Origins
Gibraltarians are a racial and cultural mixture of the many immigrants who came to the Rock of Gibraltar over three hundred years. They are the descendants of economic migrants who came to Gibraltar following its capture by Britain in 1704. All but 70 of the existing population of 4,000 fled to the surrounding Campo de Gibraltar. The few Spaniards who remained left in 1727 when Gibraltar was subjected to its second Spanish siege.
Most Gibraltarian surnames are typically of Mediterranean extraction. The exact breakdown is as follows:
| Rank | Origin | Proportion (%) of family names on 1995 electoral register |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | British | 27% |
| 2 | Spanish (excluding Minorcan) | 24% |
| 3 | Italian | 19% |
| 4 | Portuguese | 11% |
| 5 | Maltese | 8% |
| 6 | Jewish | 3% |
| 7 | Minorcan | 2% |
| 8 | Other | 4% |
| 9 | Unassigned | 2% |
Genoese and Catalans (who arrived in the fleet with Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, possibly some two hundred in all) became the core of Gibraltar's first civilian population under Habsburg Gibraltar. Sephardic Jews from Tetouan in Morocco, who had previously been suppliers to the English territory of Tangier, began supplying fresh produce to Gibraltar in 1704.
Jews in Gibraltar by 1755 together with the Genoese formed 50% of the civilian population (then 1,300). In 1888 construction of the new harbour at Gibraltar began in order to provide an additional coaling station on the British routes to the East. This resulted in the importation of Maltese labour both to assist in its construction, and to replace striking Genoese labour in the old coaling lighter-based industry. Maltese and Portuguese people formed the majority of this new population. Other groups include Minorcans (due to the links between both British possessions during the 18th century; immigration began in that century and continued even after Minorca was returned to Spain in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens), Sardinians, Sicilians and other Italians, French, Germans, and British people.
Immigration from Spain and intermarriage with Spaniards from the surrounding Spanish towns was a constant feature of Gibraltar's history until General Francisco Franco closed the border with Gibraltar, cutting off many Gibraltarians from their relatives on the Spanish side of the frontier. The Spanish government reopened the land frontier, but other restrictions remain in place.
Read more about this topic: Gibraltarian People
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