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 ruins of the fortifications, of which only a few fragmentary remains can be seen today. Following the Anglo-Dutch capture of Gibraltar in 1704 and the subsequent Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar, in which the Spanish and their French allies sought unsuccessfully to recover the territory, the Spanish built a permanent line of fortifications facing south across the isthmus. Construction began in November 1730 under the Marquis of Verboom with the intention that the lines would block any British invasion of Spanish territory mounted from Gibraltar, act as a starting point for any future Spanish operations against Gibraltar, and cut off access