Capture of Gibraltar

The Capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1–3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Allies had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate naval operations against the French fleet in the western Mediterranean Sea. An attempt to seize Cádiz had ended in failure in September 1702, but following the Allied fleet success at Vigo Bay in October that year the 'Maritime Powers' had emerged as the dominant naval force in the region. This strength helped persuade King Peter II of Portugal to sever his alliance with France and Spain, and ally himself with the Grand Alliance in 1703. Now with access to the Portuguese port of Lisbon the Allied fleets could campaign in the Mediterranean, and conduct operations in support of the Austrian Habsburg candidate to the Spanish throne, the Archduke Charles, known to his supporters as Charles III of Spain.

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt represented the Habsburg cause in the region. In June 1704 the Prince and Admiral George Rooke, commander of the main Allied fleet, failed to take Barcelona in the name of 'Charles III'; Rooke subsequently evaded pressure from his allies to make another attempt on Cádiz. However, in order to compensate for their lack of success the Allied commanders resolved to capture Gibraltar, the small town on the southern Spanish coast. Following a heavy bombardment and the landing of British and Dutch marines and sailors, the governor, Diego de Salinas, agreed to surrender Gibraltar and its small garrison on 3 August. Three days later Prince George entered the town in the name of 'Charles III'. In the event 'Charles III' failed to depose Philip V as King of Spain, and Gibraltar was formally ceded to Britain by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. To this day 'The Rock' remains in British hands.