Abstract
Gibraltar has been one of Great Britain’s most legendary fortresses since its capture from Spain in 1704 and its strategic position as the gatekeeper of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean gives it a commanding influence over the mouth of the Mediterranean. When war between Britain and France erupted in 1793, Gibraltar had already been established as an impregnable fortress and as a strong source of British pride. During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), it also became a powerful naval station and its soldiers became an offensive force that frequently left the safety of the garrison to attack the enemy in Europe and Africa. That combination of military and naval might transformed Gibraltar into a base capable of meeting the various demands in the Mediterranean for many years to come. However, despite Gibraltar’s crucial role in those defining years of European history, no study has yet examined the use of such a critical base during the Age of Napoleon. Histories of the Napoleonic Era have largely ignored Gibraltar’s contribution while general histories of Gibraltar tend to focus on the fortress before the French Revolution or specifically on the fourteenth “Great Siege” (1779-1783).
During the years from 1793 to 1815, the garrison, naval base, and civilian population at Gibraltar were an important aspect of many battles and campaigns on land and sea. Those battles and campaigns include the defense of Toulon (1793), the evacuation of the Mediterranean (1796), the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797), the blockades of Cádiz (1797-1799, 1803-1808), the Battle of the Nile (1798), the capture of Minorca (1798), the Egyptian Expedition (1801), the Battles of Algeciras and the Gut of Gibraltar (1801), the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), and the Peninsular War (1808-1814). This dissertation examines both the role of Gibraltar as well as the development of the Rock during those years, filling an unfortunate gap in history.
|
