4 August 1704: Gibraltar is captured by the “Grand Alliance”

On this day in 1704 Gibraltar was taken in the name of “Charles III of Spain” by English and Dutch forces as part of the 'War of the Spanish Succession'.

The taking of Gibraltar © Print Collector/Getty Images
Gibraltar was taken by the Grand Alliance
(Image credit: © Print Collector/Getty Images)

When Spain's King Charles II died in 1700, there was a big pan-European spat over who would succeed him. Charles had nominated Philip of Anjou, grandson of French king Louis XIV. But that would unite France, the continent's dominant military power, with Spain, owner of the world's largest empire.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.