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Gibraltar

The Greatest Siege in British History

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Gibraltar

By: Roy Adkins, Lesley Adkins
Narrated by: John Telfer
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About this listen

For over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence.

Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes. During the siege, thousands of soldiers, civilians and their families withstood terrifying bombardments, starvation and diseases. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells and a barrage from immense floating batteries.

This is military and social history at its best, a story of soldiers, sailors and civilians, with royalty and rank and file, workmen and engineers, priests, prisoners of war, spies and surgeons all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock.

Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is rich in dramatic human detail - a tale of courage, endurance, intrigue, desperation, greed and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.

©2017 Roy & Lesley Adkins (P)2017 Little, Brown Book Group
18th Century Europe Naval Forces Military War France England Solider Royalty Napoleon Bonaparte Great Britain Siege Imperialism Royal Navy

Critic Reviews

"A fascinating, well-crafted account of a siege that defined Britishness." (Andrew Lambert, BBC History Magazine)

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