History of Gibraltar - Castilian and Spanish Rule (1462-1704)

Castilian and Spanish Rule (1462-1704)

Shortly after Gibraltar had been retaken, King Henry IV of Castile declared it Crown property and reinstituted the special privileges which his predecessor had granted during the previous period of Christian rule. He visited Gibraltar in 1463 but was overthrown by the nobility and clergy four years later. His half-brother Alonso was declared king and rewarded Medina Sidonia for his support with the lordship of Gibraltar.

The existing governor, a loyalist of the deposed Henry IV, refused to surrender Gibraltar to Medina Sidonia. After a fifteen month siege from April 1466 to July 1467, Medina Sidonia took control of the town. He died the following year but his son Enrique was confirmed as lord of Gibraltar by the reinstated Henry IV in 1469. His status was further enhanced by Isabella I of Castile in 1478 with the granting of the Marquisate of Gibraltar.

On 2 January 1492, after five years of war, the Moorish emirate in Spain came to an end with the Catholic Monarchs' capture of Granada. Gibraltar remained in Spanish hands but lost its Jewish population, expelled from Spain by order of the monarchs. It was used by Medina Sidonia as a base for the Spanish capture of Melilla in North Africa in 1497. Two years later the remaining Moors of Granada were ordered to convert to Christianity or be expelled; many were evacuated via Gibraltar.

Gibraltar became Crown property again in 1501 at the order of Isabella and received a new set of royal arms the following year to replace those of Medina Sidonia. In the Royal Warrant accompanying the arms, Isabella highlighted Gibraltar's importance as "the key between these our kingdoms in the Eastern and Western Seas "; the metaphor was represented on the royal arms by a golden key hanging from the front gate of a fortress. The warrant charged all future Spanish monarchs to "hold and retain the said City for themselves and in their own possession; and that no alienation of it, nor any part of it, nor its jurisdiction ... shall ever be made from the Crown of Castille."

By this time, Gibraltar had fallen into severe decline. The end of Muslim rule in Spain and the Christian capture of the southern ports considerably decreased the strategic value of Gibraltar. It had some minor economic value with wine and tunny-fishing industries but its usefulness as a fortress was now limited. It was effectively reduced to the status of an unremarkable stronghold on a rocky promontory and Marbella replaced it as the principal Spanish port in the region.

Its inhospitable terrain made it an unpopular place to live and it effectively became a penal camp for Christian renegades and Moorish prisoners of war. The second Duke of Medina Sidonia nonetheless sought the town's return and in September 1506, following Isabella's death, he laid siege in the expectation that the gates would quickly be opened to his forces. This did not happen and after a fruitless four-month blockade he gave up the attempt. The town received the title of "Most Loyal" from the Spanish crown in recognition of its faithfulness.