History has seen its share of monumental rocks. There was the stone that killed Goliath, the Hope Diamond, the star of films such as Fast and Furious 6, and the renaming of Simon as “Peter”, a.k.a. the rock on which Christ’s church would be built. But only one rock is currently causing a diplomatic crisis….Well, actually the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem could be a second, but just forget about that for now. The rock of which I speak is the Rock of Gibraltar.
Ah, Gibraltar: It only has 2.6 square miles of real estate (that picture above is of the whole thing, plus part of Spain), but a very strategically located 2.6 square miles. The small peninsula sticks out into the narrow channel connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, making it a perfect location for anyone engaged in either international trade or international warfare. If it didn’t already exist, the guys who made those palm islands in Dubai would have been forced to create it.
Historically, what is now Gibraltar was controlled by the Kingdom of Castile, one of the predecessors of the current nation of Spain. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, the British gained control of the peninsula during the War of Spanish Succession (one of several European wars that seem rather pointless in hindsight), and the land was granted to Britain in perpetuity through the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
Today, Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory (much like Guam’s relation to the United States) with about 30,000 residents who live at the foot of the mountain, the previously mentioned “Rock of Gibraltar”. Predictably, Spain claims that it should have control over this piece of land, though unlike the Argentinians, they haven’t actually tried an invasion yet.
Recently, tensions have been heightened after Gibraltar created an artificial reef that presents an obstacle to Spanish fishing boats. Spain countered by forcing anyone traveling across its border with Gibraltar, the only land link between the tiny territory and the rest of Europe, to face substantial delays. The Spanish government also threatened to start imposing a 50 euro fine on anyone crossing the border.
Britain has now made a formal protest over the move, and it’s unclear which steps the two nations might take next. I have to say, an England vs. Spain fight seems to be a bit disproportionate at the present time. Sure, Spain can beat England at football any day, but when it comes to economic, political, and military standing, I think we have to give this one to the Brits. Sure, they may have given Hong Kong back to the Chinese, but the current PM, David Cameron, is from the same party as Margaret Thatcher, and she wasn’t so giving when it came to the Falkland Islands.
In the midst of all of this, I can’t help thinking about the most famous showdown between these two countries, which occurred back in 1588. The much vaunted Spanish Armada was sent to invade England and depose the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I in favor of a Catholic regime. Unfortunately, some crafty maneuvers by the English and a lot of bad weather prevented the landing and forced the Spanish to take the long way home, losing many ships in the process.
The historical record has often indicated that this was the moment when England became the world’s premier sea power, smashing the Spanish to bits. Actually, it was nowhere near that big of a victory, and an attempted English attack on Spain the following year was a complete dud. Still, the spirit of 1588 is alive and well today, and I’m kind of digging it. If this feud doesn’t continue, maybe we can have a rematch between Inigo Montoya and that apparently British dude he always wanted to kill in The Princess Bride. (Of course, we’d first have to find a way to extricate Mandy Patinkin from Homeland.)
Please, oh please Spain, when you send your next diplomatic dispatch to England, end it with, “You stole my rock! Prepare to die!”
