The history of Gibraltar portrays how The Rock gained an importance and a reputation far exceeding its size, influencing and shaping the people who came to reside here over the centuries.
Communications in Gibraltar comprise a wide range of telephony systems, Internet access, broadcasting and satellite control. There is also printed and online media. Regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting are the responsibility of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA), established by means of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority Act in 2000.
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries. In 2017, it merged with the State and University Library in Aarhus to form a combined national library. The combined library organisation is known as the Royal Danish Library.
George Washington Wilson was a pioneering Scottish photographer. In 1849, he began a career as a portrait miniaturist, switching to portrait photography in 1852. He received a contract to photograph the Royal Family, working for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He pioneered various techniques for outdoor photography and the mass production of photographic prints as he gradually began to largely do landscape photography in the 1860s. By 1864 he claimed to have sold over half a million copies.
The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 10½ Beacon Street on Beacon Hill.
The battle of Málaga, also known as the battle of Vélez-Málaga, was a major fleet action which took place during the War of the Spanish Succession between an Anglo-Dutch fleet and a French naval force on 24 August 1704. Both sides fought an intense engagement before the Anglo-Dutch fleet withdrew the next day. The French subsequently returned to Toulon, transforming the battle from a tactical stalemate into a strategic defeat, as they would not put out to sea again for the duration of the conflict. Occurring soon after the Anglo-Dutch capture of Gibraltar a few weeks prior, the battle served as one of the numerous engagements which took place for control over the settlement during the war.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians.
The Gibraltar Chronicle is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in print continuously. Its editorial offices are at Watergate House, and the print works are in the New Harbours industrial estate.
John Mackintosh Square is a main square in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It has been the centre of city life since the 14th century and takes its name from John Mackintosh, a local philanthropist. Notable buildings on John Mackintosh Square include the Parliament Building and the City Hall.
The history of Gibraltar, a small peninsula on the southern Iberian coast near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, spans over 2,900 years. The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times into "one of the most densely fortified and fought-over places in Europe", as one historian has put it. Gibraltar's location has given it an outsized significance in the history of Europe and its fortified town, established in the Middle Ages, has hosted garrisons that sustained numerous sieges and battles over the centuries.
The Gibraltar National Museum is a national museum of the history, culture and natural history of Gibraltar located within the city centre of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Founded in 1930 by the then Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Alexander Godley, the museum houses an array of displays portraying The Rock's millennia-old history and the unique culture of its people. The museum also incorporates the remains of a 14th-century Moorish bathhouse. Its director since 1991 is Prof. Clive Finlayson.
The Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar (RNH Gibraltar), formerly the British Military Hospital Gibraltar (BMH Gibraltar), was a military hospital founded c. 1903 to provide healthcare for British military personnel and local sailors. The facility, located on Europa Road in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar's South District, comprised three buildings. The hospital was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1963. It closed in 2008, and underwent residential conversion that began prior to the hospital's closure.
The Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club, formerly the Gibraltar Yacht Club, was established by officers of the Royal Navy in 1829. It was one of the first yacht clubs founded outside of Britain. British monarchs and Gibraltarian governors have been patrons of the club; the first visit by a reigning monarch was in 1954. During the latter twentieth century, the naval presence waned and the membership of locals dominated. The club's sailing school was established in 2001, accredited as a teaching facility in 2004, and became a testing centre in 2010. The reclamation projects in the middle section of Gibraltar Harbour necessitated the club's move from 26 Queensway to temporary premises. A new facility is under construction.
Flat Bastion is a bastion which projects southward from the Charles V Wall in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Once known as the St. Jago's Bastion or the Baluarte de Santiago in Spanish, the fortification was built by the Spanish in the mid 16th century and formed part of the southern defences of the city of Gibraltar, together with Charles V Wall, Southport Gates, Southport Ditch, and South Bastion. In 1859, six guns, four 12-pounders and two 12-pound carronades, were installed on the bastion, and four years later, five 32-pounders were mounted on the fortification.
The Royal Calpe Hunt of the British Crown Colony of Gibraltar originated in 1812 as the Civil Hunt. The fox hunt was initially a civilian endeavour that began when a pair of English foxhounds were imported to Gibraltar. The hunts took place across the border, in the Campo de Gibraltar area of Spain. However, in 1814, the membership of the Hunt underwent a substantial change. Many officers of the Gibraltar garrison joined the Hunt, which shifted from a civilian to a military enterprise. That year, the name was changed to the Civil Calpe Hunt. It retained that title until 1817, after which it was known as the Calpe Hunt. The first Master of the Hunt was Charles Elphinstone Fleeming. However, the Master most associated with the Hunt was Pablo Larios, Marquis of Marzales, who held that title for forty-five years. His election to that position in 1891 was not only historic, but strategic. His appointment represented only the second time that the position had not been filled by a member of the military. In addition, his Spanish heritage and influence in the Campo de Gibraltar, where he owned extensive estates, garnered him the loyalty of the local Spanish farmers, and therefore eased the ever-present tensions between the military and the farmers over the crop damage that was inherent to the Hunt. In 1906, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and King Alfonso XIII of Spain became joint Patrons of the Hunt, after which it was known as the Royal Calpe Hunt. The tradition of the Hunt continued for more than a century, until 1939, and the onset of the Second World War
The Flat Bastion Magazine is a 19th-century magazine in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located within the Flat Bastion, a fortification that projects from the 16th century Charles V Wall at the former southern limit of the city. Flat Bastion Road extends through the bastion, just to the west of the magazine, south of which it becomes Gardiner's Road. Flat Bastion Magazine was constructed to store gunpowder, but eventually lay abandoned for years. While the Government of Gibraltar initially planned to develop it for parking, geology enthusiast Freddie Gomez and a colleague restored the building, which is now used as a geological research facility and exhibition centre. Both the Flat Bastion and the Flat Bastion Magazine are listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust. In addition, Gomez received the 2001 Heritage Award for the restoration of the building.
Streets in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar are represented by road signs as in the United Kingdom. As of 2007, Gibraltar has a network of 29 kilometres (18 mi) of roads.
Grand Casemates Gates, formerly Waterport Gate, provide an entrance from the northwest to the old, fortified portion of the city of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at Grand Casemates Square.
Princess Amelia's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, adjacent to Gun No. 4 of Princess Anne's Battery. It was named after Princess Amelia of Great Britain, the second daughter of George II. It was formerly referred to as the 2nd Willis's Battery. The plateau and its batteries had previously been named after an artillery officer by the name of Willis who was outstanding during the capture of Gibraltar in 1704. Princess Amelia's Battery saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during which it sustained substantial damage. Little remains of the original site, aside from two derelict buildings. The battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
The library in 1846 by Thomas Colman Dibdin
Part of the book collection at the library
Some of the old books at the library
