SPAIN is protesting to Britain again about a certain rocky outcrop at the neck of the Mediterranean. Gibraltar, a 2.6 square mile (6.7 square kilometre) peninsula that is home to about 30,000 people, is a British territory to which Spain has long laid claim. This week the old argument resurfaced as Spanish officials toughened border inspections, slowing traffic to a crawl, and Spain’s foreign minister threatened a €50 ($67) charge on crossings, to the alarm of locals on both sides of the border. The measures were apparently in response to the Gibraltar government’s decision to sink spiked concrete blocks into the sea to fend off Spanish fishermen, whom it accuses of poaching Gibraltarian fish. Perhaps more relevant, the Spanish government is desperate to change the subject from an ongoing party-funding scandal, which has threatened to engulf Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister. A phone call between Mr Rajoy and David Cameron, the prime minister of Britain, on August 7th apparently defused tensions somewhat. But why is Gibraltar, which lies 1,000 miles south of London, a British territory in the first place?
The days when the sun never set on the British empire are long gone. But Britain retains 14 “Overseas Territories”, spread around the world from the Pacific to the South Atlantic. With the exception of the British Antarctic Territory, a wedge of wilderness populated by a few scientists and many penguins, they are tiny specks. The Pitcairn Islands, which lie roughly half way between New Zealand and Peru, are home to about 50 people; Bermuda, the most populous of the Territories, has only about 65,000 residents. Many, including Gibraltar, have been home to Royal Navy bases. These days they are more likely to earn their keep through tourism and offshore finance.
