Historedia
EuropeEvent

Capture of Gibraltar

When
1704
Where
Gibraltar Bay
Episodes
1

In August 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces under Sir George Rooke captured Gibraltar from Spain. Following a naval bombardment, marines landed and hoisted the Union Flag, securing a strategic port for the Grand Alliance during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Episodes

  1. 30 July – 1 August 1704 · Gibraltar BayFleet Arrival and Positioning

    The Grand Alliance fleet crossed from Tetuan and positioned itself around Gibraltar Bay in late July 1704.

Background and detail

Strategic Context. The Grand Alliance sought a harbor in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and counter French naval power. After the failed Cádiz expedition and the victory at Vigo Bay, Allied naval dominance increased, facilitating operations in the western Mediterranean.

Naval Operations. Admiral Rooke commanded the allied fleet, which arrived at Gibraltar in August 1704. Flying his flag in HMS Royal Katherine, he coordinated with Admiral George Byng, whose squadron anchored within the line of defences to support the landing party.

Capture Details. The capture occurred between 1 and 4 August 1704. A bombardment by 22 ships directed by Byng preceded the disembarkation of a landing party, which hoisted the Union Flag and secured the position for the Anglo-Dutch forces.

People involved

Sources

  1. Capture of Gibraltar Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
  2. George Rooke Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13

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.