Gibraltar, UK Dependency
The Brits have been in control of Gibraltar since 1704 when they captured it from the Spanish during the War of the Spanish Succession. Despite numerous attempts by the French and the Spanish in the intervening 300+ years, the Brits have hung in there. Strategically, Gibraltar controls the Gibraltar Straits, a 36 mile long body of water as narrow as eight miles in places that separates Europe from Africa. The Straits, of course, are the only connection between the Atlantic Ocean and entire Mediterranean Sea.
With an area of less than three square miles providing home to 30,000 inhabitants there is not a lot of room, especially since the "Rock", a 1400 foot high limestone cliff, occupies about half of the area. In 1967 the United Nations requested that a referendum be held to determine whether Gibraltar should stay British or return to Spanish control. There were 44 votes total for a return to Spain and 12,134 to remain British - close, eh? Two years later, the Spanish blockaded the one connecting road joining the two countries but, after 30 plus years of no noticeable effect, they lifted it again and the Brits continue in control. Rule Britannia!
The Brits have been in control of Gibraltar since 1704 when they captured it from the Spanish during the War of the Spanish Succession. Despite numerous attempts by the French and the Spanish in the intervening 300+ years, the Brits have hung in there. Strategically, Gibraltar controls the Gibraltar Straits, a 36 mile long body of water as narrow as eight miles in places that separates Europe from Africa. The Straits, of course, are the only connection between the Atlantic Ocean and entire Mediterranean Sea.
With an area of less than three square miles providing home to 30,000 inhabitants there is not a lot of room, especially since the "Rock", a 1400 foot high limestone cliff, occupies about half of the area. In 1967 the United Nations requested that a referendum be held to determine whether Gibraltar should stay British or return to Spanish control. There were 44 votes total for a return to Spain and 12,134 to remain British - close, eh? Two years later, the Spanish blockaded the one connecting road joining the two countries but, after 30 plus years of no noticeable effect, they lifted it again and the Brits continue in control. Rule Britannia!
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