It's no secret that Britain's decision to leave the European Union has caused a lot of headaches for a lot of people, but one of the odd side effects of the Brexit concerns a tiny slice of real estate off the southern coast of Spain.
In today's Seeker Daily report, we take a look at the disputed territory of Gibraltar, and the historically uneasy relationship between Spain and the U.K.
One of Britain's last remaining colonies, Gibraltar has been technically designated as an overseas British territory since 1713. But check the maps and you'll find that the peninsula is clearly a part of Spain, geographically speaking. In fact, Spain has been claiming sovereignty over Gibraltar for several centuries now.
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It's a lingering sore spot between the two nations, and the recent Brexit referendum has brought the issue back into the headlines. Although most of territory's roughly 30 thousand residents are of Spanish or Portuguese descent, they are officially, and culturally, British -- and would like to keep it that way.
But complicating matters is the fact that more than 96 percent of Gibraltarians voted to remain with the European Union. After the Brexit vote, officials in Gibraltar are negotiating separately to remain with the EU. Spain has leveraged this opportunity to officially propose joint British-Spanish sovereignty of Gibraltar.
All indications are that Britain isn't interested, and neither is Gibraltar, but the issue is shaping up to be yet another confrontation between Spain and the U.K. At least they're used to it: Disputes between the countries date back to the 14th century and they've fought against one another in a half-dozen officially declared wars.
Gibraltar's ultimate fate is still up in the air, but it looks like the relationship between Spain and the U.K. is going to get interesting again.
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Learn More:
NPR: The Squabble That Never Ends: Britain and Spain Duel Over Gibraltar
BBC: Brexit: Spain calls for joint control of Gibraltar
The Guardian: The Rock of remain: why Gibraltar is rejecting Brexit