Gibraltar

Lesley Adkins

For over three and a half years from 1779 to 1783 the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded on land and at sea by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence.

Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic on the very edge of Europe Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities languages religions and social classes. During the siege thousands of soldiers civilians and their families withstood terrifying bombardments starvation and diseases. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot shrapnel shells and a barrage from immense floating batteries.

This is military and social history at its best a story of soldiers sailors and civilians with royalty and rank-and-file workmen and engineers priests prisoners-of-war spies and surgeons all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock. Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is an epic page-turner rich in dramatic human detail - a tale of courage endurance intrigue desperation greed and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.

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