An image depicting the Rock of Gibraltar in 1704, when it was assaulted by a coalition of troops, leading the Spanish to relinquish control and, later, the territory to become British
GETTY IMAGES/ALAMY
When did Britain acquire Gibraltar?
Britain officially acquired Gibraltar through article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which passed sovereignty of the territory from Spain to Britain “for ever”. The treaty ended British involvement in the War of Spanish Succession, a pan-European conflict fought to settle the question of whether a Bourbon or Habsburg claimant would rise to the Spanish throne after the death of Carlos II in 1700.