The 320th anniversary of British Gibraltar recalls an era-defining moment in 1704, when Admiral Sir George Rooke led a combined British and Dutch fleet in capturing Gibraltar during the War of the Spanish Succession. This war, which began over a dispute about the Spanish throne, involved major European powers, including Britain, who saw the control of Gibraltar as a strategic gain for the Mediterranean region. The operation was part of a larger campaign aiming to weaken Bourbon influence in Spain and expand British and Dutch control over critical naval routes.
