After experts discovered that Queen Victoria had initially bestowed Gibraltar the honor 180 years before, the territory has been accorded city status.
After discovering via research in the National Archives that Queen Victoria made the award in 1842, the government is now officially reaffirming Gibraltar’s position as a city.
However, Gibraltar has never since been included on the official list of recognized cities.
The title, according to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is “wonderful” and is a “great honor” for Gibraltar’s “strong history and dynamism.”
A rocky peninsula of 2.6 square miles, Gibraltar is a British possession that borders Spain.
It happens as ministers release a new list of the 81 locations that have already attained the special status, including the eight new designations given as part of an earlier this year competition to honor the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
‘The places on this list are extraordinarily rich in history and culture, and the locals of those areas are justifiably very delighted to have their city’s importance placed on paper,’ Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse said.
“I’m confident that residents of these locations, especially those in the new cities, will benefit from their country’s improved worldwide status and that it will draw more inbound investment for neighborhood companies.”
A rocky peninsula of 2.6 square miles, Gibraltar is a British possession that borders Spain.
According to the stipulations of the Treaty of Utrecht, which put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, it became British territory in 1713.
However, the EU has tried to apply pressure to London and Madrid over the last three decades to decide on its future position.
Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected the concept of shared sovereignty in a referendum in 2002.
According to the Rock’s 2006 constitution, Spain cannot be granted sovereignty over the island without the consent of its citizens.
After discovering via research in the National Archives that Queen Victoria made the award in 1842, the government is now officially reaffirming Gibraltar’s position as a city.
For the first time in over 30 years, passenger flights between Spain and Gibraltar were restored in late 2006; nevertheless, Spain’s border controls were reinstituted seven years later in reaction to Gibraltar’s proposal to construct an artificial reef.
Following the signing of accords between Gibraltar, Spain, and Britain aimed at improving living conditions on the Rock, the air connection was resumed in 2006.
Hamilton, Bermuda, Jamestown, Saint Helena, and Stanley, the Falkland Islands, are all included on the complete list of recognized cities from the overseas territories. Stanley was one of the eight locations to receive the status in the Platinum Jubilee competition.
Gibraltar: Since 1713, Britain’s Rock in the Mediterranean
A rocky peninsula of 2.6 square miles, Gibraltar is 10 miles from north Africa and borders Spain.
According to the stipulations of the Treaty of Utrecht, which put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, it became British territory in 1713.
It has a naval facility and is a British overseas territory with a military garrison living there. However, the EU has tried to apply pressure to London and Madrid over the last three decades to decide on its future position.
Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected the concept of shared sovereignty in a referendum in 2002.
According to the Rock’s 2006 constitution, no transfer of sovereignty to Spain is permitted against the will of its people.
According to the Rock’s 2006 constitution, Spain cannot be granted sovereignty over the island without the consent of its citizens.
Although free transit between Spain and Gibraltar was completely restored in 1985, border delays persisted.
For the first time in over 30 years, passenger flights between Spain and Gibraltar were restored in late 2006; nevertheless, Spain’s border controls were reinstituted seven years later in reaction to Gibraltar’s proposal to construct an artificial reef.
Following the signing of accords between Gibraltar, Spain, and Britain aimed at improving living conditions on the Rock, the air connection was resumed in 2006.
The majority of Gibraltarians are bilingual in English and Spanish.
It has been a significant naval station for more than 1,000 years and is known in Arabic as “Jabal Tariq,” after the Muslim commander Tariq Ibn-Ziyad who transformed the Rock into a fortress in 711.
Its diversified population, which includes many people of mixed Genoese, British, Spanish, and Maltese ancestry, may be attributed to the area’s lengthy nautical history.