Episode 2 of 4
Spanish declaration of war and blockade
- When
- 16 June 1779
- Where
- Gibraltar
Spain declared war on Britain on 16 June 1779, aiming to capture Gibraltar, and immediately began a blockade of the Rock.
On 16 June 1779 Spain entered the war on the side of France, with the capture of Gibraltar from the British as its primary war aim. The same day the Spanish issued what was in effect a declaration of war against Great Britain, and a blockade of Gibraltar commenced immediately. Britain had been preparing since France entered the conflict in 1778, but the long-expected siege only began once Spain joined.
Sources
- Great Siege of Gibraltar Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.