La Línea de la Concepción (), often referred to simply as La Línea, is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, and includes the entire Gibraltar–Spain border to the south. La Línea has close economic and social links with the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is part of the comarca of Campo de Gibraltar.
The first dwellings, which date back to the 18th century, were behind the Spanish fortification lines drawn up during the Sieges of Gibraltar which took place during the 18c and 19c wars in Europe.
The population of La Línea was a part of the municipality of San Roque until the community was decreed on 17 January 1870 to be a standalone municipality.
The people of La Línea have traditionally found work in Gibraltar, from the days in the 18th century when Gibraltar was an important naval port.
La Línea was, and still is, a supplier of fresh produce from its open and fertile land area as well as its population supplying workers, mainly for the Gibraltar Dockyard. This provision stopped with the total closure of the border by the Spanish government between 9 June 1969 and 15 December 1982"Spain ends Gibraltar blockade", by John Hooper, The Guardian (London), 15 December 1982, p1 as a result of the dispute between Spain and Britain regarding the sovereignty of Gibraltar. The border was fully reopened on 5 February 1985."The siege of Gibraltar is over", The Observer (London), 3 February 1985, p17
La Línea is a major supplier of fruit and vegetables to Gibraltar; other industries include the manufacture of cork, liquor, and fish paste. It also had an important military garrison with substantial fortifications and a port.
Name Segregated from the municipality of San Roque in 1870, the municipality of La Línea ( "the Line") derives its name from the Line of Contravallation () defensive structure built after the 1727 Siege of Gibraltar. In 1883, the name was first recorded officially as La Línea de la Concepción, a reference to the Immaculate Conception, the then patron of the Spanish Army.
History
The War of Spanish Succession and the British occupation of Gibraltar
When Charles II died in 1700 without an heir to the Crown of Spain, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out between the two main pretenders to the Spanish throne: Philip of Anjou and Charles, Archduke of Austria (later Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire). Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV of France, and had the support of France. Austria, England, and the Netherlands feared a possible alliance and/or a hypothetical union between the French and Spanish royal houses, and so favoured the Habsburg Charles. In November 1700, Philip was declared king.
The Grand Alliance Hesse's force, including the Dutch Marines and a detachment of Catalans, was just under two thousand strongThe British units in the landing forces were: Fox's Marines ...the Royal Regiment of Marines...Sanderson's Marines...Villier's Marines captured Gibraltar on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession after abortive attempts elsewhere. As the fleet sailed north toward Toulon, Hesse persuaded Rooke to attempt raising Barcelona in the archduke's cause by landing troops there It was selected for its strategic value, weak garrison and to encourage the rejection of Philip V (the Bourbon Claimant) in favour of Charles III (the Hapsburg claimant). Following orders to respect civilians,Ormonde issued a proclamation. "They were come not to invade or conquer any part of Spain or to make any acquisitions for Her Majesty Queen Anne...but rather to deliver Spaniards from the mean subjection into which a small and corrupt party of men have brought them by delivering up that former glorious monarchy to the dominion of the perpetual enemies of it, the French" He laid particular stress on the respect that was to be shown to priests and nuns - "We have already ordered under pain of death of officers and soldiers under our command not to molest any person of what rank or quality so ever in the exercise of their religion in any manner whatsoever. officers tried to maintain control but discipline broke down and the menOne has but to read the books left to us by the sailors to realize the peculiar horror of the life between-decks. Cooped up there, like sardines in a tin, were several hundreds of men, gathered by force and kept together by brutality. A lower-deck was the home of every vice, every baseness and every misery ran amok.But some of the sailors, before they could be recalled to their ships broke loose in the town and plundered the inhabitants After order was restored,"Great disorders", he found, "had been committed by the boats crews that came on shore and marines; but the General Officers took great care to prevent them, by continually patrolling with their sergeants, and sending them on board their ships and punishing the marinesa few of them hanged as rioters after the sacking. One Englishman had to throw dice with a Dutchman to determine who should hang pour encourager les autres. They stood under the gallows an diced on a drum. The Englishman threw nine to the Dutchman's ten, and suffered execution before his mates. despite the surrender agreement promising property and religious rights, Article V promised freedom of religion and full civil rights most of the population left with the garrison on 7 August citing loyalty to Philip.Letter Of The Authorities To King Philip V. 115 Sire,
The loyalty with which this city has served all the preceding kings, as well as your Majesty, has ever been notorious to them. In this last event, not less than on other occasions, it has endeavoured to exhibit its fidelity at the price of lives and property, which many of the inhabitants have lost in the combat; and with great honour and pleasure did they sacrifice themselves in defence of your Majesty, who may rest well assured that we who have survived (for our misfortune), had we experienced a similar fate, would have died with glory, and would not now suffer the great grief and distress of seeing your Majesty, our lord and master, dispossessed of so loyal a city.
Subjects, but courageous as such, we will submit to no other government than that of your Catholic Majesty, in whose defence and service we shall pass the remainder of our lives; departing from this fortress, where, on account of the superior force of the enemy who attacked it, and the fatal chance of our not having any garrison for its defence, except a few poor and raw peasants, amounting to less than 300, we have not been able to resist the assault, as your Majesty must have already learnt from the governor or others.
Our just grief allows us to notice no other fact for the information of your Majesty, but that all the inhabitants, and each singly, fulfilled their duties in their several stations; and our governor and alcalde have worked with the greatest zeal and activity, without allowing the horrors of the incessant cannonading to deter them from their duties, to which they attended personally, encouraging all with great devotion. May Divine Providence guard the royal person of your Majesty,
Gibraltar, August 5th (N. S.), 1704. Several factors influenced the decision including the expectation of a counter attack ...plundered the inhabitants. Partly on account of this, partly because they expected Gibraltar to be retaken soon, all the inhabitants except a very few...chose to leave and the violence Although Article V promised freedom or religion and full civil rights to all Spaniards who wished to stay in Hapsburg Gibraltar, few decided to run the risk of remaining in the town. Fortresses changed hands quite frequently in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The English hold on Gibraltar might be only temporary. When the fortunes of war changed, the Spanish citizens would be able to re-occupy their property and rebuild their lives. ... Hesse's and Rooke's senior officers did their utmost to impose discipline, but the inhabitants worst fears were confirmed: women were insulted and outraged; Roman Catholic churches and institutions were taken over as stores and for other military purposes ...; and the whole town suffered at the hands of the ship's crew and marines who came ashore. Many bloody reprisals were taken by inhabitants before they left, bodies of murdered Englishmen and Dutchmen being thrown down wells and cesspits. By the time discipline was fully restored, few of the inhabitants wished or dared to remain. during the capture, which ultimately proved disastrous for the Hapsburg cause. So the damage was done and the chance of winning the adherence of the Andalusians was lost. The subsequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and the refugees settled around Algeciras and the hermitage of San Roque. In 1711, the British and French Governments started secret negotiations to end the war leading to the cession of Gibraltar to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The municipality of San Roque still has as its motto "La Muy Noble y Más Leal Ciudad de San Roque, donde reside la de Gibraltar " ("the Most Noble and Most Loyal City of San Roque, where reside those [the people] of Gibraltar"). The town lands included the area of the modern La Línea de la Concepción.
King Felipe V, the name by which Philip of Anjou was crowned, ordered the Marquis de Villadarías to besiege the Plaza de Gibraltar. This first attempt to regain the city was unsuccessful and the Spanish army lifted the siege. However, to monitor the isthmus and to oppose a possible invasion of the rest of the territory, a permanent garrison was established in the area, under the military government of Campo de Gibraltar.
The Contravallation Line or La Línea de Gibraltar
Gibraltar was under constant surveillance and subjected to the unsuccessful Siege of Gibraltar 1727 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783. After the 1727 siege, the Spanish government began the construction of a line of fortifications, the "Contravallation Line" or "La Línea de Gibraltar" thus eventually giving rise to the town La Línea De La Concepción. This would isolate the British outpost from the Spanish mainland.
An order was issued on 2 November 1730 to the Director of Engineering Prospero Jorge de Verboom, for the construction of two strongholds, one located to the east and the other at west of the isthmus, both united by a line of fortification, with the aim of preventing the movement and to assert rights over the isthmus, in addition to consolidate the Spanish presence in the area.
Construction began in 1731 on the two major strongholds, known as Santa Bárbara and San Felipe. The first was named in honor of the patroness of the Artillery, located at the east beach, where their remains are still visible. The second took its name to honor King Felipe V, and is situated on the west beach. Between these two strongholds a large wall was built with central square tip diamond shaped bulwarks with their respective bodies, running from Santa Bárbara to San Felipe. All of them were located at equidistant distances and were called Santa Mariana, San Benito, semi-square and body guard of San José, San Fernando and San Carlos.
Construction of this formidable defensive line was completed in 1735; described now as 'Contravallation Line or La Línea de Gibraltar.
Thus, La Línea originated from a provisional camp made by artisans and merchants who supplied the military and their families in the vicinity of the fortifications erected to besiege Gibraltar.
The bastions of The Line of Gibraltar would remain intact serving the purpose for which they were built until 1810 during the invasion of the Iberian peninsula by Napoleonic troops, leading to the Spanish War of Independence and the Peninsular War.