Gibraltar has an importance both in world history and in current affairs that belies its small area and population. It occupies about 3 square miles of territory on a peninsula on the south-west coast of Spain. The population is around 28000.
The narrow rocky peninsula rises steeply from the low-lying coast at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. It culminates in a spectacular limestone massif, called "The Rock", which reaches a height of 1398 feet, towering over the surrounding sea and the sandy plain leading to the Spanish mainland.
The time zone is GMT +1. The climate is Mediterranean, pleasantly mild with very few extremes of temperature or weather. The currency unit is the Gibraltar Pound, divided into 100 pence; its value is tracked to that of the British Pound, but it is not, however, interchangeable with it. The economy has traditionally been dependent on the presence of British forces, but as this has reduced, so Gibraltar has had to look to other forms of trade in order to survive independently of its larger neighbour, Spain. These include the dockyards, fuel supplies, investments, and tourism.
The peninsula was first settled by Moorish invaders in 711, and was finally taken by Spain in the year 1462. It was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Utrecht. The British recognized its importance as a strategic point of control for the western Mediterranean Sea, so they fortified it and established a powerful naval base there. It was established as a British Crown Colony in 1830, and has remained technically part of the United Kingdom ever since. It played a key role in Allied operations during World War Two.
The Spanish government under Franco closed the frontier during the years between 1969 and 1985. Spain has always continued to claim sovereignty over the territory. The British and Spanish began to have talks regarding a possible handover, but these were shelved following protests from the local population. The Head of State is the British monarch, represented by a Governor and a House of Assembly.
Gibraltar is a duty free port, so it is an excellent place to go shopping. You can spend your money in the form of pounds or euros, the shops there will accept either. Among places to visit are the Rock, of course, with its 8th century Moorish castle, whose keep is still in use as a jail. There are many miles of siege tunnels, and St Michael's Cave, used as a hospital in World War Two. There is a cable car service to the top of the Rock. The Apes' Den is home to the tailless Barbary apes, the only native monkeys in Europe. There is a fascinating museum which charts the history of the colony.
In conclusion, we can see that Gibraltar is an interesting and very unusual country.
