User:Wee Curry Monster/Gibraltar Sandpit

Gibraltar was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession by a predominantly Anglo-Dutch force of the Grand Alliance over the period 1-3 August 1704. The original intention had been to capture Cadiz but this was abandoned in favour of an abortive attempt to take Barcelona dependent on exploiting the loyalty of the Catalan dissidients to Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt and the antipathy of the Catalan people to the Spanish crown. In order to win the loyalty of Andalusia, strict orders were issued to respect Catholic freedom of religion and religious institutions.

The possibility of taking Gibraltar had previously been considered and a letter was given to Rooke by Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant to the Spanish throne) urging the Governor of Gibraltar to come over to the Grand Alliance. Ultimately the decision to take Gibraltar was taken in a council of war on the basis of three main factors; namely it was poorly garrisoned, it would be of major strategic value to the war effort and its capture would encourage the inhabitants of southern Spain to reject Philip (the Bourbon Claimant to the Spanish throne).

The capture began on 1 August when Rooke deployed his naval forces around Gibraltar and Hesse landed a party on the isthmus to cut off the Rock from the mainland. Hesse summoned the Governor of Gibraltar, Don Diego de Salinas, to surrender in the name of Charles III. Don Diego refused, pledging the loyalty of his garrison to Philip and on August 2 sent back a defiant reply. The rest of the day was spent in Rooke manoeuvring his forces for the assault. Following a heavy naval bombardment on 2 August, marines launched a pincer attack on the town on August 3. Gibraltar's defenders although well stocked with food and ammunition were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. The position was clearly untenable and in the morning the Spanish governor surrendered.

Senior officers did their utmost to impose discipline but lost control and in the days following the capture sailors and marines ran amok. The marines and sailors of Rooke's forces were contemptuous of Spaniards, hated "Popery" and were extremely addicted to alcohol. As noted by one author "One has but to read the books left to us by the sailors to realize the peculiar horror of the life between-decks. Cooped up there, like sardines in a tin, were several hundreds of men, gathered by force and kept together by brutality. A lower-deck was the home of every vice, every baseness and every misery". Once the wine stores were broken into discipline broke down and there was extensive looting, catholic churches were ransacked, religous artefacts destroyed and there were instances of rape. The angry inhabitants took reprisals, killing Englishmen and Dutchmen and throwing the bodies into wells and cesspits.

Order was eventually restored with brutal discipline, the sailors returned to their ships, the marines confined to the citadel and several of the drunken rioters hanged as examples to others. Although the terms of surrender guaranteed religious freedoms and property rights, when the garrison left on 7 August almost the entire population chose to join them. A number of factors are cited for the exodus of the population, in a letter to Philip the city fathers cited their continued loyalty to Philip. A counter attack to retake the rock was expected, which would enable the population to quickly return to their homes and rebuild their lives after the violence following the capture. Many thus resettled nearby in the ruins of Algeciras or around the old hermitage at San Roque at the head of the bay.

The conduct of the allies during the capture aroused great anger in Spain and once again the chance of winning over Andalusians to the cause of the Grand Alliance was lost. Prince George was the first to complain, which was resented by Byng who had led the fighting and who in turn blamed the Prince and his few Spanish or Catalan supporters. Rooke complained in a letter home that the Spaniards were so exasperated against the Allies that ‘they use the prisoners they take as barbarously as the Moors’.

The initial intentions of the allies envisaged a Portuguese garrison, allowing the forces used in the capture to be used in the conquest of Spain for the Hapsburg cause. However, Gibraltar was shortly thereafter besieged and attempts to install the Portuguese garrison were foiled by the French blockade. The only forces that succeeded in running the blockade to re-inforced the allied garrison were British. Prince George dedicated himself to organaising the defence of the garrison with the resources at his disposal. In early September a Franco-Spanish army arrived outside Gibraltar and prepared for a siege which they commenced on 9 October. Some seven thousand French and Spanish soldiers, aided by refugees from Gibraltar, were pitted against a force of around 2,500 defenders consisting of English and Dutch marines and Spaniards loyal to Charles. They were aided from late October by a naval squadron under Admiral Sir John Leake. A further 2,200 English and Dutch reinforcements arrived by sea with fresh supplies of food and ammunition in December 1704. With morale falling in the Franco-Spanish camp amid desertions and sickness, Louis XIV despatched Marshal de Tessé to take command in February 1705. A Franco-Spanish assault was beaten back with heavy casualties and on 31 March de Tessé gave up the siege.

For the remainder of the war, Gibraltar was somewhat of a backwater playing no signficant role other than supplying the forces of the Grand Alliance. Prince George left Gibraltar to continue fighting on behalf of the Hapsburg cause in Spain, appointing Nugent as the first Hapsburg governor followed later by an englishman, Shrimpton. Gibraltar remained nominally a possession of Charles of Austria but gradually began to be ruled as a British possession held by English troops and at English cost but in the name of Charles III. In 1711, the British Government tired of the expense of the war began secret negotiations with the French and to negotiate the future possession of both Gibraltar and Minorca. Gibraltar was finally ceded in perpetuity with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

1st Summarised Text

Gibraltar was captured on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession by forces of the Grand Alliance. After abortive attempts to establish a foothold elsewhere, it was selected as it was poorly garrisoned, of strategic value and its was hoped to encourage the inhabitants of southern Spain to reject Philip (the Bourbon Claimant to the Spanish throne). Seeking to win over the population to Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant) orders were issued to respect the civilian population. Despite the best efforts of the officers to maintain control, discipline broke down and the men ran amok. Order was restored and the surrender agreement promised respect for property and religious rights but when the garrision left on 7 August almost the entire population chose to leave citing their continued loyalty to Philip. Several factors are cited in the decision to leave the violence during the capture, the influence of Catholic priests and the expectation of a counter attack. A subsequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and consequently the refugees settled around the hermitage of San Roque and Algeciras. In 1711, tired of the expense of the war the British and French Governments undertook secret negotiations leading to the cession of Gibraltar in perpetuity to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

2nd summarised text

Gibraltar was captured on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession by forces of the Grand Alliance after abortive attempts to establish a foothold elsewhere. It was selected for its strategic value, weak garrison and to encourage Spaniards to reject Philip IV (the Bourbon Claimant) in favour of Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant). Ordered to respect the civilian population, officers tried to maintain control but discipline broke down and the men ran amok. Order was restored and the surrender agreement promised property and religious rights but when the garrision left on 7 August most of the population chose to leave citing loyalty to Philip. Several other factors influenced the decision; Catholic priests and the expectation of a counter attack. The violence ultimately proved disastrous for the Hapsburg cause. A subsequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and consequently the refugees settled around Algeciras and the hermitage of San Roque. In 1711, the British and French Governments undertook secret negotiations to end the war leading to the cession of Gibraltar in perpetuity to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

3rd summarised text

The Grand Alliance captured Gibraltar on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession after abortive attempts elsewhere. It was selected for it's strategic value, weak garrison and to encourage the rejection of Philip IV (the Bourbon Claimant) in favour of Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant). Following orders to respect civilians, officers tried to maintain control but discipline broke down and the men ran amok. Although the surrender agreement promised property and religious rights and order was restored, when the garrision left on 7 August most of the population also left citing loyalty to Philip. Several factors influenced the decision including the expectation of a counter attack and the violence, which ultimately proved disastrous for the Hapsburg cause. The subequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and consequently the refugees settled around Algeciras and the hermitage of San Roque. In 1711, the British and French Governments started secret negotiations to end the war leading to the cession of Gibraltar to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

4th summarised text

The Grand Alliance captured Gibraltar on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession after abortive attempts elsewhere. It was selected for it's strategic value, weak garrison and to encourage the rejection of Philip V (the Bourbon Claimant) in favour of Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant). Following orders to respect civilians, officers tried to maintain control but discipline broke down and the men ran amok. After order was restored, despite the surrender agreement promising property and religious rights, most of the population left with the garrision on 7 August citing loyalty to Philip. Several factors influenced the decision including the expectation of a counter attack and the violence during the capture, which ultimately proved disastrous for the Hapsburg cause. The subequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and the refugees settled around Algeciras and the hermitage of San Roque. In 1711, the British and French Governments started secret negotiations to end the war leading to the cession of Gibraltar to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.