So sang a possibly-inebriated Rodri, and moments after the crowd chimed with him. His teammate Morata, who is also the captain of the Spanish National Team said warily, “Mate, you’re playing in England!” To which Rodri replied with a deadpan expression, “I don’t care.” A favourite to win the Ballon D’or, Rodri’s mischievous chant that’s a running joke within the team and the broader Spanish public, has a long eventful history. A story of military interventions, self-determination, calls for decolonisation and so on. Perhaps a little similar to the infamous Argentine insecurity, the Falklands, but not so much.
A British overseas territory that lies to the south of Spain, Gibraltar’s history has been a thorn in the unique relationship between Spain and Britain. In 1704, during the Spanish war of succession Gibraltar had succumbed to Spain; however, it was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Utrecht (1714). The transfer was to be for perpetuity, unlike territories like Hong Kong which was leased by China to Britain for 99 years. While by the terms of the treaty the island may have been fully transferred, Spain made several attempts to reclaim it in the following years. A notable attempt was the Great Siege of Gibraltar which took place during the late eighteenth century.
Franco and his dictatorial authoritarianism, his bonhomie with Mussolini and Hitler, is well known. In line with his professed ideology which he shared with these continental autarchs, Franco made further attempts to reclaim the island but to no avail. The people of Gibraltar with no qualms expressed their displeasure at going back to Spanish control during two referenda, the latest of which was held in 2002. They’d rather remain Brits, they said.
Looks like when you’re once colonised by the English, there evolves a deep-rooted sycophancy to emulate and be ruled by the English, to suck up to the colonial masters, as is evident in the lifestyle choices of many in the Indian subcontinent. They proudly don the hat of a ‘Brown Sahib’, and in this case that of an ‘Inglesa’.
Gibraltar is home to a multiplicity of identities, including Moroccan, Spanish, and Indian. A majority of those employed there are Spanish. The territory however is not in the EU yet. It is only a matter of time until Gibraltar falls back under the control of where it rightly belongs. The United Kingdom routinely cites the self-determination of the Gibraltarians and their overwhelming desire to stay with the UK as the case for retaining their control of the Island. And the Brits are happy to keep these tiny islets too so long as they benefit from it financially and militarily. The site had become an important outpost of the British Navy in the twentieth century during the height of the World War.
The Gibraltar FA has understandably taken offence at what is now an unofficial chant (akin to ‘Campeone’) of the Spanish team. Many overzealously patriotic Britishers have been glad to rally behind it, adding fuel to fire. I’m presuming a majority are Faragists who are disgruntled that Labour came to power with a 411-seat majority. Gibraltarians may be a little British in their sensibility but garnished with a Spanish flavour. The cultural and economic links with the Iberian giant to the north remain unbreakable too. Would we see the day when Gibraltar becomes an autonomous principality of Spain, like Catalonia? Maybe not. Only time can tell us about the fate of the several thousand Gibraltarians who have been suddenly swarmed by the recently crowned European footballing giant.
The Unsaturated Reader 