Fireworks were a significant aspect of the celebrations, followed by a revisitation of the respective territorial issues by both British and Spanish politicians. Spain was deeply offended by U.K. participation in the local celebrations.

The 30-year rule on information in the British national archives made possible the recent revelation that former Prime Minister Edward Heath's Tory government was willing to cede the colony to Spain back in 1973, the year Britain joined the European Economic Community—now called the European Union. The then ambassador of Britain to Madrid said of the Rock: "We cannot go on defending this historical and geographical anomaly. Colonial anachronisms have been cleared up over most of the world. Gibraltar is the only one left in Europe" ( The Daily Telegraph, Aug. 3).

The then head of the Foreign Office's Southern European Department said at the time: "We hope that within 10 years the European Community will become a political and defence union. When that time comes Gibraltar will be neither British nor Spanish. It will be European" (ibid.).

To understand the real significance behind the conflicting territorial claims and Gibraltar's vital role in British history, please request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Source: The Daily Telegraph [London].)