This may well be a stupid question, but would Gibraltar have mattered from a trading perspective in medieval Europe? Would Mediterranean countries (assuming they existed) have vied to control it?
I think that the only way it would have mattered is for non Mediterranean powers to secure access into the Med. Even then, they would have to do more to force their way into Italian dominated trading zones, but it would be important as a supply base in any attempt to do so and would make them harder to just shut out of the region entirely.
What he said. Gibraltar did not reach any importance until Britan got hold on it. Castille -and the muslims before then- had better positions on the straits, including the city of Algeciras, just two kilometers across the bay. If it had remained Spanish, it probably would not even be a city.
What he said. Gibraltar did not reach any importance until Britan got hold on it. Castille -and the muslims before then- had better positions on the straits, including the city of Algeciras, just two kilometers across the bay. If it had remained Spanish, it probably would not even be a city.
*raises eyebrow* Im sorry, but, what? 50k people is not enough to be called city, or is just so enough?It barely even is a city today, with only about 50.000 inhabitants