To Britain, Gibraltar is "The Rock", either a beleagured piece of the "mother country" or a strategic possession overlooking Africa at the mouth of the Mediterranean. To Spain, it is a significant piece of Spanish territory under the control of a foreign power. Taken from the Moors by the Spanish in 1462, captured by the British in 1704 - the struggle for this tiny strategic peninsula has continued. Britain and Spain are now both members of NATO and the European Community yet Gibraltar still acts as the barometer of Anglo-Spanish relations. The authors chart the course of negotiations over the question of the peninsular's sovereignty since the end of the Second World War. Arguing that Gibraltar has played a much more provocative role in relations, they describe the objectives and actions of the Gibraltarians and their claim to self-determination. This book should be of interest to lecturers and students of politics, international relations and history.

Since 1945 Gibraltar's sovereignty has repeatedly been questioned. A strategic possession overlooking Africa at the mouth of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar is the victim of both history and geography and continues to be the barometer of Anglo-Spanish relations. Arguing that Gibraltar has played a much more proactive role in negotiations than is assumed, the book describes the objectives and actions of the Gibraltarians against the wider map of Anglo-Spanish relations.