Gibraltar sovereignty referendum, 2002

The Government of Gibraltar called a referendum on 7 November 2002 to establish support for a proposal to share sovereignty of the territory between Spain and the United Kingdom. The result was a massive rejection of the concept.

Background

Although Gibraltar was ceded to the British Crown under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Spain has wished to recover the territory, first by force and then by restrictions and diplomacy. Recovering sovereignty remains a stated objective of successive Spanish Governments. Within the framework established by the Brussels Process, secret talks between Britain and Spain culminated in 2002 with an announcement by Jack Straw in the Houses of Parliament that both countries had agreed to share sovereignty over the territory, provided that Gibraltar consented.

The Government of Gibraltar then decided to hold its own referendum on the prospect of shared sovereignty with Spain, which it strongly opposed. Jack Straw described that decision as "eccentric".

Gibraltar

Gibraltar /dʒᵻˈbrɔːltər/ is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.7 km² (2.6 sq mi) and shares its northern border with the Province of Cádiz in Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.

An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During World War II it was an important base for the Royal Navy as it controlled the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, which is only eight miles (13 km) wide at this point. Today Gibraltar's economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, and shipping.

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom.

Gibraltar (disambiguation)

Gibraltar is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, located to the north of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar may also refer to:

Places

Europe

Gibraltar (web site)

Gibraltar, also called The New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock, is a web site devoted to presenting news and reviews in the world of progressive rock. Gibraltar is well respected in the progressive rock community, and citations to it can be seen in numerous progressive rock related articles on Wikipedia. The encyclopedia is not freely editable by the public, but contributions may be submitted to the maintainers via email.

History

Gibraltar started in 1991 as a moderated electronic mailing list, issued in weekly digest form. The original moderator was Michael Lamoureux, and the list was for discussion of anything related to progressive and psychedelic rock, including art rock, symphonic rock, and electronic music.

In 1991–1992, list member Dave Markfield compiled The Progressive Music Survey, an A-to-Z listing of progressive rock bands, with discographies, reviews, interviews, etc., with most contributions provided by 15 list members. This plain text document was available by email and FTP.