Historic watchtower on Gibraltar’s western coast, damaged in 1704 attack.
Torre del Tuerto was a watchtower near the Bay of Algeciras, on the most prominent headland of Gibraltar’s western coast. Mentioned in 1469, it appears in a 1567 panorama as a tall tower with a single window. It was heavily damaged during the Anglo‑Dutch attack on Gibraltar in 1704.
Torre del Tuerto was a watchtower situated beside the Bay of Algeciras, on the most prominent headland of the western coast of the Rock of Gibraltar. Its name, literally “tower of the one‑eyed man”, has an uncertain origin. One explanation links it to Tariq ibn Ziyad, who was one‑eyed and led the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, gathering his troops at Gibraltar, whose name derives from Jabal Tariq, meaning Mountain of Tariq. The tower is already mentioned with this name in 1469, in a letter from King Henry IV of Castile to the Duke of Medina Sidonia. A 1566 text by Pedro Barrantes Maldonado describes the tower as protecting access to the port with four pieces of artillery. In Anton van den Wyngaerde’s 1567 panoramic view of Gibraltar, the Torre del Tuerto appears as a tall tower with a single window, which may explain its name. During the Anglo‑Dutch attack on Gibraltar in 1704, the tower became an intrinsic part of the assault and was heavily damaged. A 1740 drawing by engineer William Skinner shows it in ruins and notes a possible origin as a lighthouse built by the Carthaginians.
