The Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783 - Dissertation Example

Battle tactics play a crucial role in enabling one side to win and the other to get defeated, therefore for any army, it is essential to ponder in detail about the battle tactics to gain victory. The British side used such battle tactics that made them accomplish while the battle tactics of the French side were lacking due to which, they were defeated.

The name of Gibraltar derives out from the Arabic Jabal-al-Tarik (mount of Tarik) since capturing the peninsula by the leader of Arabic fighter troops Tarik (Falkner 68). Spain wanted to capture Gibraltar from Britain due to commerce reasons between America and Europe. At the start of the dispute, both sides agreed upon signing an agreement with mutual understanding at the Spanish royal palace.

Britain's foreign minister was also favoring a peace full agreement between the two nations but the agreement was not approved by the British parliament. Both countries declared war on 23 October 1739, with each other just after the beginning of the war of Jenkins' Ear (Mann 214). Both sides decided to make trenches near Gibraltar for gaining information about the enemy. One squadron of Britain's army was already stationed there. Britain ordered Admiral Vernon was ordered to sail from Portobello and join the squadron.

Many years passed but hostilities did not break. King Phillip 5 of Spain died in 1746 and his successor again tried to negotiate the issue with Britain. British parliament showed seriousness in resolving the trade issues. The British parliament also wanted to lift the British embargo on Spain. Unfortunately, the king died and the next king never wanted negotiations with Britain (Mann 215). The new king signed a family compact with the king of France in 1761. France was already at war with Britain in 1761. Because of this new development, Britain declared war on Spain and captured the colonial capitals of Havana and Manila.

Finally, Spain was able to get back the cities of manila and Havana in exchange for Florida which was captured by Spain. This agreement took place under a treaty in 1763, known as the “treaty of Paris” (Falkner 73). Then the peaceful years started and both France and Spain decided to wait for a favorable situation and launch an attack on Britain for gaining the lost territories. After the outbreak of the American war of independence, France and Spain supported American rebels to defeat Britain in that war.

France and Spain signed a treaty in 1779 the treaty known as the treaty of Aranjuez. According to the treaty, both France and Spain will support each other in gaining their lost territories from Britain. Spain declared war on Britain in June 1779 and France also supported Spain to secure Gibraltar. Gibraltar was a vital link in British control over the Mediterranean and wanted a quick capture of it for going on an all-out war against Great Britain. The great siege of Gibraltar was among the longest siege that is fought in the history of the world. France and Spain wanted to take hold of Gibraltar during the American War of Independence but their attempt remained unaccomplished.