Gibraltar by Grocott Chris.;Stockey Gareth.;

Author:Grocott, Chris.;Stockey, Gareth.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783165216
Publisher: Book Network Int'l Limited trading as NBN International (NBNi)
Published: 2013-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Open Frontier

Certain scholars have pointed to the periodic closure of the Gibraltar frontier in the nineteenth century as evidence of continued Spanish irredentism.29 Much like present-day restrictions, which are imposed from time to time from Madrid, it is suggested that these closures were ordered as a reminder of the Spanish claim, or occasionally in retaliation for some perceived grievance against Britain or Gibraltar. Certainly, the frontier was closed at various points in the nineteenth century; more often than not in response to reports of infectious epidemics breaking out on the Rock, or in territories that Gibraltar traded with. Given the frequency with which Gibraltar was visited by such epidemics, however, it is hardly unreasonable to suggest that Spanish motives might have been genuine.30 The degree of cross-frontier interaction was such that any outbreak in Gibraltar was likely to affect the neighbouring Spanish settlements as well, as happened during the yellow fever epidemic in 1804, for example.31 The Gibraltar authorities, for their part, were not averse to temporarily closing the frontier for the same purpose, but do not stand accused by scholars of deliberately stoking the fires of the ‘Gibraltar problem’. In fact, outbreaks of infectious diseases often showed the cross-frontier relationship at its very best. Belying the old dispute over ‘encroachment’ and the limits of the neutral ground, for example, both sides used the isthmus to establish quarantine villages for the sick during times of epidemic. Officials on both sides of the frontier also worked closely to coordinate responses to these outbreaks.32

Such temporary closures aside, the frontier remained open after 1815, with profound effects for the economies and societies on either side. Gibraltar, both official and civilian, was now looking increasingly to Spain, rather than Britain or Morocco, to supply its daily needs. Fruit, vegetables, fish and other foodstuffs were brought into Gibraltar each day, more often than not by Spanish vendors. The Rock also became increasingly dependent on supplies of fresh water from Spain; especially important in a place where water had been in short supply for centuries. As Gibraltar became more prosperous, it also became dependent on supplies of labour from Spain, not only to work in fledgling industries, but to work as domestic servants for the garrison and an expanding entrepreneurial community. Some 652 Spaniards were entering the colony daily by February 1854. By October 1867 the number had risen to 1,635 per day, and by September 1887 the figure was 3,135.33 By the end of the nineteenth century, this dependence upon Spanish labour was unquestionable. Hundreds worked each day as coalheavers to service the needs of a busy port and coaling station; thousands more worked in the construction (and subsequently in the operation) of a modern naval dockyard.34

Official relations across the frontier were also extremely cordial. Hills notes the arrival of hounds after 1815 as a good indicator of this new relationship. They signified the beginning of one of the more famous examples of cross-frontier cooperation: the Royal Calpe Hunt.35 With the full assent of

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