1875 Reclus print GIBRALTAR (#3)

Description: 1875 Reclus print GIBRALTAR (#3) Nice print titled Gibraltar. - vue prise de l'isthme de la Linea, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring, approx. page size 27.5 x 17.5 cm, approx. image size is 19 x 13 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol., 1875-94 (In English: The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1878-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Click here or image for larger version Gibraltar, British colony occupying a narrow peninsula of Spain's southern Mediterranean coast, just northeast of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is 3 miles (5 km) long and 3/4 mile wide and is connected to Spain by a low, sandy isthmus that is one mile long. Its name is derived from the Arabic Jabal Tariq (Mount Tarik), honouring Tariq ibn Ziyad, who captured the peninsula in AD 711. The colony's total area is 2.25 square miles (5.8 square km). Gibraltar is a heavily fortified British air and naval base that guards the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the only entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. The peninsula consists of a limestone and shale ridge known as the Rock. It rises abruptly from the isthmus to 1,380 feet (421 m) at Rock Gun, which is its northernmost summit. Its greatest height, 1,396 feet (426 m), is attained near its southern end. The Rock shelves down to the sea at Europa Point, which faces Ceuta (a Spanish enclave in Morocco), 20 miles (32 km) to the south across the strait. From the Mediterranean, Gibraltar appears as a series of sheer, inaccessible cliffs, fronting the sea on the peninsula's east coast. The Rock's slope is more gradual on its western side and is occupied by tier upon tier of houses that stretch for some 300 feet (90 m) above the old defensive walls. Higher up, limestone cliffs almost isolate the Upper Rock, which is covered with a tangle of wild trees. Gibraltar is considered to have been one of the two Pillars of Hercules, the other being Mount Hacho, on the African coast opposite. The Pillars defined the western limits of navigation for the ancient Mediterranean world. Since the 18th century Gibraltar has been a symbol of British naval strength, and it is commonly known in that context as "the Rock." With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Gibraltar increased in strategic importance, and its position as a provisioning port was greatly enhanced. Since World War II the British military garrison and naval dockyard have continued to be an important part of Gibraltar's economy, and naval operations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) often use the port facilities. Excavations of limestone caves in the Rock have revealed that Gibraltar was sporadically inhabited from prehistoric times. The Muslim commander Tariq ibn Ziyad captured Gibraltar in AD 711, and the site was thereafter held as a fortress by all its successive occupiers. The Muslim occupation was permanently ended by the Spanish in 1462, and Isabella I annexed Gibraltar to Spain in 1501. But in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Sir George Rooke captured Gibraltar for the British, and Spain formally ceded it to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The Spanish nevertheless made several attempts to retake Gibraltar from Britain, most notably in a protracted but unsuccessful military siege that lasted from 1779 to 1783. In 1830 Gibraltar became a British crown colony. The opening of the Suez Canal (1869) heightened British determination to keep possession of Gibraltar, since the Mediterranean was now the main route to Britain's colonies in East Africa and southern Asia. Early in the 20th century the Rock was tunneled to facilitate communication between the peninsula's east and west sides, and the excavated material was used to reclaim 64 acres (26 hectares) from the sea and thus expand the area of the cramped settlement. Gibraltar was a vital repair and assembly point for Allied convoys during the world wars. In the 1960s the Spanish government stepped up its demands for the "decolonization" of Gibraltar. A referendum that Britain held in Gibraltar in 1967 gave the colony's residents a choice of opting either for Spanish sovereignty or for continued close association with Britain; the result was an overwhelmingly pro-British vote (12,138 votes to 44). The new constitution that Britain introduced for Gibraltar in 1969 explicitly reaffirmed Gibraltar's link with Britain while also granting it full internal self-government. Spain responded by closing its border with Gibraltar, thus depriving the colony of its Spanish trade and a labour force of Spanish commuters. Spain lifted its border blockade in 1985. Pop. (1986 est.) 28,843. Please contact me if you have any questions. I prefer payment by PayPal, but I'll also accept any other payment method and currency (except direct payment by credit card) that is convenient for buyer. I combine shipping of multiple items. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING: Price quoted with auction is for airmail to the US. Please don't pay before you receive invoice from me.

Price: 19.99 USD

Location: Zagreb, Croatia

End Time: 2024-11-01T13:04:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.5 USD