History of Gibraltar the narrowest points in the Mediterranean, only from the coast of Morocco in North Africa. Its position on the bay makes it an advantageous natural anchorage for ships. As one writer has put it, "whoever controls Gibraltar also controls the movement of ships into and out of the Mediterranean. In terms of military and naval power, few places have a more strategic location than Gibraltar." The territory's area measures only . Most of the land area is occupied by the steeply sloping Rock of Gibraltar which reaches a height of . The town of Gibraltar lies at the base of
Lines of Contravallation of Gibraltar to the territory by land. The lines covered a distance of 950 toises () and were built 1,000 toises () from the Rock of Gibraltar, where the British defences began. This sparked a diplomatic dispute between Britain and Spain. During the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, under which Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain, the British government sought to compel the Spanish to cede "a convenient quantity of land round Gibraltar, viz., to the distance of two cannon shot ... which is absolutely necessary for preventing all occasions of dispute between the Garrison and the Country