Why did Spain give up Gibraltar?

The one time Spain had a chance to retake Gibraltar, Franco refused. Why? Because picking a side that might lose, will cost Spain more than Gibraltar. In the end, remaining neutral, for the most part, was best for Spain. And Gibraltar remains British.

Gibraltar, it's actually more British than Britain. When I went there they actually had a pub in the supermarket.

I visited Gibraltar 12 years ago and fell in love with the place and its people! During my visit, I learned many of the historical details outlined in this video that relate to Gibraltar’s ongoing connection with Britain. One thing not mentioned in the video is that citizens of Gibraltar enjoy benefits the same benefits as British citizens, such as higher education and healthcare, which provide a higher standard of living than is common in Spain. On a side note, a Gibraltar restaurant served me the BEST fish and chips I have ever eaten. Absolutely delicious!

Im Gibraltarian, its surprising and nice to see my very tiny irrelevant homeland getting a little bit of attention :-)

Gibraltar name origin: The name is derived from the Arabic "Jabal Ṭāriq" which means "Mount of Tariq". Named after the 8th-century Moorish military leader Tariq ibn Ziyad. This continues to be its name in Arabic. As for its ancient history: Evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar from around 50,000 years ago has been discovered at Gorham's Cave. Gibraltar was regarded by the peoples of the Mediterranean as a place of religious and symbolic importance. The Phoenicians were present for several centuries since around 950 BC, apparently using Gorham's Cave as a shrine to the genius loci, as did the Carthaginians and Romans after them. Gibraltar was then known as Mons Calpe, and it was considered by Romans and Greeks as a pillar of Hercules.

My grandmother was born and raised in Gibraltar. She was so proud of it. Her family moved to New York, where she met a son of an Italian and got married. Then they moved to Costa Rica. My mom visited Gibraltar on 2011.

Gibraltar has a pretty neat flag! It's the only British Overseas Territory flag to not have the Union flag on the upper left corner of the flag! The flag was adopted in November 1982 and is based on the coat of arms of Gibraltar, granted by Royal Warrant from Queen Isabella I of Castile in July 1502! The castle represents Gibraltar's status as a strategic fortress, while the key represents Gibraltar being the key to the Mediterranean. The largest battle of the American Revolution by number of combatants didn't even take place in what's now the US! It was actually that time you mentioned Spain tried to take Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783! Spain, joining the side of France, saw Gibraltar as their primary aim. Spain and France had a combined strength of 65,000 while Britain and Hanover defended Gibraltar with 7,500 and 12 gunboats! The assault was a humiliating failure, and a British relief convoy under Howe sneaking in past a barricade and joining the garrison in October 1782 sealed the deal

Great short history lesson! I like your channel, perfect to play in the morning or at night to start or end the day. Keep them coming.

Maybe do a video on Spains colonies in Africa. Ceuta and Mellilia.

I do like videos like this because I feel like when people think about Gibraltar, they thinking oh it's a territory that the british are refusing to let go of but not realising that the people of Gibraltar they voted to remain british a number of times, its not the UK's goverments choice but the people from Gibraltars choice, as it should be.

was out there for 6 week back in 2016 loved it would move there if it was not so expensive, determined to retire there. Great video I did not know the history in depth.

Let's go Your videos are amazing!

3:07 -- Actually, Spain did not lose Florida as a result of the American Revolutionary War of 1776. And, in fact, it did not "lose" Florida. It was sold to the U.S. in 1819 for $5 million.

An old pal of mine is Gibraltarian. Many have Spanish surnames, and English first names. The referendums were telling. Ppl who voted against remaining British were often embarrassed publicly. The people of the Rock love being British. UK has been a parliamentary democracy while Spain has swerved from autocratic monarchy, to far left republican to fascist recency to a modern constitutional monarchy .. choosing between UK and Spain is a no brainer to the people of Gibraltar.

Same thing happened in Texas and Hawaii… Americans overtook the land, filled it up with their population and when a statehood referendum was made obvisouly the people felt American yet native Hawaiians or Mexican in Texas didn’t like it

It’s a myth that the inhabitants are all British. It’s about 25% of each Spanish and British. Genoese/Italian are about another 20% and Portuguese and Moroccan account for around 10% each as well. It is a very diverse place.

As always amezing 🔥💥❤️

I like Gibraltar but it's also a weird place - it's like a pokey British town on the side of a mountain and everything is in miniature - small highstreet, small supermarkets etc. since space is at a premium. There is absolutely no doubt at all that the people living there consider themselves British and have no intention of uniting with Spain. The funny part is Spain also has enclaves in Morocco and there is a little bit of "you too" going on whenever they complain about Gibraltar.

Spain owns two territories in Morocco - Ceuta and Melilla - which undermines their claim to Gibraltar somewhat. Also Franco did owe gratitude to Britain for enabling his rise to power by smuggling him from the Canary Islands to Morocco, therefore sparking the Spanish Civil War. We did that as we were worried Spain was about to become a communist state.

From history point of view, while Spain was neutral during WW2, it was beneficial for the world that the gate to enter the Mediterranean sea was under control of the British