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| Treaty of Utrecht, 1713. |
Just as we know the sun rises in the East, so we know that Spain is in political difficulty whenever we hear 'sabre-rattling' over Gibraltar. Interesting article in The Spectator in July: "But the very possession of Gibraltar means a hostile Spain, and the weight of that hostility is limited only by her military strength. That strength may at any time assert itself to an extent which has not been suspected, and the recovery of Gibraltar, or the neutralisation of its value to England, is to such a nation precisely the kind of object to arouse enthusiasm, and to create a new point of military departure. More- over, even if the power of Spain were to remain as weak as it is sometimes assumed to be, nothing short of an unquestioned military advantage of primary importance should determine us to accept her certain hostility, in the event of war with a Mediterranean Power. Oh, I forgot to mention, it was July 1883, from their archive.
Another interesting article is ARTICLE X of the 1713 Peace and Friendship Treaty of Utrecht between Spain and Great Britain (a.k.a. Treaty Of Utrecht): "The Catholic King does hereby, for himself, his heirs and successors, yield to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging; and he gives up the said propriety to be held and enjoyed absolutely with all manner of right for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever."...for ever, get it?! All this was reconfirmed in later treaties. That said, in ARTICLE X1 of the same treaty Britain took possession of Minorca, which changed hands 3 times during the 18th Century but was finally and permanently repossessed by Spain under the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, so they know we could hand it back but the Minorca episode took three battles during three different wars...
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