The other day, when I wanted to refer to how we conquered Gibraltar, since it was my understanding that a captain in the English Navy, who had lost a battle in the Mediterranean Sea, decided to capture Gibraltar on his way back home, since he did not he wanted to disappoint Queen Ann.
Anyway, when I did research on Wikipedia my understanding of the events was almost correct, but one thing that really struck me was the fact that Captain George Rooke was from what is now Canterbury, in an area called Saint Lawrence. .
I was actually born in the St Stephens area of Canterbury, but I have spent the last 26 years fighting with the Spanish from within around the Alicante area, but I guess that would be for another article or two.
Anyway, going back to the main character of this article, our own Captain Rooke, who was born in 1672, and after many successes in the Dutch wars, was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1650. He was later posthumously awarded the title of Knight after to destroy 12 ships. of the French enemy fleet. He was finally made an admiral in 1696, and only a year later a period of peace began, lasting only three years, as Rooke continued to serve in the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea.
Great naval battles resumed again in 1700, with Captain Rooke leading the Anglo-Dutch squadron in the attack on Copenhagen, and after England declared war on France on May 15, 1702, Rooke was again in battle at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. .
Regardless, the story of how Gibraltar was captured begins with Rooke commanding a failed Allied attack on Cádiz in 1702, and then, on his way home, he destroyed the Spanish treasure fleet in the Battle of Vigo Bay. This action was rewarded with the gratitude of Parliament, and he subsequently commanded the Allied naval forces for the eventual capture of Gibraltar in July 1704.
Later, Rooke retired from service in February 1705 due to health problems and returned as a prodigal son to his estate in St Lawrence, Canterbury, where he finally passed away in 1709. Just 9 years ago, in 2004, a statue of the Captain Rooke. in his memory in Gibraltar, while Gibraltarians celebrated the 300th anniversary of the capture of the Rock.
Gibraltar today has become a political pawn for the Spanish government, and there always seems to be a sporadic problem there, helping to fill television news time, rather than having to see how politically corrupt successive Spanish governments have been. . In fact, I have been to Gibraltar a couple of times and have stayed with my family in the Spanish border town of “La Línea de La Concepción”. Local people praised Gibraltarians for what they did to help starving Spaniards during Franco’s reign, although they have never received any mention of their bravery in the news.
Just a lighter tone to conclude this article, and on a trip I took to see our family, I had forgotten my passport. At the border crossing, the Civil Guard told me to pass, only with my Resident Permit, which indicated my nationality as British. Sadly, the Gibraltar border police pushed me back, which at least gave the Guardia Civil something to smile about.
About Captain George Rooke: Wikipedia
