Gibraltar, Identity and Empire
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Gibraltar, Identity and Empire This book explores the influences which have helped to create a complex and distinctive Gibraltarian sense of identity. The book focuses on geographical, environmental, ethnical, economic and political factors, and goes on to review the past and present dependence on the British and the very substantial legacy of British ideas and practices. Religion and language reveal both British and non-British influences – Anglican and other non-conformist Churches having made their mark. However, Roman Catholicism, with its direct link to Rome, emerges as the religion of the people. The British imposed English as the predominant language, in direct competition with the language of the area, Spanish: thus Gibraltarians became bilingual, but with their own linguistic idiosyncrasies. The formal education system, first reli- gious and later secular, is seen to be one of the most powerful formative factors. Practice now follows British examples closely, with higher education relying entirely on provision in the United Kingdom. E.G. Archer draws on extensive primary and secondary sources, as well as oral evidence, to illuminate the formation of the Gibraltarian identity over the past three centuries. He identifies various informal cultural influences – including games and recreations, the media, the press and the arts – which reflect British ideas and values and underpin Gibraltar’s class structure. He argues that the people of Gibraltar, while separate and unique, are largely the product of the British colonial presence on the Rock; and that Gibraltar is very much an ‘offspring of empire’. Coinciding with the 300th anniversary of the British possession of Gibraltar, this topical book will be of great interest to students of European politics and all those with an interest in Gibraltar. E.G. Archer has been successively a teacher, headteacher and university lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He served as the Secretary of the Hispanic Society of Scotland for over 13 years. A frequent visitor to Gibraltar, he co-authored Education in Gibraltar 1704–2004, and a book on the village of Catalan Bay. Routledge Advances in European Politics 1 Russian Messianism 17 Europeanization and Transnational States Third Rome, revolution, Communism and after Comparing Nordic central governments Peter J.S. Duncan Bengt Jacobsson, Per Lægreid and Ove K. Pedersen 2 European Integration and the Postmodern Condition 18 European Union Enlargement Governance, democracy, identity A comparative history Peter van Ham Edited by Wolfram Kaiser and Jürgen Elvert 3 Nationalism in Italian Politics 19 Gibraltar The stories of the Northern League, 1980–2000 British or Spanish? Damian Tambini Peter Gold 4 International Intervention in the Balkans 20 Gendering Spanish Democracy since 1995 Monica Threlfall, Christine Cousins and Celia Edited by Peter Siani-Davies Valiente 5 Widening the European Union 21 European Union Negotiations The politics of institutional change and reform Processes, networks and negotiations Edited by Bernard Steunenberg Edited by Ole Elgström and Christer Jönsson 6 Institutional Challenges in the European Union 22 Evaluating Euro-Mediterranean Relations Edited by Madeleine O. Hosli, Adrian van Deemen Stephen C. Calleya and Mika Widgrén 23 The Changing Face of European Identity 7 Europe Unbound A seven-nation study of (supra)national Enlarging and reshaping the boundaries attachments of the European Union Edited by Richard Robyn Edited by Jan Zielonka 24 Governing Europe 8 Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans Discourse, governmentality and European Nationalism and the destruction of tradition integration Cathie Carmichael William Walters and Jens Henrik Haahr 9 Democracy and Enlargement in 25 Territory and Terror Post-Communist Europe Conflicting nationalisms in the Basque The democratisation of the general public in Country fifteen Central and Eastern European countries, Jan Mansvelt Beck 1991–1998 26 Multilateralism, German Foreign Policy and Christian W. Haerpfer Central Europe 10 Private Sector Involvement in the Euro Claus Hofhansel The power of ideas 27 Popular Protest in East Germany Stefan Collignon and Daniela Schwarzer Gareth Dale 11 Europe 28 Germany’s Foreign Policy towards Poland A Nietzschean perspective and the Czech Republic Stefan Elbe Ostpolitik revisted 12 European Union and E-Voting Karl Cordell and Stephan Wolff Addressing the European Parliament’s internet 29 Kosovo voting challenge The politics of identity and space Edited by Alexander H. Trechsel and Denisa Kostovicova Fernando Mendez 30 The Politics of European Union 13 European Union Council Presidencies Enlargement A comparative perspective Theoretical approaches Edited by Ole Elgström Edited by Frank Schimmelfennig and 14 European Governance and Supranational Ulrich Sedelmeier Institutions 31 Europeanizing Social Democracy? Making states comply The rise of the party of European Socialists Jonas Tallberg Simon Lightfoot 15 European Union, NATO and Russia 32 Conflict and Change in EU Budgetary Martin Smith and Graham Timmins Politics Johannes Lindner 16 Business, the State and Economic Policy The case of Italy 33 Gibraltar, Identity and Empire G. Grant Amyot E.G. Archer Gibraltar, Identity and Empire E.G. Archer For E.A.A. First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2006 E.G. Archer Typeset in Times by Keyword Group Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Archer, Edward G. Gibraltar, identity, and empire / E.G. Archer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Gibraltar—Civilization. 2. Nationalism—Gibraltar—History. 3. Gibraltar—Relations—Great Britain. 4. Great Britain—Relations—Gibraltar. I. Title. DP302.G37A73 2005 946.8′9—dc22 2005010029 ISBN10: 0-415-34796-3 ISBN13: 9-78-0-415-34796-9 Contents List of tables and figures vi Introduction 1 1 Changing contexts, values and norms 9 2 Environmental aspects 26 3 Ethnic factors 34 4 Economic influences 51 5 Political and constitutional matters 72 6 Religion and the churches 93 7 Language and the community 107 8 Education 1704–1972: A system born and re-born 115 9 Education 1972–2000: Gibraltar takes control 137 10 Informal influences 153 11 The wider recreational and cultural scene 164 12 Concluding discussion 183 Notes 198 Bibliography 218 Index 227 Tables and figures Tables 4.1 GDP by sector and as a percentage of total 71 9.1 Private schools in the United Kingdom attended by Gibraltarians with known numbers of former pupils and pupils attending 149 9.2 1998 student numbers by subjects studied 151 Figures 2.1 The eastern side of the Rock 28 2.2 The city area and new developments 29 2.3 North Front and the north face of the Rock 30 2.4 The Tower: Headquarters of the British Forces Gibraltar with British naval ships 33 3.1 Family names by totals of individuals on 1995 electoral register 36 3.2 National Day in Gibraltar 48 4.1 Modern waterside developments 63 4.2 Recurrent expenditure 2002/2003 66 4.3 Recurrent revenue 2002/2003 67 11.1 Lord Baden-Powell visits Gibraltar in 1929 168 11.2(a), (b) Rugby in Gibraltar 170 12.1 The Evacuation Sculpture 196 Introduction The existence of a separate and distinctive Gibraltarian people on their tiny part of the Iberian peninsula cannot be denied, however much the Spanish government may wish to disregard it. ‘Los llanitos son españoles en su casi totalidad’ (The Gibraltarians are almost entirely Spanish), said Franco in 1956.1 The Gibraltarians themselves take a totally opposite view. They have never had any doubt about ‘their community’ within its clearly perceived boundaries, geographical and cultural, and within which they find their individual and collective identities. Much has been written on the history of this fascinating self-governing colony, from pre-history to modern times. Some works have given due attention to the people but none has dealt comprehensively with the complex factors and influences which have helped determine the nature of present-day Gibraltarian society. This study endeavours to do that; to tease out and analyse these various factors and influences and to assess their significance as the community faces a possibly less certain future. Cutting across many of these factors has been the British military presence for over 300 years. Arguably it has been the dominant factor, though not always deliberately so. As John D. Stewart2 puts it, if overstating the point somewhat, ‘Until the end of World War II no one in authority seemed to notice the Gibraltarian people. But for two and a half centuries a unique community has been growing up quietly within the walls, under the guns.’ These have been British walls and British guns and, inevitably, British values and British models have exerted great influence on a population living in close proximity to the garrison and largely dependent upon it. And, as Stewart again points out, since 1945 the British influ- ence has been overt and