Gibraltarian people - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Gibraltarians are a cultural group native to Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

at the entrance to the Mediterranean sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

Origins

Gibraltarians are a racial and cultural fusion

Culture of Gibraltar

The culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. While there are Spanish and British influences, a result of the territory's status as a British overseas territory and its proximity to Spain, the ethnic origins of most Gibraltarians are a mix of Andalusian Spaniards, Genoese,...

of the many immigrants who came to the Rock of Gibraltar

Rock of Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is high...

over three hundred years. They are the descendants of economic migrants who came to Gibraltar following its capture by Britain in 1704. All but 70 of the existing population of 4,000 fled to the surrounding Campo de Gibraltar. The few Spaniards who remained left in 1727 when Gibraltar was subjected to its second Spanish siege

Siege of Gibraltar (1727)

The Siege of Gibraltar of 1727 saw Spanish forces besiege the British garrison of Gibraltar as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Depending on the sources, Spanish troops were between 12,000 and 25,000. British defenders were 1,500 at the beginning of the siege, increasing up to about 5,000...

.

Most Gibraltarian surnames are typically of Mediterranean extraction. The exact breakdown is as follows:

Rank	Origin	Proportion (%) of family names on 1995 electoral register
1	British	27%
2	Spanish (excluding Minorcan)	24%
3	Italian	19%
4	Portuguese	11%
5	Maltese	8%
6	Jewish	3%
7	Minorcan	2%
8	Other	4%
9	Unassigned	2%

Genoese

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

and Catalans (who arrived in the fleet with Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt

Prince George Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia , head of the Austrian army in the War of Spanish Succession and governor of Gibraltar in 1704...

, possibly some two hundred in all), became the core of Gibraltar's first civilian population under Habsburg Gibraltar. Sephardic Jews from Tetouan

Tétouan

Tetouan is a city in northern Morocco. The Berber name means literally "the eyes" and figuratively "the water springs". Tetouan is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea. It lies a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 40 mi E.S.E. of Tangier...

in Morocco, who had previously been suppliers to the English territory of Tangier

Tangier

Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...

, started supplying fresh produce to Gibraltar from 1704.

Jews in Gibraltar

History of the Jews in Gibraltar

There has been a Jewish presence in Gibraltar for more than 650 years. There have been periods of persecution, but for the most part the Jews of Gibraltar have prospered and been one of the largest religious minorities in the city, where they have made contributions to the culture, defence, and...

by 1755 together with the Genoese formed 50% of the civilian population(then 1,300). In 1888 the construction of the new harbour at Gibraltar started in order to provide an additional coaling station on the British routes to the East. This resulted in the importation of Maltese

Maltese people

The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...

labour both to assist in its construction, and to replace striking Genoese labour in the old coaling lighter-based industry. Maltese, and Portuguese people

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

formed the majority of this new population. Other groups include Minorcans (due to the links between both British possessions during the 18th century; immigration begun in that century and continued even after Minorca was returned to Spain in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens

Treaty of Amiens

The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...

), Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

ns, Sicilians and other Italians, French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

, Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

, and the British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

.

Immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

from Spain and intermarriage with Spaniards from the surrounding Spanish towns

Campo de Gibraltar

The comarca of the Campo de Gibraltar is a comarca in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of continental Western Europe...

was a constant feature of Gibraltar's history

History of Gibraltar

The history of Gibraltar portrays how The Rock gained an importance and a reputation far exceeding its size, influencing and shaping the people who came to reside here over the centuries.-Prehistoric:...

until General Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

closed the border with Gibraltar, cutting off many Gibraltarians from their relatives on the Spanish side of the frontier. The Spanish socialist government reopened the land frontier, but other restrictions remain in place.

Nationality

Gibraltarians are British, albeit with a distinct identity of their own.

noun: Gibraltarian

Gibraltarian status

Gibraltarian status is a legal status in Gibraltar law defined by the Gibraltarian Status Act, 1962. Persons with Gibraltarian status are registered on the Register of Gibraltarians.-History:...

(s)
adjective: Gibraltar

Rank	Nationality	Proportion (%) of the population (2001)
1	Gibraltarian	83.22%
2	Other British	9.56%
3	Moroccan	3.50%
4	Spanish	1.19%
5	Other	1.54%
6	Other EU	1.00%

Estimates for 2008 show a small decrease in the proportion of Gibraltarians (81.12%), a significant increase in the ratio of "Other British" (11.09%) and a small increase in the ratio of "Other" (7.79%). No further breakdown is provided in this figure.

Religion

Gibraltarians' main religion is Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, with the majority of Gibraltarians belonging to the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. Other Christian denominations include the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

, the Gibraltar Methodist Church

Gibraltar Methodist Church

The Gibraltar Methodist Church is part of the South West District of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. It has a long history associated with the development of British Gibraltar, and it has greatly strengthened its ties with the local population since the scaling down of Britain-based forces...

, Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

, various Pentecostal and independent churches mostly influenced by the House Church

House church

House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement...

and Charismatic movement

Charismatic movement

The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...

s, as well as a Plymouth Brethren

Plymouth Brethren

The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

congregation. There is also a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

. There are also a number of Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

Indians, a Moroccan

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

population, members of the Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

and a long-established Jewish community

History of the Jews in Gibraltar

Rank	Religion	Proportion (%) of Gibraltarians
1	Roman Catholic	78.09%
2	Church of England	6.98%
3	Muslim	4.01%
4	Other Christian	3.21%
5	None	2.86%
6	Jewish	2.12%
7	Hindu	1.79%
8	Other or unspecified	0.94%

Languages

English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

(used in schools and for official purposes) and Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

are the main languages of Gibraltar. Most Gibraltarians converse in Llanito
Llanito
Llanito or Yanito is an Andalusian Spanish based creole spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching and loanwords from many other Mediterranean languages.Gibraltarians also...

, an Andalusian Spanish

Andalusian Spanish

The Andalusian varieties of Spanish are spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar. They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varieties, and also from Standard Spanish...

based creole

Creole language

A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...

. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

as well as languages such as Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

of the Genoese

Genoese dialect

Genoese is a dialect of the Ligurian language, the one spoken in Genoa .Ligurian is listed by Ethnologue as a language in its own right, of the Romance branch, and not to be confused with the ancient Ligurian language...

variety, Maltese

Maltese language

Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...

, Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

and Haketia

Haketia

Haketia is an endangered Jewish-Moroccan Romance language, also known as Djudeo Spañol or Ladino Occidental , that was spoken and spread throughout the North of Morocco such as in Tetuan, Tangiers and the Spanish towns of Ceuta and Melilla, in the latter of which it has achieved partial...

. Among more educated Gibraltarians, it also typically involves code-switching

Code-switching

In linguistics, code-switching is the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals—people who speak more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other...

to English. Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

is spoken by the Moroccan community, just like Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

and Sindhi

Sindhi language

Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...

are spoken by the Indian community of Gibraltar. Maltese

Maltese language

is still spoken by some families of Maltese descent.

Origins

Nationality

Religion

Languages

See also