Siege and capture of Gibraltar during the War of Spanish Succession.
The Capture of Gibraltar was an Anglo‑Dutch operation during the War of the Spanish Succession. Between 1 and 3 August 1704, an allied fleet attacked the Spanish‑held town and stronghold of Gibraltar. After heavy bombardment and landings, Governor Diego de Salinas surrendered, and Gibraltar passed to the pro‑Habsburg side.
The Capture of Gibraltar was a siege and amphibious operation during the War of the Spanish Succession. Allied English and Dutch forces, acting for the Grand Alliance and the Habsburg candidate Charles, sought a base on the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and support naval operations against the French fleet in the western Mediterranean. A failed attempt to take Cádiz in 1702 was followed by allied naval success at Vigo Bay, which helped persuade Portuguese king Peter II to abandon France and Spain and join the Grand Alliance in 1703. With access to Lisbon, allied fleets could campaign in the Mediterranean. In 1704 Prince Georg of Hesse‑Darmstadt and Admiral George Rooke failed to take Barcelona, then turned against the small town and stronghold of Gibraltar on Spain’s southern coast. From 1 to 3 August 1704, an Anglo‑Dutch fleet of about 61–63 ships bombarded Gibraltar. Over 2,000 marines and sailors landed against a Spanish garrison of roughly 430 men. Spanish losses were reported as minor; allied losses were about 60 dead and 200 wounded. Governor Diego de Salinas surrendered on 3 August. Gibraltar remained with Britain after the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and is still British today.
