Political development in modern Gibraltar
During the early days of the British administration, Gibraltar was maintained primarily as a military outpost with limited attention paid to its role as a trading post.
Initially long term settlement of Gibraltar was uncertain but as Spain's power waned it became established as an important base for the British Royal Navy.
Throughout the 19th century there was conflict between the competing roles of military and trading posts, leading to tensions between the civilian population and the Governor of the day.
[3] As the number of inhabitants continued to grow, they found their political and legal standing became dependent on individual Governors and their commitment to the development of a civilian society.
[3] During the 19th century, as Spain's power waned, the Napoleonic Wars reinforced the importance of Gibraltar as a fortress and Royal Navy base.
Justices of the peace were first appointed in 1753 and a vice admiralty court established in 1793 to provide for the public auction of enemy ships captured by the Royal Navy.
[10] Although there was not an explicit role for the local population in government, Governor Sir George Don encouraged the development of the civilian administration.
[4] In 1910, the new governor Sir Archibald Hunter sought to administer Gibraltar primarily as a fortess, regarding the civilian population as something of a nuisance.
Gibraltar's strategic geographical position and the threat of bombing raids by the Axis powers led to the evacuation of most of the civilian population.
[13] The evacuation led to conflicting emotions; on the one hand the experience of the Blitz strengthened British ties, whilst prejudice and racism encountered in the United Kingdom reinforced the sense of Gibraltarian identity.
In April, the British authorities eventually gave way and a council where elected members outnumbered those nominated for the first time was established.
[14] However, the British Government declined that option, seeking to avoid "innovations which might make the development of a more favourable Spanish attitude to Gibraltar less likely".
The 1969 Constitution made it clear that the British Government would not impose a solution on the Gibraltarians and acknowledged their right to self-determination in their own political future.
[30] Franco continued to insist that Gibraltar was territorially integral to Spain and "in a fit of diplomatic pique"[14] ordered the closure of the Gibraltar–Spain border in 1969.
This natural tendency of the two populations to interact demonstrated the artificial division that had been created and continued to exist so long as Britain retained possession of Gibraltar.
Instead, he demanded the immediate return of Gibraltar, initiated a newspaper campaign in which the entire population was characterised as criminals and individual of dubious moral character, and imposed border restrictions that caused real hardship on the inhabitants.
[33]A diplomatic stalemate persisted until, following the death of Franco, Margaret Thatcher's government initiated a new political process that resulted in the Lisbon Agreement.
[35] The preamble stated: The British and Spanish Governments desiring to strengthen their bilateral relations and thus to contribute to Western solidarity, intend, in accordance with the relevant United Nations Resolutions, to resolve, in a spirit of friendship, the Gibraltar problem.The Brussels Agreement was concluded in November 1984 and implemented in February 1985.
[14] The economy diversified into financial services and tourism and as dependence on the United Kingdom decreased, the Government of Gibraltar felt more able to demand a stake in negotiations on its future.
The idea of a loyal Gibraltar just waiting to see what its imperial master decided with regard to internal policies and external relations was well and truly relegated to the past.
[14]Whilst the full lifting of border restrictions in 1985 was significant and Spain transformed itself from a fascist state to a democracy, the legacy of Gibraltar's isolation by Franco continued to cast a shadow.
[50] Whilst proposing constitutional reform, the British Government conducted secret talks with their Spanish counterparts under the framework established by the 1984 Brussels Agreement.
These culminated in 2002 with an announcement by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw in the Houses of Parliament that both countries had agreed to share sovereignty over Gibraltar, provided that the Gibraltarians consented.
[51]To deflect any potential criticism of the referendum, the Government of Gibraltar invited a panel of distinguished observers headed up by Gerald Kaufman, MP.
For his part Jack Straw described the decision of the Government of Gibraltar to hold its own referendum on the prospect of shared sovereignty with Spain as "eccentric".
[54]To examine proposals for constitutional reform stemming from the 1999 White Paper, a cross-party committee of the Gibraltar House of Assembly was set up to consult with interested parties and in January 2002 produced a report, which was subsequently debated and negotiated with the United Kingdom.
The proposals for the reform were accepted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in March 2006 and unanimously approved in the Gibraltar House of Assembly in October.
Although reasons were diverse there were two aspects to objections;[59] firstly the commitment to retaining British sovereignty was seen to not be sufficiently secure,[59] secondly the new constitution was deemed not advanced enough in allowing the exercise of the right to self-determination.
[62] According to the British Government, it aimed to provide a modern and mature relationship not based on colonialism between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom.
[14] Whilst the connection with the United Kingdom remains significant, Gibraltar has attained a highly developed but unquestionably differentiated political voice.
