacetime for economic advantage. Both war and economy led to an ever changing geo-political landscape. It is little wonder that you are struggling to keep up!
The Spanish ceded Gibraltar and Minorca (may be spelled Menorca - it's one of the Balearic islands) in the Treaty/Peace of Utrecht (1713 - 15) in perpetuity. They should think themselves lucky we gave Minorca back after the American Colonial War. Gibraltar is stategically far too important to ever give back.
Both Gibraltar and more recently the Falkland Islands were given a referendum to see who they wanted to be part of and both said by more than 99% Britain ! We should give the US a referendum :)
It is an interesting place to visit. Gibraltar is heavily fortified so it is difficult to take it. The Spanish tried to retake it. So confident Spanish spectators came to watch them win. The Spanish fleet was decimated by the British launching cannon shot that had been heated red hot and burned the fleet and batteries. The Rock is a maze of tunnels, so was easier to move around to resupply. On top of the Rock is an artillery battery that looks towards Morocco, which is in sight, so it is strategically very important
Great Britain got Florida from Spain in 1763 after the Seven Years' War (when the French territorial claims in North America had been abolished and and both the British and Spanish claims there made contiguous - the Mississippi River having become their border, leaving Florida to the British side), but Spain considered it valuable enough to be taken back along with the aforementioned Gibraltar and Menorca (the latter both having been under British control since 1713). After joining the American War of Independence with France, Spain was able to physically conquer Florida and Menorca, justifying their formal return to them in 1783 - unlike Gibraltar, where the British held out.
One thing all Americans miss is the fact that in the 1700 your population was only 2 million or so , about the size of a large European city Your population was also spread over a fairly large area trying to establish its self against an indigenous people and hostile landscape , you had no formal armed forces and where mainly farming stock , refugees from a battle worn Europe . There where no maps to show what size America was , if there had been I’m sure we would have put up a better fight to keep you under our Flag Great video I must say Iv watched most of what you do and love your take on what you learn . Iv been to Gib , my son is in the Royal Navy and as most of your replies state it is a very British place . Red letter boxes and telephone boxes , Policemen dressed as in Britain . And as any Sailor will tell you it holds a special place in there history including the famous bar the Donkys Flip Flop , it’s a right of passage to have drunk or get drunk in it Stay safe and keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍
I think at the time losing the American colonies was seen as a sad loss, but not that major, I don't think we the British had plans to expand west, I believe some deals had been made with native Americans and Florida was seen as mainly swamp and of little use at the time.
Those areas you mentioned are part of Italy now. I see that you had a lot of difficulties with the map. You thought Poland, eastern Germany and Romania where Russia (you are somewhat right in the Cold War 😉). That whole red area was the Holy Roman Empire and Austria-Hungary (wasn’t called so at that time but for reference).
And then Brexit happened, so more changes. It's a lovely place though, and you can walk from end to end quite easily Worth having a quick Google for the monkeys which live on or near the rock. Interesting airport as well as the runway is basically also the main road. When a aeroplane comes in (or sets off), traffic and pedestrians literally clear the runway like its some sort of rail way crossing.
They’re talking about the War of Independence. But remember with Napoleon, Spain didn’t like being pushed around by France so Spain relied on the British to kick Napoleon’s rather short ass.
love all the theories, i'd subscribe to that, Mark. they all used each other, to suit. Geographically t'other side a world, but i love the "tale" of the War of Jenkins ear.
Napoleon actually wasn't particularly short, and may even have been on the taller side. The idea that he was short comes from a combination of the French and the British using systems of measurement that had a unit called a 'foot' in the same slot... but the two units were NOT the same size. A few pictures emphasising Napoleon's height by way of positioning and such, a bit of British propaganda about how that was compensating for a lack of it, and boom. Enduring reputation for a trait he didn't actually have.
@@markkettlewell7441 The French Armee in Spain was like the German one in ww2 it was second rste compared to the ones used in the east. Napolean knew it was win or lose everything in the east.
Gibraltar is at a strategic position and was part of a chain of naval Stations for the British. Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Alexandria, Aden. It was ery valuable during the 2nd WW. That the British held Gib and Malta and also Alexandrai was instrumental in the defeat of the Axis forcees in North Africa and the Med.
The siege of Gibraltar (1779 - 1783) was the longest in British history, & came to climax when the French & Spanish built floating batteries to bombard the defences from the sea. The British responded with red hot shot, rapidly heated in furnaces fueled with coal from Newcastle in England. The rate of fire was so great that the metal devices to carry the hot shot was not sufficient, so they employed wheelbarrows filled with wet sand (the shot weighed 32 lb). The hot shot was used to set off the cannon charge directly (that must have been exciting for the loaders!). The hot shot stuck to the sides of the floating batteries & caused internal fires that proved impossible to put out- by midnight all were ablaze. So ended the siege- due to the availability of coal. Information taken from "Gibraltar- The Greatest Siege in British History, Roy & Lesley Adkins 2017.
In the sixies Local Authorities used to organise Educational Cruises around the Med where about 1500 children and 200 teachers spent two weeks on a ship visiting historical sites in Malta, Italy, Greece and Turkey (parents paid about half the cost). We were only in Gib for a couple of hours so four of us, all pre-teen, hired a taxi for a tour (Gib isn't big, you can walk round it in a couple of hours). The driver took us right up to the chain-link fence at the runway and said, "And this is where Franco closed the border," and spat out of the window :-)
Britain’s strategy during this period and beyond when it came to continental Europe was always to ensure that no one country became too powerful. Therefore we (U.K.) always opposed the strongest European power when it appeared one had an advantage over the others I.e the Napoleonic wars, WW1 etc. it was strategically better for Britain to keep Europe divided.
@@johnlarkin3629 Same reason any country 'own's anything - they say they do, and they have enough influence/millitary strength to make other people agree.
Spain and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean are extremely popular with British holiday makers, but surprisingly few realise that by visiting Gibraltar, they can have the Mediterranean sunshine whilst feeling as if they are at home. Gibraltar came under the spotlight in much more recent history, during Britain's exit from the European Union ("Brexit"). Gibraltar was included in the 2016 referendum on whether the UK should remain a member state of the EU or leave it. Gibraltar isn't part of the UK in political terms: although the Queen of England is Monarch, the territory is independently governed (by a Governor, a Chief Minister and a Mayor) and it sends no MPs to the Westminster Parliament; it was only included in the referendum because it lay within the broader territory of the EU, of which Spain is a member state. Unsurprisingly, the Gibraltarians cast by far the highest proportion of votes in favour of remaining in the EU (19,322 voted Remain, 823 voted Leave - 96% vs. 4%) but the overall result across the UK was "Leave" (17,410,742, or 52%, vs. 16,141,241, or 48% favouring Remain) which created some headaches over Gibraltar. The Chief Minister initially suggested that Gibraltar would seek to remain part of the EU regardless of the result, whilst affirming that the Gibraltarians wished in any case to continue being a British Overseas Territory; meanwhile, the Spanish Foreign Minister warned that if the UK left the EU's Single Market, Gibraltar would have to do so as well (with implications for the border with Spain) unless it agreed to some sort of co-sovereignty arrangement with Spain. He stated that Spain would seek negotiations regarding Gibraltar "the very next day" after Brexit, which ultimately took place on 31st January 2020. As of the start of 2022, there are various temporary arrangements in place, with the EU having been asked by the UK and Spain to permit negotiations directly between the two regarding Gibraltar that might in time yield a permanent formal treaty. One notable change already in effect is that Gibraltar is now part of the EU's Schengen Border Free Agreement (the UK is not and never was) in order to facilitate negotiations. The Gibraltarians have been remarkably "laissez-faire" in all this - as one of them said, interviewed after the 2016 referendum, "we're disappointed to be leaving the EU but we trust the British government to work things out for us."
... Trusting the British government to work things out for them may have been a poor decision, in hindsight. Though to be fair, my understanding is that it's been a LONG time since the last time the British government managed quite the degree of collective incompetence that they displayed in the handling of the whole Brexit issue. And that's even after leaving aside that the entire proposition was a silly idea in the first place. (Not joining the EU to begin with certainly has a solid argument for being the right choice, but having done so, leaving was idiotic. ... Just goes to show how far you can get by flat out lying to the public, really.
@@laurencefraser I was among those that voted Remain and awoke on 24th June 2016 feeling stunned, saddened and disappointed by the result. The incompetence of the British government since then has been undeniable - it didn't help that David Cameron resigned as PM and handed over to someone that hadn't been on the side of Leave and who tried but failed to equivocate, then handed over in turn to one of the most vacuous charlatans ever elected to high office. What's done is done, and the UK - and Gibraltar - will have to live with it for decades. Thus far, there have been issues (all warned about by the Remain campaign and dismissed as "Project Fear" by the Leave campaign) yet the sky hasn't fallen in and in some respects we are better off without the layers of bureaucracy that the EU Parliament tended to paper us with. So, whilst I do not share the Gibraltarians' trust in my government, I do feel, like them, that we can overcome the challenges and forge ahead.
I've been watching your videos for a while now, so how have I completely missed that you also have a star trek podcast!? I should pay more attention, I'll definitely be binging on that later!
One major reason for the Spanish failure to regain Gibraltar in 1783 was the Battle of the Saintes, a major naval victory for Britain in the West Indies in 1782. Peace negotiations were under way by this time and the outcome of the battle had a big impact on those talks. The British victory gave them a new resolve to resist various American and French demands for British territory outside of the main North American theatre, and caused the French to encourage Spain to make peace and abandon their claim on Gibraltar instead of launching further naval campaings in the West Indies.
Also fun fact the troops based in America during the independence wars were actually local recruited forces with Mercenaries paid for by the king of prussia because they were allied to us against the french. so in essence the war of independence was in fact a civil war
BTW. Spain constantly complains about the independent British overseas territory of Gibraltar but never mention that they own two similar colonies in north Morocco called Ceuta and Melilla. It’s high time they gave them back to Morocco or else shut up and stop complaining. PS. Oh yes. I forgot to mention don’t they have enough problems as it is with the Basques and the Catalans seeking independence from Spain. The naval base at Gibraltar acts on behalf of Europe as a vital guardian to the straits which give access to the Mediterranean. The Russians and Chinese would love it if the base was removed
Basically Gib is a staging post to any given Mediterranean mission, or as the Falklands showed, further Atlantic missions. The UK won't give it up due to its strategic importance. Spain wants Gib to make the map look pretty, But over 80% of Gibs do not want Spanish rule. And lets remember... America, China, UK, India... and many others.... own tiny islands in strategic positions.
What weakens the Spanish claims for a return of Gibraltar is they hold similar colonies on the other side of the Gibraltar straights, Ceuta and Melilla which using their arguments they would have to return to Morocco but refuse to do so.
Portugal has the longest running - still active treaty recognised with England. _The treaty of alliance between King Richard II of England and King John I of Portugal was ratified at Windsor on the 9th May 1386_
America and France fought Britain in the America’s France and Spain fought Britain whilst in Europe Britain having to deal with two superpowers at the same time as well as deal with the a revolution at the same time
In the Brexit vote, 95.9% of Gibraltarians voted for the remaining in the EU. In the Brexit agreement it was agreed that the future congestion of Gibraltar is not fixed. At the moment, Gibraltar is not treated by the EU as a third country, but as an area outside the EU, which however has almost free access to the EU. The situation is similar in Northern Ireland, which also has access to the EU market. England, Wales and Scotland have full third country status with all the necessary customs controls and customs documents. That almost brought trade with England to a standstill.
The red patch east of Southern France would be the Duchy of Savoy, and the blue patch in Northern Italy would be the Duchy of Milan, which was in Spanish hands before the War of Spanish Succession. In Northern Europe, there would be Prussia, and other German states.
Fun fact: Gibraltar has now been British for longer than it was ever Spanish (Castile, later the core of Spain, took it from the Muslims in 1462 after an earlier abortive attempt). If anyone has the ultimate claim to Gibraltar, it's the Neanderthals - Gibraltar is thought to be the last place they inhabited, many years after they died out elsewhere.
You also need to appreciate that the current maninland European contries are very recent, some are VERY recent indeed. The only constants over the past 100's of years (actually far longer), are England, Scotland, and Wales.
The UK didn't lose what the US call their War of Independence. What happened was the UK pulled out, to focus on more important local wars with Spain and France, as the trade deals in Europe were far more important than the US. Any benefit from US was negligible as the distances and cost of transport were so great. That's why in the declaration of independence, there is only reference to giving the colonists independent rule, not autonomy or ownership of land. So, technically in the small print, USA is an independent nation that is still sat on UK owned soil.
Other commenters are absolutely right when they point out that the Spanish weaken their argument to have Gibraltar, when there is a similar 'Rock' on the other, Moroccan, side of the Straits - called Ceuta - which they own in a similar fashion. The problem in 1700 was that Louis XIV of France was the Hitler of seventeenth-century Europe. He was just walking in to areas on his borders (e.g. the Free City of Strasbourg) and annexing them. He ruthlessly devastated a whole area of Germany (the Palatinate). He was the rightful heir of Charles II - his brother-in-law - but the rest of Europe daren't let him get that powerful. To cap it all, he declared the son of a King we'd just thrown out (James II ) to be King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In the end, his grandson Philip V did get Spain - the present King of Spain is descended from him - but France and Spain lost territory.
A lot of people think Gibraltar is an island, you should research the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Mellilla which are attached to Morocco, there are historical reasons that Gibraltarians don't want to be Spanish like Spain closing the border for 16 years.
Gibraltar is of vital strategic importance militarily. As one general put it: "Whoever controls Gibraltar also controls the movement of ships into and out of the Mediterranean.
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Hi , you're uploading great videos SoGal, I knew the recent history of Gibraltar but tbh have always just accepted it as a British colony & not questioned why ! Thanks for enlightening me on the full history, albeit slightly quick !
The French, Spanish and Dutch all heavily financed the rebellion of 1776. The French spent the same amount as Britain in the war and provided most of the military and military supplies. The Dutch and Spanish heavily financed the war, Spain used gold and silver to finance the siege of Yorktown.
The British were able to held out against Spain cause they were bunkerd in the mountain of Gibraltar 👍
@@Blackbeard007 I'll add on the Florida issue. Spain and France had their alliance still when "The 7 Years War" was fought. Where George Washington served for the British. After that war, Britain acquired Florida from Spain. Because Florida was being colonized by newly arriving Brits and what remained of the Spaniards (most left for Cuba) it did not side with the Americans. During the war, Florida served as a place that British loyalists from the USA hoped to turn into a new home. Loyalist refugee camps if you will. Late in the war, the Spanish began conquering Florida. After the war, with Spain having troops on the ground in Florida, Britain didn't feel Florida was defensible as it was surrounded by enemies. The USA, France (Haiti&Louisiana), and Spain (Cuba) so it was given back to Spain during the peace treaty. Also, there was the evacuation of the Loyalist refugees from Florida back to Britain. So it is actually a very interesting and overlooked part of history.
The reason "Italy" is allied with Spain is because the Kingdom of Naples was part of the Spanish Empire.
For America at the time the 'War of Independence' was the main match. For Britain at the time it was a minor side issue in a larger world wide war against France. Something I suspect American histories 'overlook'. 😄
The fact that Britain never sent her most trusted and experienced generals to fight the American upstarts was also a key in the revolutionists gaining the upper hand. France was always considered the 'proper' enemy. Plus the indy war never really had the backing of parliament and was seen by many as George III's folly.
Well you can't expect the Yanks to really understand history as they have so little of their own! 😂😂😂
America at that time was not seen as a major asset to Britain, in fact was during the French and Indian wars a financial liability, hence the tax increase to cover the protection of its people. In the new world the focus of the navy was on the sugar islands in the Caribbean which paid investment well while America was a good place to offload condemn Ed criminals (a role passed on to Australia after independence). Apart from the embarrassment of losing a colony there was not much else lost in that conflict. Cornwallis in fact surrendered (not in person but through his 2IC) to the French commander as they were seen as being the major player and this was referred by the French to Washington to rather rub salt into the wound as he had less than a sterling reputation as a commander when serving in the British militia. Wheels within wheels....
Yanks aren't taught true history only the bits that bolsters themselves.
They don't know that they had France and Spain fighting with them.
It would be like America fighting Britain Russia and China at once today, America would surrender within six months.
@@shaunrogers2256 And Dutch loans of 20.5 million Guilders with current values of
22 BILLION dollars
Gibraltar held a referendum in 2002 on whether they should join Spain or remain with the UK, the voting was 187 for joining Spain and 17, 900 for staying with the UK. Very decisive result. English is the official language as well.
No the referendum of joining spain or remaining with the uk was in 1967 and the 2002 referendum was about joint sovereignty of uk with spain and uk option won
And it has a Marks & Spencer ....so it's ours 🤨
Most Gibraltarians have Spanish ancestry but would describe themselves as British. Many speak a kind of Spanglish called 'Llanito', basically Andalucian Spanish mixed with English, Ligurian and words from other Mediterannean languages. Only about 20% of the population of about 34,000 have UK ancestry.
Gibraltar of Spain 🇺🇲❤🇲🇦🤮🤮
@@davidmunoz4066 read the treaty of Utrecht
8:04 Spanish and French troops helped the independent army defeat the British army in British America, British America expanded to Canada as well.
Remember the top three colonial armies at the time were, British, French and Spanish. Britain took on the French, Spanish and American Independence troops. The British lost as they had less troops.
France and Spain and the Dutch all lost in the long run.
France had a revolution and was without money.
Spain had independence problems in South America.
Dutch lost trade with France and Spain nations due to them being without money.
Britain gained more losing the American independence war. They gained more French and Spanish colonies later on and gained more control of the seas.
The US turned on their Spanish allies and declared war on Spain to control Florida and pushed for more Spanish territory. The US then did the dirty with France and Napoleon sold French America to the US so Napoleon had money to wage war in Europe as Napoleon saw the Americas as too far to defend and too much to control, Europe mainland was his prize. That is why the US got French America.
Al in all the US turned on its masters, the British. Turned on its allies the French and Spanish. And took on the British again to control Canada and lost. The big take away here is don't trust America.
" The big take away here is don't trust America." - because they behave exactly the same as everybody else. "There's no such thing as friends, only interests."
The real issue with the USA was bankrolling Napoleon's wars by giving him gold when they could have taken Louisiana Territory for nothing. The US then further allied with Napoleon in 1812 to grab Canada and ended up ith their coastal cities being raided and then having DC burnt down.
@@uingaeoc3905 history looks different from here. At the time the USA where trying to grow and be a big player. They saw Britain as a threat to that. So they obviously wanted France and Britain to weaken each other and allow us expansion
@@damedusa5107 Which 'expansion' blew up in Madison's face when he had to run for it and leave DC to burn, BRAVE. Then of course the siege of Baltimore which did not result in ay counter attack by the US forces.
The US need not have sided with Napoleon nor Britain, Jefferson could take Louisana Territory for nothing and Madison need not have then commenced an invasion of Canada - the first disgraceful episode in US history, siding with an imperialist dictator against independent and neutral nations in Europe.
Spain no colonies, eua england genocide native ameeicans th-cam.com/video/aCCsWB4gQmM/w-d-xo.html
Why does Spain own land in Morocco, America own Alaska etc. America owns many 'rocks' around the world, very likely more than the UK. So do France and others. Nobody seems to question them.
Alaska is a state, with its own government, not some overseas settlement.
@@richlisola1 Hawaii?
@@richlisola1 but belonged to another country, and has strategic value.
Ceuta?
China are already building islands from rocks and sand in the China Sea. I think they are very much questioned...especially when they also build aircraft landing-sites on them and tell any plane that gets too close to them to "f***k off otherwise...
If you used to think Gibraltar was an island, that could be confusion with Malta.
Malta also has strong historical links with Britain. It is an island in the Mediterranean, between Italy and Tunisia, with a fascinating history of its own.
Or as I think of it as Malta GC.
They earned it use it :)
Good thought @@cideryeti7957, SoGal, a project for you ... find out how they earned that GC (and what is it 😉)
My dad was born in Malta GC in a military hospital. When my grandparents came back to the UK, and my dad as a teenager applied for a passport, he was told by the Passport Office he might not be eligible for one!
Malta once applied to become part of the United Kingdom, with 3 MP's in the House of Commons. It never happened, and I'm not sure why.
@@DMG00111-p Its more useful to the ruling class of kleptocrats who run the UK as a tax haven. These small islands with little resources know they can keep their economies buoyant by selling their sovereignty to the highest bidder. That only works if they are a separate legal and tax jurisdiction.
Spain were also fighting us during your war of independence. I know its taught as a great american victory in history classes over there but in reality it was a small revolt that would have been crushed were it not for the help of the 2nd and 3rd most powerful countries in Europe at the time.
The war of independence to the British at the time was basically a side-show to what was going on in Europe.
Nothing was going on in Europe at the time, stupid
@@JJaqn05 yes there was. The French and Spanish empires were also fighting Britain as retaliation for the seven years war, and were using the American rebellions to weaken the British empire.
@@robokill387 Yes but that wasn't a seperate war. It was still the same American Revolution. The reason the British lost is because its near impossible to hold a colony on a different continent that takes months just to get to in full rebellion and also having to fight the other European nations involved. Britains troops were spread too thin. The war was too costly and public opinon was very anti war. Im also British not American
@@JJaqn05 don't call people stupid I suspect you're from the USA so suggest you tell this lovely girl (your fellow US citizen) to not make such a public spectacle of her general ignorance about....everything. it's not a good look for the USA
@@JJaqn05 Also India was seen as more important than the colonies in the long term.
My friend from Gibraltar was so proud to be British.
Yeah History Matters was saying Britain lost the American Revolutionary War. What a lot of Americans don't realise is that Britain had a lot more on it's hands than just the Americans during the Revolutionary War. America had almost total backing from the French who sent soldiers, money, weapons and advisors to help the Americans, whilst also sinking British ships heading to America and directly fighting the British in multiple places across the globe. Then there was the Spanish who also sided with America and used the opportunity to siege Gibraltar, though unsuccessfully. So Britain was never able to direct it's full attention towards the American colonies since it had the French and other European nations like the Dutch as well creating inconveniences for them which affected their war effort.
Plus the British public was against the war, didn't see the point in it and the British government even had a hard time recruiting soldiers to fight in it to the point where they had to reduce the amount of servecing time a soldier would be obligated to do in order to entice people to fight the Americans.
That and the point we weren't really that chuffed about fighting people we thought of as our own.
Also militarily British generals had warned George III any war in America would be hard to win.
Yes, the British public had some sympathy as 96% of them were taxed without representation.
@@markcopsey4729 America was a bit more like Australia is today in terms of how it was viewed by Britain at the time. It was (then at least) predominantly settled by British & Irish people with a smattering of other Europeans, mostly Dutch, French and Spanish. Many people in Britain had family members who lived in America, many were still immigrating there from Britain right up to the Revolution. There was also some irony there, many American colonial soldiers would have had English accents, and many of the British soldiers would have had American accents. The Revolution was a civil war in many ways; that bit of unpleasantness in the 1860's was actually the II.
The Spanish were also fighting the British in America. The problem is nobody in the USA know.
I did my Army basic training over 30years ago and I trained with lads from the Gibraltar Regt. They all considered themselves Brits even though some of them had quite strong Spanish accents, some were ex pats, but they were all proud to be part of the British Army.
some of them? they all speak spanish with a strong southern andalucian accent, culturally they are spaniards, but it's better for them being a colony because that's the way to be a tax haven.
They consider themselves brits? it's all a joke 🤦
@@JulioLeonFandinho I was referring to the lads I trained with not the hole population of the Rock! as I said some were ex pats.
@@russbillington6291 Immigrants not "ex pats"!
@@crose7412 why is it that in the past few years, half the internet seems to have decided that there is no such thing as an expat?
@@iapetusmccool I am not the internet, I am a person; I have known since birth that there is no such thing.
What you have to remember basically, is an this point their really isn't such a thing as "America" its just a bunch of European powers battling over colonies all across the globe. At times chasing each other across whole oceans. UK, Spain and France had their slice of "the new world" and it was a kind of "My enemies enemy is my Friend". So any rebellion such as the uprising in British America will always be supported by the rival powers. Attacking Gibraltar at this time was effectively just opening up another front against the British, stretching their Navy. (All the Europeans wanted a piece of the action everywhere, its why you see places like Hong Kong, British territory, and Macau, Portuguese territory along side each other in China.... Or in South America, Guyana, formerly British Guyana, Suriname, formerly Dutch Guyana and French Guyana alongside each other) Same Story in the US with Spain having the west coast, French centrally, setting up New Orleans to control the Mississippi & Quebec etc and British having the East coast. (If there's one thing I've learned though, its that whenever anyone was onto a good thing, the British generally rocked up not long after to take control...For example a French man set up the Suez canal company and did the digging, once the British realised how good an idea it was they took control of Egypt and whole Aden peninsula...Albeit in more modern times but it was the same old story)
Gibraltar has been a British possession (1713 - ) at least 50 years longer than it was a Spanish possession (1462 - 1713).
@Hadz................. and the Moors had it for around seven hundred years before that. Spain has the least worthy claim of any country.
Gibraltar was taken from the Spanish in 1704 by the Royal Marines and the Royal Netherlands Marines.
The Royal Marines have many battle honours but Gibraltar is part of their corps emblem.
@@chrisholland7367 The Dutch Marines werent Royal in 1704...At that time the Netherlands was a republic
Spain’s continued demands for the return of Gibraltar is in contrast to its attitude towards Ceuta and Melilla, two colonial possessions in Morocco that Spain maintains control over!
Ceuta an Melilla are two autonomous cities that have parliamentary representation at Spain Parliament. Therefore there aren’t colonies. Gibraltar does not have representation at Westminster. Gibraltar is a colony.
@@danieloj7974 actually it does have one M.P in Westminster that has a duel dual responsibility over her own constituency in England and also looks after Gibraltar currently this is Wendy Morton M.P
@@danieloj7974 NOPE! British Overseas Territory.
@@danieloj7974 It's not a colony, it's an overseas territory.
The vast majority of Gibraltarians consider themselves British, and do not want to be ruled by a country that is known for it's appalling treatment of minorities groups.
Of course the Spanish could always try and take it by force I suppose, but we all know how that would end.
Ceuta and Melilla are part of Spain before Morocco was Morocco. You pirates kept Gibraltar after Spain was already Spain, same thing with Malvinas in Argentina. Ah, pirates.
In American Revolution War there were many countries against Britain:
- France
- Spain
- Poland-Lithuania
- Russia
- Netherlands
- Morocco
... and there was an uprising/war in India to deal with.
I first lived in Gibraltar as a member of the UK Army, after my time in the Army I left Gibraltar and returned to the UK. Five years later I was back in Gibraltar working in the famous Rock Hotel. I stay for about 5 more years before returning to the UK to spend the rest of my life.
In a NUTSHELL, Spain lost the War against the UK and the Treaty of Utrech was signed by both Countries Permanatly signing the Rock over to the UK FOREVER.
Erm no, Spain didnt loose the war. It was a civil war the Dutch, British and Spanish took the rock. It was the French and British agreement by which France got what it wanted ( a French King on the Spanish throne) and the British got something in exchange, after backstabbing the Spanish claimer they backed to the throne. And no the Treaty doesnt say it was given forever, theres a clause.
@@j.b.2263 I beg to differ and I studied this IN Gibralter Museum where they have a copy of the Treaty of Utrect
@@anthonyrobinson5694
Its in the third paragragh if not mistaken. It says if Britain gives, sells etc Gibraltar Spain gets the first option.
@@anthonyrobinson5694
Looked it up its the last paragraph. Not that it matters because the Treaty also states what is given to Britain and atleast the airport is out of that land given.
@@j.b.2263 There is such a clause and it's Article 13 of the Treaty of Utrecht btw I'm Gibraltarian
Another reason for the failure to take Gibraltar, is British turned "The Rock" as the British nicknamed it into bascially a Ship of the Line on land, if you ever go to Gibraltar you'll find its covered in gun posistions.
Also rather unknown fact but during WW2 the British had a plan called Operation Tracer, the idea was if Gibraltar ever fell to the Germans or Spain joined the Axis and took it for the Germans, the British was to bury a small group of men alive with enough food and water to last a year or two and their job was to radio back an Axis shipping movements with the hope of trying to take "The Rock" back before their supplies ran out.
Wouldn't burying the men alive have ruined the whole operation?
@@shoutinghorse No the men would be in a special bunker which was made in preperation and was cut into "The Rock" once the operation started the entrance would then be burried and the men inside it, making it either impossible or hard for the Axis to find the entrance to the bunker and eliminate it, meaning the men could radio away without to much worry about being found, at least until the food started to run out then they could worry.
@@shoutinghorse
No its worth checking it out, it was a real plan and the infrastructure was in place
@@DropdudeJohn I was joking.
@@shoutinghorse
You can never tell these days mate
Just a quick point, Italy wasn't a united country at this time, the blue bit on the 'boot' was the kingdom of Naples, i think Italy became a unified country about 1870.
5:47 It is odd that he never verbally highlights it.
Gibraltar is basically a mountain called 'the Rock'( the white hill. looks like the white cliffs of dover with windows, in the background of the cartoon) with port facilities clinging to it on either side. Its a natural fortress with very narrow land access and miles of tunnels within.
We don`t own Gibraltar, it`s a British territory. I have been to Gib quite a few times. I asked why they prefer to stay British and not Spanish. Everyone that I spoke to said that they prefer to be a British territory, rather than a Spanish one. One woman said to me, it`s like having 2 grandmothers. One is always there for you if you need her, she lets you get on with your life. The other grandmother constantly tells you what to do, how to live your life. Britain is the `good grandmother`. lol
The almost constant and crippling bureaucracy and relative inefficiency of Spain's governnental system and its economy, plus its high and complex taxes, is alone enough to convince any rational and thinking person to stay under British 'control'.
Sorry, but most people would have difficulty distinguishing between being owned by Britain and being a British territory. So you choose to call it a British territory. What's the essential difference? As you yourself say, the people of Gibralter regard themselves as British.
Gibraltar is nicknamed "The Rock", since it is a mountain, and it was not easy for Spain to come across a narrow peninsula across open terrain when they were facing fortified artillery positions on the high ground. The Royal Navy was too strong for them to attempt landing operations anywhere, so they could only attack along that narrow front.
It was Royal Marines and Royal Netherlands Marines who captured it from the Spanish in 1704 .
Among the vast amount of battle honours the Royal Marines have Gibraltar appears on the Royal Marines emblem.
It's even harder now. You have to cross the Airport Runway.
The italian territories are: Duchy of Savoy against France (the Duchy of Savoy end up forming Italy in 1860 like Prussia forms Germany in 1870), and with France: the Duchy of Milan (north) and the Kingdom of Naples (south). Both Milan and Naple swere Spanish possesssion since the the XVI century. After the War of Spanish Succession, both were handed over to Austria; Naples become independent but under Austrian protection some years later; both will be conquered by the Savoy dinasty in 1859-60 (Italian "Risorgimento", the birth of the modern Italian nation-state that still exists today).
Also, it has to be noted that a considerable part of Spain was against France too, this map is meh.
@@xenotypos Yes, the Crown of Aragona went with the Austrian candidate.
Today Gibraltar is a very useful staging post into Africa and the Mediterranean for the British armed forces. Additionally It also has a significant naval dockyard and plays an important role in signals intelligence (SIGINT).
It's was the same in the day. That's why we wanted it.
The naval dockyard isn't as significant now as it used to be. I'm not even sure if any of the drydocks are still in use.
@@Sorarse All 3 are still fully operational, they earn their keep refitting merchant vessels but are available for use by the Royal Navy any time.
@@foxquetzal420 I didn't know that. I lived in Gibraltar from 1967 - 1969 when there was a strong presence from all 3 branches of the armed forces. I know the military accommodation we had has now been passed in to civilian use, and that the RN doesn't have the same presence in the dockyard, so am amazed that the drydocks are still in use. Thanks for the update.
I was born in the UK and live in Gibraltar if you ever have any questions on it. Long story short, the only way into the middle east by sea is via the Straights of Gibraltar. It's position means it's ideal for refuelling and resupplying ships that have sailed from the UK.
OK, so when the American War of Independence occurred, Britain was already at war with France and Spain. The French and Spanish supported the Americans, not because they particularly cared about American independence (they were imperial powers themselves, terrible precedent), but because they needed to open a second front against the British. The war he's talking about is this wider European war, in which the War of Independence was one theatre. Britain didn't really fight too hard to keep hold of the Thirteen Colonies largely in part to the wider conflict, but also because there wasn't really the popular support for it in Britain. The Americans of 1775 were still very much our cousins and sometimes brothers in a literal as well as a figurative sense.
The islands you couldn't thinkof the name for are called the Balearics, by the way.
Erm no. Is that what they teach at British schools?
For example the naval Action of 9 August 1780 alone proves your statement wrong.
@@j.b.2263 how does it prove it wrong?
@@robokill387
The amount of men lost and needed couldnt be keeped up by the French in the long run. Hell, they did it so well eveyone calls it guerilla warfare. Spanish word guerilla meaning little war. It was also key to beating the French in Spain jy the amount of intel these units could collect on the French Armee.
Gibralter is quite important to local Spaniards, about 4,000 of them go to work in Gibralter every day.
The land border between Gibraltar and Spain is very short, not much more than 1000 yards as I recall. Spain laid siege to the territory (hardly half heartedly) at the same time as the American war of independence. The Royal Navy had to keep lifting the siege and this was a major distraction which contributed to Britain's eventual defeat in North America. Spanish attempts to retake Gibraltar failed though. It's hard to get troops across a short land border under withering artillery fire, especially when it's raining down from high on the Rock.
I've been a couple of times and it's not hard to see why Gibraltarians want to remain under UK rule. Economically booming, largely self governing with London far away and mostly left to their own devices. And Spain being a dictatorship for much of the 20th century didn't help their image much.
A former manager of mine is married to a lovely Spanish lady. When their first child was born, my colleagues and I bought them a bib for a baby with "GIB IS BRITISH" plastered all over it. They weren't too amused with us.
At least the comments here will be mild compared with an equivalent video explaining why the Falkland Islands are British.
I’m from Gibraltar. Calling us Spaniard is like calling Canadians Americans
except you're a colony and a tax haven far from the british islands, closer culturally to Spain, it's quite funny listening to you speaking andalucian...
while Canada is an independent sovereign State. Appart from that yeah, keep telling that to yourself
Fighting words for sure!
Britain held it for three reasons. 1, our superior military 😂 2, our navy could resupply the troops with no problems as we had sea superiority, an 3, by no means the least there was a bloody great rock in the way so the only easy passage to invade the Spanish could use was by sea. Go back to point 2. It’s that simple. Besides, the Spanish gifted this land to us, and we didn’t take it by force to begin with. As we still possess one of the most effective navies in Europe, it’s probably a good geopolitical and strategic move to let us hold on to it for the good of all Europeans.
Sort of less so now that you're not part of the EU anymore :P
@@laurencefraser Just because we are not a part of the European federal bureaucracy doesn’t mean we wouldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with our European friends if Russia or China started trouble. After all, we will actually fight rather than fold
@@laurencefraser Err.....we weren't part of the EU before we joined it either.
@@araptorofnote5938 And if it had been left up to de Gaulle we would have been left out of the EEC, despite the fact that we and the Yanks shed blood to liberate France. Thank God Adenauer spoke up for us. 🙄
Britain has historically had the same mindset towards the French that us Danes have had against the Swedes: If you get the chance to smack them around a little, you better believe you carpe that diem.
Which is the true reason they went against Spain, a rich and powerful France is one thing, a super rich and powerful France + Spain, would be entirely unacceptable to the British.
What are you're thought's on verstapan please tell me I have the right country!
It's also a little smaller than Florida when you compared on the map - It has an area of 2.6 miles, and the airfield mentioned is unusual - as it crosses the main road or the main road crosses it. When a plane is coming to land barriers drop like you would see at a railway crossing to stop the cars - there are plenty of videos of it.
But why don't you ask why Spain owns Ceuta, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Melilla and other, smaller parts of Morocco?
3:05 The blue part of Italy was the kingdom of Naples, which belonged to Spain at this point in history. After the war of 1701-1714 it became an Austrian territory.
GIB is strategically very important to us because it's the gateway to the Med & it's reckoned we have sophisticated underwater sonar equipment that can track unfriendly countries subs in & out of the Med.
We don't just track unfriendly subs, we track the freindly ones too! And they almost certainly track ours how successful it is nobody knows (or is at liberty to say) but I'm sure all nuclear countries track each others subs as a matter of course
@@dasy2k1 Yes, no doubt you're right, but because it's highly classified security they won't elaborate on security, so we can only make educated guesses which are probably right.All the best.
In 41 Spain allowed it's troops to fight for Germany so long as they only fought Russia and not western allies
The American war of Independence. Was fought by French, Spanish and Germans (mostly mercenary’s) vs the British. When we (Uk) said we lost we were also at war with Spain. Cause Spain helped The colonies along with a large amount of funds from France. It lead to a negotiation in Europe.
On that map of Spain and France vs everyone else at 3:17, those areas in Italy actually belonged to Spain's monarchy at the time, including 'that blue patch' at the top that you weren't sure where it was lol, thats why they were in blue as well. Italy was still split into several smaller regions at this point, not a united country.
Gibraltar is in an extremely important strategic location as it controls the entrance into the Mediterranean. Britain's navy in the 18th century was superior to Spain's and it eventually became the largest navy in the world.
The American war of independence was, in fact, a European war for control of possessions in North America. That's why it spilled over into other areas outside of North America.
Theres plenty more places that control the entrance also
Actually the Spanish king had intended to inherit his Empire to the Bavarian prince Joseph Ferdinand from the House of Wittelsbach (it ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 and also a bunch of other places were ruled by it during the centuries).
The Spanish king wrote in his will in 1698 that Joseph Ferdinand should inherit the entire Spanish Empire, but the prince died the next year at the age of 6.
His father was the Bavarian Elector Maximilian II. Emanuel, who was pretty ambitious.
He fought as an ally of the Austrians against the Ottomans during the Great Turkish War (1683-1699) and also against France during the Nine Years War (1688-1697).
In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) he allied Bavaria with France.
After the defeat at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, in which troops of France and Bavaria were defeated by the allied troops commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy, Bavaria was occupied for the remaining duration of the war.
Is the Duke of Marlborough related to Winston Churchill ?
@@highpath4776 Winston Churchill's father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a younger son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. The full family name is Spencer-Churchill (yes, the 'Spencer' comes from the Earls Spencer of Althorpe) and the current Duke is the 12th Duke.
@@highpath4776 Yes. Winston Churchill was a grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Sir Winston was born at Blenheim Palace, the family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough. Blenheim named after the Battle of Blenheim won under the Generalship of John Spencer-Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. His wife Sarah was famously the best friend of Queen Anne, until they fell out 😉
Us brits were able to hold out against the Spanish at Gibraltar in various ways. One way to hold out was to keep supply cache's inside gibraltar rock and take advantage of the cave system. Tunnels were built to supply guns placed in and around the rock for defensive purposes. It's an interesting place to explore. Thesedays theres a cavern that is used as an opera house.
We own Gib. because we deserve it
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory a bit like Bermuda or the Fulkland Islands. I've been there a few times and it's a cool place
During the conflict in Florida the UK and Spain fought for the land and in the end it is taken by Disney
Well if Disney doesn't get their profit margins out of the dumpster coming out of COVID, Florida might get taken by TESLA, or AMAZON.
i have recently started to use yt I found you reportihg about the uk and was fascinated i have since checked loads of your content and find it very entertaining. Keep up the good work and educating others and learning as you go.
Gibraltar is one or was one of the great runs ashore in the Royal Navy, along main street Irish town, Catalan Bay, I speak from personal experience have served there for a year in 76/77 at the Royal Naval Hospital when the border was shut, then subsequently on many visits with the grey funnel line.. have nothing but fond memories throw in the obligatory race up the Rock on a Sunday morning whilst usually hungover . Character building
England always wanted to control sea choke points so that it could rule the seas. In the Mediterranean, the west side is controlled by Gibraltar, in the middle was Malta from 1813 until it became independent in 1964 and in the east was Cyprus, Egypt and the Suez Canal. After Naser's Egypt kicked the British out in 1956 and nationalized the Suez Canal, the British still maintain two large bases in the Island of Cyprus, controlling the East Med and the Middle East from there (you may want to check the Suez Canal crisis and the failed British and French attempt to take it back, along with the second Arab Israeli war of 1956). These two bases were formally established after Cyprus became independent in 1960 after a 5 year bloody guerilla war against Britain and like Gibraltar they are British sovereign territories. Of course the Cypriots paid for their audacity by Britain reintroducing the Turks in the affairs of the Island as a guarantor power, because 18% of the population were Turkish Cypriots, something that led to a number of crises in 1963, 1964, 1967 and finally the Turkish invasion of 1974 that partitioned the Island to north and south by occupying 36% of Cyprus to this day.
These are videos regarding the 1974 events :
th-cam.com/video/DPxyCuzFGOQ/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/WHlHnCwFp5c/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/P70bieUxe4U/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/wvaipVj_-oU/w-d-xo.html
As well as controlling the traffic at the choke points, they provided useful staging points along the journey to the colonies in the far east.
I believe the country that you can't name were Prussia, the Holy Roman Roman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy (archduchy of austria, Hongary, Bohemia),the Kindom of Naples in Soutern Italy, Duchy of Mantua in North Italy and the Duchy of Savoy.
In another TH-cam broadcast she said she thought the Holy Roman Empire was in Italy
Why does the US "own" Hawaii? Equally valid question.
Simple land grab by businessmen and various US missionaries. (as was Texas, New Mexico, California etc.)
@@postie48 Oh boo-hoo-hoo...
@@HemlockRidge Weird
When i explained to a German friend that the airport runway in Gib cut across the high street and they would have to stop road traffic so that planes could land she accused me of telling porkies until she googled it.
I believe you mentioned that you have an Irish ancestry, has anyone ever mentioned that you talk like a Northern Irish person? It's not the accent or grammar, it's the shape of your mouth when forming your words. To imitate a Northern Irish accent as opposed to an Irish one, is to keep the top lip stiff ( i hope you are trying this at home). Maybe your next song would be Simple Minds's Belfast Child, it would be most fitting.
Nothing fitting about Simple Minds.
I think most Americans sound like the Northern Irish, the Scotch-Irish gave America its accent and folk culture.
@@mikesaunders4775 US generals were often Scots Irish officers, under Washington. Eg Knox.
@@ralphraffles1394 I am not surprised Ralph.
Dead right about the airport - it's pretty wild to see vehicle traffic come to a halt for the traffic light as a 737 takes off!
Gibralter is a wonderful place, I got married there 6 yrs ago, they are very loyal to the UK crown, have a look at Ceuta, something Spain don't mention, its a a spanish part of North Africa, those Islands in the med by Spain are the Balearic Islands, very popular holiday spots for the European peoples.Even this week Spain find a reason to kick off, the USS Albany drops in and Spain complain.
Making sense of the map is difficult as a LOT of Europe's borders have changed since 1713. To summarize, the blue bits are France & Spain, the (Italian) kingdom of Naples, and the (Italian) kingdom of Milan. The Italian bits were allied with Spain as these shared a king with Spain. The red bits to the right of France were the Holy Roman Empire, consisting of most of what is now Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Modern Italy and Germany didn't exist as political states back then.
The added complication is that just before this conflict Belgium and Holland (now shown in red) would have been allied with Spain as they were effectively Spanish territories, but they had been mostly lost to the reformer movements influenced by German nobles and Britain.
If you want to make sense of the political state of Europe from 1600 onwards it is worth looking at the influence of the Hapsburgs, as that explains a lot.
If you think this is confusing, the map got even messier through the 18th Century, in the wake of the French revolution, their intrigues in Italy, and the rise of Prussia foreshadowing the unification of Germany.
It's inconceivable to imagine that the UK would ever give Gibraltar back to the Spanish without a fight (literally), it's considered to be far too important strategically to ever give up. After all the Spanish did give it to the British voluntarily and "IN PERPETUITY", besides which Gibraltar's inhabitants overwhelmingly wish to remain British, and the UK government's policy is always to defend the wishes of the local people - witness: The Falkland Islands. Over many years Spain has huffed, puffed, dripped and bleated about Gibraltar being "returned" to them as if the UK somehow had illegal ownership. But it's interesting to note that Spain themselves occupy Ceuta and Melilla - two enclaves of Morocco which Moroccans consider belong to their country - but which they have no apparent intention of returning to Morocco. Seems quite a hypocritical attitude to be taking.
The British were also at war with India during the Maratha Wars 1775-82 and again the 2nd Anglo-Mysore War
1780-1784. The 4th Anglo-Dutch War 1780-83 . So we were kind of busy against 5 countries Fance, Spain, US, Dutch Republic and India not bad for a small Island.
You must understand: every alliance in europe always depended on the ruling noble families. If the same noble family rules france as well as spain that means that normally these two countries are allies. Exceptions are possible.
The war at the start of the 18th c when Gibraltar was first taken by the British is commonly referred to by historians as The war of Spanish Succession. Thats the one where John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough did very well against the French and was awarded Blenheim Palace for his efforts.
Why did the Spanish not re-take it? They certainly tried. If you look at pictures of Gibraltar ( which the film didn't show) you'll see that most of it is a large rock, or mountain. This is honeycombed with tunnels and gun positions, so it is a natural citidel. The film did point out that Britain's dominant navy could resupply the rock easily.
It's been held because it is sited at such a strategic position. It was vital in WWII to enable supplies to get through to Malta ( an island fortress in the Med. that proved a thorny issue to the axis countries ) - It bottled up the axis navy and shipping in the Med. preventing them from slipping out into the Atlantic. - The docks there proved useful for resupply and repair of damaged ships. - Escaped PoWs who made their way to Spain could cross into Gibraltar and get repatriated.
Going back to the war of US independence, the rebel colonial's were only successful because the rest of Europe were supporting them. Particularly France, but also Spain, Denmark, Austria. The only European states on Britain's side at the time were a few of the German states. Britain really had its hands full. You would have become independent sooner or later, but probably through dominion status, like Canada and Australia.
Erm, is that why the Dutch invaded Gibraltar with the British, Austrians and Spanish?
It's kind of like the Falklands and Argentina, when Argentina or Spain has some domestic problems they find these territories a useful shift of focus. While Spain hasn't invaded Gibraltar they have blockaded it and stopped transport to Spain several times causing problems for the people living there. The EU in their Brexit papers called it a colony, trying to invoke imperialist Britain. Spain gets a lot of money from British tourists but it's hard to really call them an ally. I suppose some just see the UK as an easy target, I doubt anywhere would try that stuff on America.
Lol. Lets get this straight. The British get the rock after backstabbing the Spanish claimer to the throne and you dare mention allies? Lol.
@@j.b.2263 Whatever your interpretation/opinion on history that was 200 years ago.
Maybe the Spanish will thank us for kicking Napoleon out of Spain, eh?
@@starrynight1657
Again Napoleon never faced the British in Spain. Napoleon was focused on the Eastern front, which is were he got wrecked.
@@j.b.2263 His army did face the British. Not only that Britain funded all his enemies, they would likely have made a peace otherwise.
@@starrynight1657
I said never faced him. Napolean was the military genius not his army. He dedicated himself to what he thought most important, his eastern front.
Lol. It’s a heck of a lot smaller than Florida 😂 Gibraltar has the only airport runway in the world where regular traffic crosses it when no planes are taking off.
With Gibraltar, the Mediterranean remains open - without it, the Mediterranean is closed according to Spain's will. It meant more to Britain than those barely profitable American colonies ever did.
It's interesting to think how history world be different (and the future) if Gibraltar had not been British. The British Empire would have been very different!
For example would Spain still remain linked with Italy and 'box in France, would France take Italy and link with Austria as THE major Mediterranean power -. Would the Suez canal be built. Without British involvement in Middle East would the oil reserves be developed as quickly, would the Ottoman Empire stay strong until smashed by the Russians.
If it's any comfort to you, I don't imagine many British people understand why Gibraltar belongs to the UK either - I know I didn't...! It is one of 14 'UK Overseas Territories' as they are currently known - actually remnants of what was once the British Empire, that have historic constitutional connections to the UK (the others are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Isles; Sovereign Base areas of Dekhelia and Akrotiri (within Cyprus) & Turks and Caicos Islands). Those with permanent populations that are not military bases have some form of devolved self-government, relying on the UK only for defence, foreign policy and trade. Each also has an Administrator or Governor acting as the de facto, deputy Head of State, who is of course the Queen in all cases. In all except Gibraltar, the Union Flag forms part of their national flags.
Great comment Paul ... I didn't know either and as you say, the majority of British people would more than likely be unaware
The 18th century was an almost constant war-zone. Excluding skirmishes which lasted less than one year, of which there were several, Britain was at war for 57 years during this century. I count 9 major wars that included Britain. There were also several wars which Britain did not involve itself in. Each peace treaty brought a redistribution of colonial assets. Colonies were also traded in peacetime for economic advantage. Both war and economy led to an ever changing geo-political landscape. It is little wonder that you are struggling to keep up!
The Spanish ceded Gibraltar and Minorca (may be spelled Menorca - it's one of the Balearic islands) in the Treaty/Peace of Utrecht (1713 - 15) in perpetuity. They should think themselves lucky we gave Minorca back after the American Colonial War. Gibraltar is stategically far too important to ever give back.
yes, i am from menorca and in those years menorca was conquered by france during 6 years and almost a century by british
Both Gibraltar and more recently the Falkland Islands were given a referendum to see who they wanted to be part of and both said by more than 99% Britain !
We should give the US a referendum :)
Give first to the quebec nation hahaha
if you're surprised about Gibraltar, I can't wait for you to learn about overseas France
It is an interesting place to visit. Gibraltar is heavily fortified so it is difficult to take it. The Spanish tried to retake it. So confident Spanish spectators came to watch them win. The Spanish fleet was decimated by the British launching cannon shot that had been heated red hot and burned the fleet and batteries. The Rock is a maze of tunnels, so was easier to move around to resupply. On top of the Rock is an artillery battery that looks towards Morocco, which is in sight, so it is strategically very important
Love your passion for history Sarah im English living in scotland and love my history x
Great Britain got Florida from Spain in 1763 after the Seven Years' War (when the French territorial claims in North America had been abolished and and both the British and Spanish claims there made contiguous - the Mississippi River having become their border, leaving Florida to the British side), but Spain considered it valuable enough to be taken back along with the aforementioned Gibraltar and Menorca (the latter both having been under British control since 1713). After joining the American War of Independence with France, Spain was able to physically conquer Florida and Menorca, justifying their formal return to them in 1783 - unlike Gibraltar, where the British held out.
One thing all Americans miss is the fact that in the 1700 your population was only 2 million or so , about the size of a large European city
Your population was also spread over a fairly large area trying to establish its self against an indigenous people and hostile landscape , you had no formal armed forces and where mainly farming stock , refugees from a battle worn Europe .
There where no maps to show what size America was , if there had been I’m sure we would have put up a better fight to keep you under our Flag
Great video I must say Iv watched most of what you do and love your take on what you learn .
Iv been to Gib , my son is in the Royal Navy and as most of your replies state it is a very British place . Red letter boxes and telephone boxes , Policemen dressed as in Britain .
And as any Sailor will tell you it holds a special place in there history including the famous bar the Donkys Flip Flop , it’s a right of passage to have drunk or get drunk in it
Stay safe and keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍
I think at the time losing the American colonies was seen as a sad loss, but not that major, I don't think we the British had plans to expand west, I believe some deals had been made with native Americans and Florida was seen as mainly swamp and of little use at the time.
Those areas you mentioned are part of Italy now. I see that you had a lot of difficulties with the map. You thought Poland, eastern Germany and Romania where Russia (you are somewhat right in the Cold War 😉). That whole red area was the Holy Roman Empire and Austria-Hungary (wasn’t called so at that time but for reference).
She needs to play more EU4
It's going to take some time for the concept of "CENTRAL EUROPE" to catch on in the USA lol
@Ned Chil that’s Austria-Hungary
And then Brexit happened, so more changes.
It's a lovely place though, and you can walk from end to end quite easily Worth having a quick Google for the monkeys which live on or near the rock.
Interesting airport as well as the runway is basically also the main road. When a aeroplane comes in (or sets off), traffic and pedestrians literally clear the runway like its some sort of rail way crossing.
They’re talking about the War of Independence. But remember with Napoleon, Spain didn’t like being pushed around by France so Spain relied on the British to kick Napoleon’s rather short ass.
love all the theories, i'd subscribe to that, Mark. they all used each other, to suit. Geographically t'other side a world, but i love the "tale" of the War of Jenkins ear.
Napoleon actually wasn't particularly short, and may even have been on the taller side. The idea that he was short comes from a combination of the French and the British using systems of measurement that had a unit called a 'foot' in the same slot... but the two units were NOT the same size. A few pictures emphasising Napoleon's height by way of positioning and such, a bit of British propaganda about how that was compensating for a lack of it, and boom. Enduring reputation for a trait he didn't actually have.
Erm the British didnt face Napoleon (emperor)until Waterloo.
@@j.b.2263 Well, that’s splitting hairs a little. I was referring to him as his army not as his person. Honestly! 😂
@@markkettlewell7441
The French Armee in Spain was like the German one in ww2 it was second rste compared to the ones used in the east. Napolean knew it was win or lose everything in the east.
Gibraltar is at a strategic position and was part of a chain of naval Stations for the British. Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Alexandria, Aden. It was ery valuable during the 2nd WW. That the British held Gib and Malta and also Alexandrai was instrumental in the defeat of the Axis forcees in North Africa and the Med.
A friend of mine who retired to Gibralter, described it as 1000's of alcoholics clinging to a rock.
Hi again Sarah you will soon be celebrating 40K subs, very well deserved, well done.
The siege of Gibraltar (1779 - 1783) was the longest in British history, & came to climax when the French & Spanish built floating batteries to bombard the defences from the sea. The British responded with red hot shot, rapidly heated in furnaces fueled with coal from Newcastle in England. The rate of fire was so great that the metal devices to carry the hot shot was not sufficient, so they employed wheelbarrows filled with wet sand (the shot weighed 32 lb). The hot shot was used to set off the cannon charge directly (that must have been exciting for the loaders!). The hot shot stuck to the sides of the floating batteries & caused internal fires that proved impossible to put out- by midnight all were ablaze. So ended the siege- due to the availability of coal. Information taken from "Gibraltar- The Greatest Siege in British History, Roy & Lesley Adkins 2017.
In the sixies Local Authorities used to organise Educational Cruises around the Med where about 1500 children and 200 teachers spent two weeks on a ship visiting historical sites in Malta, Italy, Greece and Turkey (parents paid about half the cost). We were only in Gib for a couple of hours so four of us, all pre-teen, hired a taxi for a tour (Gib isn't big, you can walk round it in a couple of hours). The driver took us right up to the chain-link fence at the runway and said, "And this is where Franco closed the border," and spat out of the window :-)
Britain’s strategy during this period and beyond when it came to continental Europe was always to ensure that no one country became too powerful. Therefore we (U.K.) always opposed the strongest European power when it appeared one had an advantage over the others I.e the Napoleonic wars, WW1 etc. it was strategically better for Britain to keep Europe divided.
Why does US own the marshal islands. John Larkin
@@johnlarkin3629 Same reason any country 'own's anything - they say they do, and they have enough influence/millitary strength to make other people agree.
Spain and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean are extremely popular with British holiday makers, but surprisingly few realise that by visiting Gibraltar, they can have the Mediterranean sunshine whilst feeling as if they are at home.
Gibraltar came under the spotlight in much more recent history, during Britain's exit from the European Union ("Brexit"). Gibraltar was included in the 2016 referendum on whether the UK should remain a member state of the EU or leave it. Gibraltar isn't part of the UK in political terms: although the Queen of England is Monarch, the territory is independently governed (by a Governor, a Chief Minister and a Mayor) and it sends no MPs to the Westminster Parliament; it was only included in the referendum because it lay within the broader territory of the EU, of which Spain is a member state. Unsurprisingly, the Gibraltarians cast by far the highest proportion of votes in favour of remaining in the EU (19,322 voted Remain, 823 voted Leave - 96% vs. 4%) but the overall result across the UK was "Leave" (17,410,742, or 52%, vs. 16,141,241, or 48% favouring Remain) which created some headaches over Gibraltar. The Chief Minister initially suggested that Gibraltar would seek to remain part of the EU regardless of the result, whilst affirming that the Gibraltarians wished in any case to continue being a British Overseas Territory; meanwhile, the Spanish Foreign Minister warned that if the UK left the EU's Single Market, Gibraltar would have to do so as well (with implications for the border with Spain) unless it agreed to some sort of co-sovereignty arrangement with Spain. He stated that Spain would seek negotiations regarding Gibraltar "the very next day" after Brexit, which ultimately took place on 31st January 2020. As of the start of 2022, there are various temporary arrangements in place, with the EU having been asked by the UK and Spain to permit negotiations directly between the two regarding Gibraltar that might in time yield a permanent formal treaty. One notable change already in effect is that Gibraltar is now part of the EU's Schengen Border Free Agreement (the UK is not and never was) in order to facilitate negotiations.
The Gibraltarians have been remarkably "laissez-faire" in all this - as one of them said, interviewed after the 2016 referendum, "we're disappointed to be leaving the EU but we trust the British government to work things out for us."
... Trusting the British government to work things out for them may have been a poor decision, in hindsight. Though to be fair, my understanding is that it's been a LONG time since the last time the British government managed quite the degree of collective incompetence that they displayed in the handling of the whole Brexit issue.
And that's even after leaving aside that the entire proposition was a silly idea in the first place. (Not joining the EU to begin with certainly has a solid argument for being the right choice, but having done so, leaving was idiotic. ... Just goes to show how far you can get by flat out lying to the public, really.
@@laurencefraser I was among those that voted Remain and awoke on 24th June 2016 feeling stunned, saddened and disappointed by the result. The incompetence of the British government since then has been undeniable - it didn't help that David Cameron resigned as PM and handed over to someone that hadn't been on the side of Leave and who tried but failed to equivocate, then handed over in turn to one of the most vacuous charlatans ever elected to high office. What's done is done, and the UK - and Gibraltar - will have to live with it for decades. Thus far, there have been issues (all warned about by the Remain campaign and dismissed as "Project Fear" by the Leave campaign) yet the sky hasn't fallen in and in some respects we are better off without the layers of bureaucracy that the EU Parliament tended to paper us with. So, whilst I do not share the Gibraltarians' trust in my government, I do feel, like them, that we can overcome the challenges and forge ahead.
I've been watching your videos for a while now, so how have I completely missed that you also have a star trek podcast!? I should pay more attention, I'll definitely be binging on that later!
We have a huge Royal Marine base in Gibraltar.
Spain owned Florida and Dutch also allied to US during AWI as well as France
One major reason for the Spanish failure to regain Gibraltar in 1783 was the Battle of the Saintes, a major naval victory for Britain in the West Indies in 1782. Peace negotiations were under way by this time and the outcome of the battle had a big impact on those talks. The British victory gave them a new resolve to resist various American and French demands for British territory outside of the main North American theatre, and caused the French to encourage Spain to make peace and abandon their claim on Gibraltar instead of launching further naval campaings in the West Indies.
Also fun fact the troops based in America during the independence wars were actually local recruited forces with Mercenaries paid for by the king of prussia because they were allied to us against the french. so in essence the war of independence was in fact a civil war
BTW. Spain constantly complains about the independent British overseas territory of Gibraltar but never mention that they own two similar colonies in north Morocco called Ceuta and Melilla. It’s high time they gave them back to Morocco or else shut up and stop complaining. PS. Oh yes. I forgot to mention don’t they have enough problems as it is with the Basques and the Catalans seeking independence from Spain. The naval base at Gibraltar acts on behalf of Europe as a vital guardian to the straits which give access to the Mediterranean. The Russians and Chinese would love it if the base was removed
Basically Gib is a staging post to any given Mediterranean mission, or as the Falklands showed, further Atlantic missions. The UK won't give it up due to its strategic importance. Spain wants Gib to make the map look pretty, But over 80% of Gibs do not want Spanish rule. And lets remember... America, China, UK, India... and many others.... own tiny islands in strategic positions.
What weakens the Spanish claims for a return of Gibraltar is they hold similar colonies on the other side of the Gibraltar straights, Ceuta and Melilla which using their arguments they would have to return to Morocco but refuse to do so.
Yeah but try telling a Spaniard that.
@@johnbircham4984 que?
Portugal has the longest running - still active treaty recognised with England. _The treaty of alliance between King Richard II of England and King John I of Portugal was ratified at Windsor on the 9th May 1386_
America and France fought Britain in the America’s
France and Spain fought Britain whilst in Europe
Britain having to deal with two superpowers at the same time as well as deal with the a revolution at the same time
3:26 you point to Switzerland.
4:03 Germany and Austria
4:16 France and Italy
In the Brexit vote, 95.9% of Gibraltarians voted for the remaining in the EU.
In the Brexit agreement it was agreed that the future congestion of Gibraltar is not fixed.
At the moment, Gibraltar is not treated by the EU as a third country,
but as an area outside the EU, which however has almost free access to the EU.
The situation is similar in Northern Ireland, which also has access to the EU market.
England, Wales and Scotland have full third country status with all the necessary customs controls and customs documents. That almost brought trade with England to a standstill.
The red patch east of Southern France would be the Duchy of Savoy, and the blue patch in Northern Italy would be the Duchy of Milan, which was in Spanish hands before the War of Spanish Succession. In Northern Europe, there would be Prussia, and other German states.
Gib is the most British place on earth
Fun fact: Gibraltar has now been British for longer than it was ever Spanish (Castile, later the core of Spain, took it from the Muslims in 1462 after an earlier abortive attempt). If anyone has the ultimate claim to Gibraltar, it's the Neanderthals - Gibraltar is thought to be the last place they inhabited, many years after they died out elsewhere.
You also need to appreciate that the current maninland European contries are very recent, some are VERY recent indeed. The only constants over the past 100's of years (actually far longer), are England, Scotland, and Wales.
Denmark is the oldest country. England was a Danish Territory
@@ethelmini When?
Try the Falklands if you haven't already 🙂
Spain still have Ceuta and Melilla on the north African coast, but they really don't like it when it happened to them on their doorstep.
The island of Malta is also an important base in the Med. Cyprus too.
The UK didn't lose what the US call their War of Independence. What happened was the UK pulled out, to focus on more important local wars with Spain and France, as the trade deals in Europe were far more important than the US. Any benefit from US was negligible as the distances and cost of transport were so great. That's why in the declaration of independence, there is only reference to giving the colonists independent rule, not autonomy or ownership of land. So, technically in the small print, USA is an independent nation that is still sat on UK owned soil.
Other commenters are absolutely right when they point out that the Spanish weaken their argument to have Gibraltar, when there is a similar 'Rock' on the other, Moroccan, side of the Straits - called Ceuta - which they own in a similar fashion.
The problem in 1700 was that Louis XIV of France was the Hitler of seventeenth-century Europe. He was just walking in to areas on his borders (e.g. the Free City of Strasbourg) and annexing them. He ruthlessly devastated a whole area of Germany (the Palatinate). He was the rightful heir of Charles II - his brother-in-law - but the rest of Europe daren't let him get that powerful. To cap it all, he declared the son of a King we'd just thrown out (James II ) to be King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
In the end, his grandson Philip V did get Spain - the present King of Spain is descended from him
- but France and Spain lost territory.
A lot of people think Gibraltar is an island, you should research the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Mellilla which are attached to Morocco, there are historical reasons that Gibraltarians don't want to be Spanish like Spain closing the border for 16 years.
Gibraltar is of vital strategic importance militarily. As one general put it: "Whoever controls Gibraltar also controls the movement of ships into and out of the Mediterranean.