Gibraltar: British or Spanish?

by Gold,Peter

• ISBN13: 9780415347952
• ISBN10: 0415347955
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

It is 300 years since Britain took possession of Gibraltar, a rocky promontory at the foot of the Iberian Peninsula. Gibraltar: British or Spanish? provides a detailed study of the attempts that have been made by Spain, particularly over the last two decades, to regain the sovereignty of the 'the Rock'-despite the wishes of the Gibraltarians. Since 1984 a framework, known as the Brussels Process, has been in place to provide a forum for formal negotiations between Britain and Spain on practical cooperation but, more significantly, on the future sovereignty of Gibraltar. The book analyzes and chronicles the historical context for these negotiations, as well as the negotiations themselves and the events surrounding them. It explores whether Gibraltar should be British or Spanish, what influence the past three centuries have had in relation that that question, why the vast majority of Gibraltarians are resolutely opposed to Spanish involvement in their affairs, and what the options are for the future.The book covers issues such as decolonization, Anglo-Spanish relations within the EU and NATO and British strategic military considerations. The first book to give a detailed and up-to-date account of the attempts by Britain and Spain to resolve their differences over Gibraltar since the 1984 agreement this volume will interest students and scholars of British and Spanish Politics alike.

Author Biography

Peter Gold is Principal Lecturer and Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgements	xiv
List of abbreviations	xv
Introduction	1	(5)
British Gibraltar (1704--1963)	6	(9)
Gibraltar incommunicado (September 1963--October 1979)	15	(10)
The Lisbon Agreement (July 1979--April 1980)	25	(5)
Spain's approaches to NATO (June 1980--March 1982)	30	(7)
`Different and distant'?: the Falklands/Malvinas dispute (April--June 1982)	37	(9)
Spain joins NATO but the border remains closed (May--October 1982)	46	(5)
Felipe opens the gates (October--December 1982)	51	(3)
Towards the Brussels Declaration (March 1983--November 1984)	54	(9)
The border is fully opened: negotiations get under way (January--February 1985)	63	(5)
Osmosis begins (February--November 1985)	68	(5)
Sovereignty and sovereigns (December 1985--April 1986)	73	(6)
Into Felipe's second term: guards and gates (June 1986--January 1987)	79	(6)
The battle over the airport (January--December 1987)	85	(12)
Gibraltarians vote to resist (December 1987--March 1988)	97	(7)
First visits by first ladies (April--December 1988)	104	(8)
The Bossano strategy (January--February 1989)	112	(5)
A European Hong Kong? (March--December 1989)	117	(5)
Tackling money-laundering and smuggling (February--December 1990)	122	(6)
Felipe visits London (January--May 1991)	128	(6)
Four more years for Joe Bossano (May 1991--January 1992)	134	(6)
The external frontier issue remains unresolved (February 1992--March 1993)	140	(7)
Setbacks in moves towards economic independence (April 1993--April 1994)	147	(4)
The Brussels Declaration ten years on: slow progress on all fronts (June--December 1994)	151	(9)
Defiant Bossano finally gives way (January--July 1995)	160	(7)
Changing Spanish attitudes? (July 1995--April 1996)	167	(3)
All change, but no change: Aznar, Caruana and Blair in power (May 1996--June 1997)	170	(15)
Spain's full integration into NATO (May--December 1997)	185	(11)
The shadow of the shared sovereignty proposal (January-December 1998)	196	(11)
Confrontation sparked by fishing row escalates (January--March 1999)	207	(7)
Border events continue to predominate (April--July 1999)	214	(7)
A second term and a satisfying agreement for Caruana (August 1999--April 2000)	221	(7)
The saga of HMS Tireless (I) (May--December 2000)	228	(12)
The saga of HMS Tireless (II) (January--May 2001)	240	(12)
The Brussels Process resumed (May--October 2001)	252	(12)
Pique and Straw meet in Barcelona (November 2001)	264	(7)
Rumours of joint sovereignty proposals (November 2001--January 2002)	271	(9)
Gibraltarians plan their resistance (February 2002)	280	(7)
Gibraltarians take to the streets (March--April 2002)	287	(6)
Negotiations run into difficulties (April--May 2002)	293	(10)
Straw announces agreed principles (June--July 2002)	303	(7)
Gibraltar holds its own referendum (July--November 2002)	310	(9)
Recognition of democratic reality (December 2002--June 2003)	319	(7)
Conclusion	326	(12)
Appendix 1: The Treaty of Utrecht (2--13 July 1713)	338	(2)
Appendix 2: The Lisbon Agreement (10 April 1980)	340	(1)
Appendix 3: The Brussels Declaration (27 November 1984)	341	(1)
Notes	342	(37)
Bibliography	379	(5)
Index	384