2-648-991 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'The Taking of Gibraltar', August 1704, (c1880). The Capture of Gibraltar by the forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1-3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Grand Alliance was a European coalition, founded in 1686 as the League of Augsburg. Since the beginning of the war the Alliance had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate naval operations against the French fleet in the western Mediterranean Sea. Following a heavy bombardment the town was invaded by English and Dutch marines and sailors. The governor, Diego de Salinas, agreed to surrender Gibraltar and its small garrison on 3 August. From British Battles on Land and Sea, Vol. I, by James Grant. [Cassell Petter & Galpin, London, Paris & New York, c1880]