War, Disorder, and Commerce from the 1770s to the 1830s

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Chapter Five examines events in Gibraltar from the great Spanish siege of 1779–1783 to the 1830s. The Great Siege was a defining moment for Gibraltar. The sultan of Morocco’s decision to cut off trade exacerbated the suffering of the garrison and townspeople. Spanish bombardment destroyed most of Gibraltar’s buildings. The siege exacerbated communal tensions within the town. Soldiers rioted. There were attacks on Jews. A large proportion of Gibraltar’s population left. Though Governor George Augustus Eliott was celebrated after the siege as a British national hero, he was criticized in Gibraltar for abusing his powers to enrich himself, restricting trade, and impeding reconstruction. During the 1790s, the commanders of the garrison feared that revolutionary ideology was spreading among the soldiers and townspeople. Early in the nineteenth century, governors launched efforts to instill loyalty among the soldiers and impose discipline on the garrison and town. These projects acquired greater urgency after the yellow fever epidemic of 1804. For the next three decades, successive governors recruited members of the local Jewish and Catholic elite to police their communities and enforce public health regulations. Gibraltar’s trade expanded during the 1820s. Large sailing ships brought goods to Gibraltar from overseas, and smaller vessels carried cargo to and from the nearby Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. During the early 1830s, the government undertook new efforts to control the movement of people and maintain order. Though civilians were never punished as severely as solders, like the men of the garrison they were under constant surveillance.</jats:p>