Many Americans may not recognize Gibraltar as part of their revolutionary war, yet the siege affected the settlement with Britain and the frontier with Canada. A Franco-Spanish victory would not have ended Gibraltar's strategic value; Britain would probably have tried to recover the position in a later war. Keeping the Rock instead made its status more settled after 1783. The closing reflection asks viewers to imagine the First and Second World Wars without a British base controlling access to the Mediterranean.
Notable Point · 2:30:47-2:31:38
The Great Siege shapes borders and the future of a global base
The concluding reflection connects Gibraltar's survival to the Canadian settlement and to the base's later strategic role in both world wars.