communicate with all the batteries by passages of the same kind, all of which may be traversed on horseback. Eight bomb-proof cisterns, each containing 40,000 tons, are kept constantly full of water, by collecting all the little runs on the west side of the rock, and the water is allowed to deposit its sediment in immense troughs before it is let into the cisterns.

The bay of Gibraltar is nine miles long, and five broad, and forms a convenient and wellprotected naval station. One side is formed by the promontory and isthmus; to the south is the sea; the other sides of the bay (the west and north) are formed by the main land of Spain, but the command of the whole depends on the possession of the promontory.

The town of Gibraltar consists of a principal street, from half to three-quarters of a mile long, and containing 12,000 inhabitants, English, Spaniards, and Jews; each religion being fully tolerated. It is surrounded by a strong wall, supported by bastions and other works, and was formerly under strict military regulations, no inhabitant being allowed to be out of his home after eleven o'clock, without express permission from the governor; and neither hawkers nor beggars were permitted in it. The abuses and vexations consequent to this species of government, induced the parliament to erect it into a body corporate, and the civil power is now lodged in its magistrates. Its chief protection is derived from the batteries on the neighbouring heights, which sweep both the isthmus and the approach to the town by water. In the last siege the town was almost entirely destroyed, but it was afterwards rebuilt on an improved and enlarged plan. The houses have flat roofs, and bow windows are used generally for shops; they are painted black, to blunt the dazzling rays of the sun, with a white stripe to mark each story or floor. Out of the main streets the inhabitants are much crowded, as was exemplified in the rapid spreading of a contagious fever, communicated from Cadiz in 1804, which swept off many thousand inhabitants; the military escaped only from the observance of the strictest precautions, and from their being lodged on higher ground. The climate of Gibraltar is qualified by the vicinity of the sea, and less hot than might be expected in the latitude of 36°.

Cottons, and other manufactures, are its imports from England; sugar, rum, and other produce, from the West Indies; tobacco, rice, and flour, from North America; while wine, fruits, silk, wax, and other Mediterranean articles, are brought in from the east. The port is formed by moles of considerable extent. The chief public buildings are the navy hospital, the victualling office, barracks, and governor's house. The places of worship an English church, Catholic chapel, and three synagogues; here is also a small but elegant playhouse; and a respectable garrison library.

This important fortress seems to have been first particularly noticed as a place of consequence in the year 712. At that time the general of the caliph Al Walid landed with an army of 12,000 men on the isthmus between the general of the the continent; and, that he might secure an in

tercourse with Africa, ordered a castle to be built on the face of the hill. Part of the building still remains: and, from an inscription discovered above the principal gate, appears to have been finished in 725. It continued in the possession of the Saracens till 1310, when it was taken by Perez de Guzman, under Ferdinand IV. king of Castile. In 1333, however, it was surrendered to the son of the emperor of Fez, who came to the assistance of the Moorish king of Granada. An attempt was made upon it in 1349 by Alphonso XI., king of Castile; but, when the fortress had been reduced to the last extremity, a pestilential fever broke out in the Spanish camp, which carried off the king himself, with great part of his army; after which the enterprise was abandoned. The fortress continued in the possession of the Saracens of Fez until 1410, when it was taken by Joseph III. king of Granada. A design of attacking it was formed by Henry de Guzman in 1435; but, the enterprise iniscarried through his imprudence, and he was defeated and slain. However it was at length taken, after a gallant defence, by his son John de Guzman in 1462; since which time it has remained in the hands of Europeans.

In 1540 Gibraltar was surprised and pillaged by Piali Hamet, one of Barbarossa's corsairs; but the pirates, having fallen in with some Sicilian galleys, were by them defeated, and all either killed or taken. In the reign of Charles V. the fortifications of Gibraltar were modernised, and such additions made as to render them almost impregnable. But in 1704, in consequence of the resolution adopted by the court of Britain to assist the archduke Charles in his pretensions to the Spanish crown, Sir George Rooke was sent with a powerful fleet into the Mediterranean, and an attempt on Gibraltar was resolved upon. On the 21st of July, 1800 troops were landed upon the isthmus under the prince of Hesse Darmstadt; and, on the refusal of the governor to surrender, a cannonade was begun from the fleet on the 23d, and kept up so briskly that in five or six hours the Spaniards were driven from many of their guns, especially at the new mole-head. The admiral, perceiving that by gaining this part of the fortification the reduction of the rest would be facilitated, ordered out some armed boats to take possession of it. On their approach the Spaniards sprung a mine, which demolished part of the works, killed two lieutenants and forty men, wounding about sixty more. Notwithstanding this disaster the assailants kept possession of the work, and took a small bastion half way between the mole and the town. this the governor capitulated, and the prince of Hesse took possession of the gates on the 24th. The garrison, consisting of 150 men, marched out with the honors of war; and the Spaniards who chose to remain were allowed the same privileges they had enjoyed under Charles II. The works were found very strong, and the place well provided with ammunition and military stores: yet the capture was held of little value by the British

court.

On

This conquest was achieved with the loss of about sixty killed and 216 wounded on the part of the English. The prince of Hesse remained

governor, and eighteen men of war were left at Lisbon under the command of Sir John Leake, to succour the garrison if there should be occasion. The loss of such an important fortress, however, having alarmed both the courts of Madrid and Paris, orders were sent to the marquis de Villadarias a Spanish grandee, to lay siege to it. The prince of Hesse immediately applied to Sir John Leake for assistance; but, before the latter had time to comply with his request, a French fleet arrived, and debarked six battalions to assist the Spaniards; after which they proceeded to the westward, leaving only six frigates in the bay. The trenches were opened on the 11th of October, about'which time Sir John arrived with twenty sail of English and Dutch ships; but, hearing that the French were about to attack him with a superior force, he returned to refit. Having left orders at Lisbon to make preparations for this purpose, he accomplished the work with such expedition that, on the 29th, he returned, and surprised in the bay three frigates, a fire ship, two English prizes, a tartan, and a store ship. After this he landed some reinforcements, supplied the garrison with six months' provisions, and sent on shore 500 sailors to assist in repairing the breaches. The Spaniards supposing that the garrison would now be off their guard, on account of the vicinity of their fleet, formed the rash design of attempting to surprise the place, though the British adiniral was still before it. In this mad attempt 500 brave volunteers associated, taking the sacrament never to return unless they accomplished their purpose. They were conducted by a goat-herd to the south side of the rock near the cave-guard. This they mounted, and lodged themselves the first night in the cave of St. Michael: the next they scaled Charles V.'s wall; surprised and massacred the guard at Middle-hill; where afterwards, by ropes and ladders, several hundreds of the party designed to support them were hauled up; but, being discovered, they were attacked by a party of grenadiers, and all either killed or taken. Notwithstanding these misfortunes the Spaniards continued the siege, and fitted out a strong squadron from Cadiz, to intercept the provisions sent to the garrison; expecting that, on the arrival of their fleet, Sir John would be obliged to retire, and the garrison to surrender. They continued their fire therefore with additional fury, dismounted many of the cannon, and did essential injury to the works, in several different places. The prince of Hesse, however, exerted his utmost to disappoint their expectations. As it was probable that they might attempt to storm the curtain, a curvette was dug in the ditch, which was filled by the tide, and a double row of palisades placed parallel to the works; and the chambers of the mine under the glacis were loaded; but on a sudden the Spaniards altered their design, and threatened an attack on the lines which the garrison had on the declivity of the hill to flank the glacis, and overlook their advanced works. While affairs were in this situation, part of the succours they had long expected arrived in the bay, Dec. 7th 1704; and in two days after, the remainder came in with nearly 2000 men, and a proportionable quantity of am

munition and provisions. These had sailed from Cape Spartel, and were in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, whose fleet they mistook for their own; but escaped by being becalmed. Sir John Leake, having thus powerfully reinforced the garrison, set sail for Lisbon, where he arrived about the end of the year. In the beginning of 1705 the Spaniards were reinforced by a considerable body of infantry, and on the 11th of January made an attack on the King's Lines, but were repulsed. The attack was renewed next day by 600 grenadiers, French and Walloons, supported by 1000 Spaniards, under lieutenant general Fuy. They showed an intention to storm a breach which had been made in the round tower at the extremity of the King's Lines, and another in the entrenchment on the hill. The retrenchment which covered the latter, with part of the entrenchment joining the precipice of the rock, was defended at night by a captain, three subalterns, and ninety men; but the captain usually withdrew, with two subalterns and sixty men, at day break. The round tower was defended by 180 men, commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The marquis, by deserters from the garrison, had obtained intelligence of the strength of these posts, and planned his attack accordingly. The detachment for the upper breach mounted the rock at midnight, and concealed themselves in the clifts until the captain had withdrawn; after which, advancing to the point of the entrenchment, they threw grenades on the subaltern and his party, so that they were obliged to leave the place. At the same time 300 men stormed the round tower, where lieutenant colonel Bar made a vigorous defence, though the enemy annoyed them on the flanks with great stones and grenades. Observing, however, the Spaniards marching down to cut off his retreat from the town, he retired; and, by getting over the parapet of the king's lines, descended into the covered way, where the English guards were posted. Thus the garrison were alarmed; all the regiments were assembled at their proper posts; and captain Fisher endeavoured to stop the progress of the enemy with seventeen men, but they were repulsed, and himself taken prisoner. At last, however, the tower was retaken by lieutenant colonel Moncal at the head of 400 or 500 men, after it had been in the possession of the enemy upwards of an hour. The garrison were now farther reinforced by six companies of Dutch troops and 200 English soldiers, with provisions and stores. The assailants, however, were still determined to go on. The marquis de Villadarias was superseded by marischal Tesse, a Frenchman, with whom admiral Pointis was desired to co-operate in blocking up the place. The marischal joined the army with four fresh battalions, besides eight companies which had been sent before; the ordnance, which had been greatly injured, was exchanged, and the works put into the best repair. On the part of the English, a reinforcement was ordered under Sir Thomas Dilkes and Sir John Hardy, to join admiral Leake at Lisbon: which being effected, the whole fleet, consisting of twenty-eight English, four Dutch, and eight Portuguese men of war, having on board two

battalions of land forces, set sail from Lisbon. And happily for the besieged, the incessant rains and storms had retarded the operations of the land forces, and greatly distressed the enemy's fleet; eight of their ships having been forced from their anchors. At this critical period Sir John Leake, with the allied fleet, entered the straits, when the few remaining French ships put out to sea, and he immediately gave chace. Three men of war were taken; the admiral's ship and another were driven on shore, and burnt; and the rest made the best of their way to Toulon. The garrison was now so well supplied, that marischal Tesse withdrew his troops from the trenches, and formed a blockade, drawing an entrenchment across the isthmus to prevent the garrison from ravaging the country. The prince of Hesse remained for some time in the place, where he repaired the batteries, and made fortifications; after which he joined the archduke Charles at Lisbon. Major-general Rames was now appointed governor of Gibraltar, in which only two new battalions were left, as nothing was to be feared from the enemy. In the course of this siege the Spaniards lost 10,000 men, including those who died of sickness; while the garrison lost only 400. The new governor brought with him 400 men for the greater security of the place; but soon resigned his government to colonel Roger Elliot, during whose time Gibraltar was made a free port bya special order from queenAnne. Colonel Elliot was succeeded by colonel Congreve before 1714, and he by colonel Cotton soon after. In 1720 the Spaniards threatened another attack, but the design was abandoned. At last, however, in the end of 1726, they as sembled an army near Algesiras, encamping, on the 20th of January, 1727, on the plain below St. Roch, and erecting a battery on the beach to protect their camp. Though admiral Hopson was then at anchor in the Bay of Gibraltar, yet, as he had not heard of the commencement of hostilities between Britain and Spain, he allowed the boats of the latter to pass with provisions, arms, and ammunition, between Algesiras and the camp, at the same time that brigadier Kane, who had been a second time sent from Minorca, lay under similar embarrassments. The operations of the Spaniards, however seemed so evidently to tend towards an attack, that the governor thought proper to order such of that nation as were in the town to leave it, and to forbid their galleys to anchor under his guns. The count de las Torres commanded the Spanish forces, amounting to nearly 20,000 men; and soon after forming his camp, he advanced within reach of the garrison. The brigadier then desired him to keep out of his reach, otherwise he should do his utmost to force him; but to this the Spanish commander replied, that he should obey his Catholic majesty's orders, and encroach as far as possible. Hostilities, however, were not commenced till the 20th of February 1727, when the Spaniards having brought materials for batteries to the old wind-mill on the neutral ground, it was determined in a council of war, that the Spanish general had commenced hostilities. Still, however, the governor sent to the count to know the reason of breaking ground before the

garrison; but received for answer, that he was in his master's territories, and was no answerable to any other person for his conduct.' On this the governor opened the batteries of the Old Mole and those of Willis upon the Spanish workmen; however, they persisted in carrying on their operations, and at night marched a party down to the Devil's Tower, where they began a communication with their other works. The governor was now informed by some deserters, that the enemy were forming a mine in a cave under Willis's Battery, with a design to blow it up: but, the plot being thus discovered. a party was immediately stationed to cut off the communication. On the 22d of February the Spaniards opened on the garrison with seventeen pieces of cannon besides mortars; and the day following brigadier Kane left Gibraltar to send a reinforcement from Minorca. On the third of March the enemy opened a new battery of twenty-two guns on the Old Mole, and on the 8th another of fifteen guns, bearing also upon the same Mole, the guns of which had aunoyed the western flank of their approaches. All this time the garrison had kept up a constant and well directed fire from the batteries which bore upon the works of the enemy; but the ordnance being old frequently burst; by which they suffered more than from the fire of the besiegers. The latter were also greatly annoyed by the fleet under admiral Hopson and Sir Charles Wager, who, since the beginning of the siege, had intercepted their home-bound ships, and greatly benefited the garrison by bringing the prizes into the bay. But on the arrival of a reinforcement from Minorca, they sailed to the westward, leaving the garrison to defend themselves in the best way they could. The enemy continued to augment their batteries, and erect new ones, until they amounted at last to sixty cannon besides mortars; and, on the 3rd of May, the governor received intelligence that a general assault was intended. Hostilities, however, ceased on the 12th, when news arrived that the preliminaries of a general peace were signed. In the course of this siege the loss of the Spaniards was computed at nearly 3000 men, besides casualties, which could not be ascertained. That of the garrison amounted only to 300; a very small number, considering that during the siege seventy cannon and thirty mortars burst on the batteries.

For upwards of half a century, no farther attempts were made on Gibraltar; but the hostile manifesto, presented by the Spanish ambassador to the court of London, at the commencement of the American war, was soon followed by an interruption of communication betwixt Spain and Gibraltar. No direct intention of attacking it, however, was manifested till the 16th of July 1779, when the port was completely blocked up by a squadron of two seventy-four gun ships, several frigates, galleys, &c. Ten days after they began to form a camp on the plain below St. Roch, three miles from the fortress. The garrison at this time consisted of 5382 men, including officers, with a company of engineers and artificers; but the greatest expectations were formed from the abilities and valor of general

Eliott, the governor. See ELIOTT. As soon as the breaking off the communication with Spain indicated approaching hostilities, the governor took every precaution that could be suggested by military wisdom; but though informed of the rupture betwixt the two courts, and though he beheld the hostile operations of the enemy, he used no means to interrupt them till the 12th September, when the batteries of Green's Lodge, Willis, and Queen Charlotte, were opened for a few hours, with a view to disturb the workmen. From this time to the beginning of 1780 the enemy continued the blockade both by sea and land, but without doing any damage to the works or garrison; and it was not until the 12th of January that a single person was wounded. This happened to be a woman, who, passing near one of the houses, was slightly hurt by a shot from the enemy. In the mean time, however, the usual supplies of provisions being cut off, the garrison began to feel all the horrors of famine. All the necessaries of life were very scarce, and to be procured only at most exorbitant prices. As the rock, however, is almost surrounded by the sea, it was natural to suppose, that in such a scarcity of other provisions great benefit would have been derived from the ocean; but the fishermen, being all foreigners, and under no regulation, took advantage of the scarcity in the garrison to exact a most exorbitant price for the fish. Had matters remained long in this state, the fortress must have fallen into the hands of the enemy. They were, however, effectually relieved in consequence of the repeated victories gained by admiral Rodney over the Spanish fleets, on the 8th and 16th of January 1780; which proved equally serviceable to the garrison and detrimental to the enemy, who were now in great want both of provisions and materials for shipping. The news of the last of these important victories arrived at Gibraltar on the evening of the 17th, and in two days more the garrison was completely relieved by the arrival of the fleet and convoy; when they were farther reinforced by a regiment of Highlanders, consisting of 1051 men, officers included. An opportunity was also taken of sending away with the fleet all the invalids and women in the garrison; with whom they set sail on the 10th of February, leaving in the bay only the Edgar and Panther, ships of the line, with two frigates.

On the departure of the British fleet the blockade was immediately resumed; and, notwithstanding the ample supplies lately received, the garrison soon began again to experience the want of fresh provisions. It had hitherto received these in abundance from the coast of Barbary; but the friendship of the emperor of Morocco was now transferred from Great Britain to Spain in a manner totally unprecedented. Thus the garrison became daily more and more distressed, from being obliged to make constant use of their salt provisions, and even this with the strictest economy. At the same time the defence of the garrison was so vigorous, that while it continued to be supplied even in this scanty manner, the Spaniards began to lose all hope of reducing it; for which reason they formed a project of burning all the British shipping in the

bay. The night fixed for executing this scheme was the 6th of June 1780, when ten fire ships, favored by an uncommon darkness, stood over from the Spanish to the British side of the bay. Their design was to set fire to the store-houses and shipping nearest the water side; but, having been too precipitate in firing their ships, they met with a very heavy cannonade, and the attempt was frustrated. On this occasion the skill and intrepidity of the British seamen were eminently displayed. Having manned their boats, they grappled with the fire-ships already in flames, and, notwithstanding the danger of their exploding, towed them clear of the vessels under the walls, and extinguished them. The failure of this project was a grievous disappointment to Don Barcelo the Spanish admiral, who lay ready with his squadron to intercept the British vessels that might attempt to escape; while the batteries on their lines were ready to bombard the town, if the fire-ships had succeeded in causing any conflagration on shore. The failure of this attempt was soon followed by other disasters. As soon as they had, with great labor, constructed new batteries, they were destroyed by the besieged; and their mortification on these occasions was the greater, as the governor allowed them to complete their works before he commenced his destructive operations. Thus the labor of many days was often lost in a few hours, and was again resumed with as little prospect of success as before. The garrison were now, however, considerably annoyed by the Spanish gunboats, to which indeed the shipping were equally exposed. These were vessels from thirty to forty tons burden, constructed so that they lay low and comparatively secure in the water. They had fifteen oars on a side, carried forty or fifty men, with a twenty-six pounder on the prow; and, from the facility of managing them, two were deemed, in calm weather, to be a match for a frigate of moderate size. All their efforts, however, could only reduce the garrison to great straits for want of provisions; and to this dreadful inconvenience the British submitted with the most stoical resignation. From admiral Rodney's departure in February, 1780, to October, almost the only provisions in the garrison were such as tended to produce the scurvy; which accordingly raged in such a manner as to threaten the most fatal consequences. The allowance of salt provisions had hitherto continued undiminished; but now it was judged necessary to reduce the allowance of bread and meat, and to enforce the strictest economy with regard to food. Every thing of this kind that could be practised, however, seemed insufficient to preserve the garrison from want. In the beginning of 1781 provisions became exceedingly scarce, by the almost total expenditure of the public stores, and the vigilance of the enemy's cruisers. About the middle of February the bakers left off work for want of flour; many of the poorer sort wanted bread, and the price of fresh provisions again rose to a most enormous height; while the scarcity of fuel was such, that it was sometimes scarcely procurable in quantity sufficient to dress their victuals. The garrison had hitherto derived assistance occasionally from the gardens