Identity formation in Gibraltar: Geopolitical, historical and cultural factors

Peter, Gold

Abstract

The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar in the Iberian Peninsula has been a British possession since 1704 and has been British by treaty since 1713. Spain has attempted to reclaim sovereignty of ‘the Rock’ ever since, culminating in a 16-year blockade from 1969. As the results of a survey show, despite a population whose origins are more evidently Mediterranean than British, the inhabitants have remained fiercely attached to Britain and in the process have created a hybrid identity of ‘British Gibraltarian’ which is more determined by political than ethnic factors, is based on ‘not-Spanish’ identity markers and is not unrelated to three uninterrupted centuries of British jurisdiction.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 2, 2016
• Journal: Geopolitics
• Print ISSN: 1465-0045
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-3028
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 367-384
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14650040903486975
• Keywords: Gibraltar, Spain, enclaves
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/980160
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14650040903486975
• Contract Date: Dec 2, 2016