Aaron Cardozo and the Francia family - Mrs Crosbie and Sir Robert Gardiner.
General Narváez
Reginald Fowler was a relatively obscure English lawyer who travelled extensively around the world and summarised his experiences in a book with the self-explanatory title of Hither and Thither; or, Sketches of Travels on Both sides of the Atlantic. For stylistic reasons he admitted that;
General Narváez
Reginald Fowler was a relatively obscure English lawyer who travelled extensively around the world and summarised his experiences in a book with the self-explanatory title of Hither and Thither; or, Sketches of Travels on Both sides of the Atlantic. For stylistic reasons he admitted that;
. . . little matters of detail, which usually occupy so much space in works of this nature . . . have been studiously omitted . . . the writer intended to extend them to many other countries, but he has now decided upon appearing before the public in an unambitious manner, and to be guided by the result, as to whether he may venture to intrude upon them again.
He never did intrude on us again but his chapter on Gibraltar seems detailed enough to be well worth quoting.
Arrival - We anchored among a crowd of shipping lying off the "old Mole," and had not a little indulgence been extended to us, could not have entered the fortress that evening. Happily that very important functionary the "key sergeant," had either received his instructions or was not disposed that evening to execute his duties with unnecessary harshness, for the "Waterport" gates were kept open a few minutes after the proper time for closing them had arrived, and we were permitted to land.
Off the old Mole - the distance the Spanish Lines. The pill boxes were known as Garitas ( 1844 - George Lothian Hall )
An old mole infested with feluccas and other small craft was the norm for much of the century and as testified by numerous painting and old photographs. The gates at Waterport were indeed normally - and ceremonially - closed at specifically designated times. The exception here was that a member of the Governor's family happened to be on board Fowler's ship. The Governor was probably Robert Gardiner.
The Club House - A rush took place to secure rooms at the "Club House" hotel, where being an old acquaintance I was fortunate enough to obtain a couple of rooms overlooking the bay.
The pink building overlooking the King's Bastion was known as the 'Club House' Hotel at the time ( 1844 - George Lothian Hall )
The 'Club House' was in the Commercial Square in middle of town and possible the best available. He had obviously been to Gibraltar before. The building, one of the finest in Gibraltar had been built by Aaron Cardozo ( see LINK ) a prominent Jewish merchant. After having lived in it in some style for several years he had rented it out to a certain Mrs Crosbie, who had converted it into an hotel.
Levante - The bay is always full of life and motion, but as treacherous as it is beautiful; in a strong East wind or "Levante" the gusts sweep across its waters, driving the scud in silvery clouds before its blast, or whirling the waters round and round in eddying circles of foam."
A footnote informs the reader that no English man of war is allowed to hoist a sail when the Levante is blowing. There was he say, a standing order in the service against doing so. Other civilian boats followed suit as much as possible - although accidents seem to have been quite frequent.
The Town - The town within the walls . . . consists of narrow streets, sometimes very steep (then called "Ramps,") large barracks, commissariat and ordnance store and officers quarters; with one or two small open squares. The public buildings are none of them worth comment; the private houses are usually small, and not very well calculated for the heat of the climate. The roofs are flat and are not infrequently adorned by the week's wash of linen, hanging to dry; while within, as the horses often occupy the ground floor, a decidedly stable smell is apparent.
The English residents furnish their houses during the winter, after the English fashion; but in the hot months of summer, the rooms are as much denuded of carpets and furniture as possible. Every house is provided with a tank, which is supplied by the rain water from the roof, carried into it by gutters and pipes; the drainage is worse than indifferent. The best parts of the town are clean, but where the Barbary Jews and Moors congregate, the state of things is horrid. . .
The house at present occupied by the Captain of the Port would be considered a good one even in England while no one will ever forget the view from the drawing-room at "Glen Rocky" . . .
The house of the Captain of the Port was called Mount Pleasant - or 'the Mount' for short. Glen Rocky was the residence of the Chief Justice of Gibraltar.
Smuggling - In former days, when the smuggling trade into Spain was prosperous, and was so valuable that every foot was economized; rents were enormous, and are still comparatively high, though the LEGITIMATE trade of the place is very small . .
. . . since the residence of General Narváez at Gibraltar, the ILLEGITIMATE or smuggling trade has been made too expensive to leave much profit. There are now too many officers to bribe. That General Narváez did not waste his time while on the Rock in profitless idleness is tolerably notorious, and therefore on his return to power in Spain he had acquired information which was not allowed to remain unproductive.
On the subject of the trade of the place the inhabitants are peculiarly sensitive, and probably all the more so, as it really is not easy to defend it. The trade in tobacco and cigar making is extensive, and I believe blameless; and of course a great number of people are supported by business connected with shipping.
Ramón María de Narváez ( mid 19th century - Vicente Lopez )
General Narvaez was an astute military man and a conservative politician. His draconian measures in 1838, cleared the entire area of la Mancha of brigands. In 1840 he took part in an insurrection against Baldomero Espartero of the Progresista Party and was forced to flee the country, taking up temporary residence - as mentioned by Fowler - in Gibraltar.
Hygiene - Since the new fortifications have been built, and the breakwater thrown out, the refuse from the town is not freely carried away by the sea, but remains to pollute the air and generate disease. This neglect of common precaution is in a climate like this, quite inexcusable.
The remedy is easy; nothing more would be required than to carry the sewers a few feet further into the sea. I understood that before this breakwater was finished, the resident medical men called upon the then commanding engineer and represented the great danger to the health of the town which would ensue, if the works were proceeded with; the answer was "I am here to take care of the STRENGTH not the HEALTH of Gibraltar;" pithy but unsatisfactory.
The author suffered greatly from these unsavoury conditions and he continued on the same vein for quite a few paragraphs. In a footnote he observes that Irish Town in general and the Engineers' mess in particular, were perhaps the worst places in town in this respect. He also adds - somewhat ironically - that the quarters of the Colonel commanding the Engineers are well removed from the mess and suggests that it will need the decimation of the Garrison from fever for anything ever to be done about it.
The Convicts - Within the dockyard gates is the large convict establishment amounting at times to nearly 1000 men, who are employed upon the new fortifications. ( see LINK )When he attended a service on one occasion he was pleased to note the 'quiet orderly demeanour of the prisoners' and the fact that they took off their shoes and carried them by hand inside the chapel. Curiously and in contradiction of the official line, the chaplain told him that the general opinion among the prisoners was that their punishment was far too great for their crime.
The Convent - The country house of the governor of the fortress, faces the Mediterranean near this spot, but the residence usually occupied by him, is within the walls of the town,-was formerly a convent, and is called so still. The house is poorly furnished, and the reception rooms, except the dining room, and ball room, are small. Attached is a well-kept and pretty garden.
The Military Prison - On Windmill-hill, close to this spot, is the military prison, having cells for forty prisoners. The prison is clean, admirably arranged, and the discipline very strict; the punishments are severe. Flogging, solitary confinement, drill, shot exercise (which consists in lifting, without intermission, for three hours, a 32lb. ball from one spot, and putting it down on another), at the word of command, are the chief; the minor punishments consist in breaking stones, sleeping every third night on the bare floor, without bed or bedding, and the withdrawal of some few indulgences.
Every man works 11½ hours a day; no occupation, with any variety or interest in it is allowed. The prisoners appear all wretched and gloomy in the extreme. I came away with the conviction, that two years of such punishment, and such incessant control, must utterly prostrate any man's mind and feelings, - he must leave it, a mere machine, without sense, either of pleasure or pain.
All of which suggests that the author was a man of unusual sensitivity for his time.
The Cathedrals. . . the public buildings, inside the walls of the fortress, scarcely deserve any comment . . . First in order comes the Protestant cathedral, a hideous heavy building, of Moorish architecture, built by the engineers; outside, it looks like a large flat-roofed shapeless mausoleum . . .
The Roman Catholic Cathedral (except that it possesses a tower and a bell), makes no external pretentious whatever; and within, the lover of the fine arts would not find much to gratify his taste.
The Elders - There exists in Gibraltar a body of men called "Elders" who are elected each year by the congregation, and have entire control over the revenues of the church. This very Presbyterian institution is quite foreign to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church. I believe it exists nowhere else amongst that body, and it has existed from time immemorial here.
It is not of British growth. The" fungus" is indigenous. It was perhaps only natural that the present vicar apostolic should not approve of it, and decline to recognise the authority of the elders. But they, much to their credit, insisted upon his surrendering into their charge, the fees arising from the church; and on his refusal, the court of chancery was applied to, that the matter might be decided. It decreed compliance with the established custom, and Dr- was for some time imprisoned for contempt of court . . .
The Jews . . . in Gibraltar are a very numerous body and possess four rather handsome synagogues. Many of them are wealthy, but by far the greater part of the Jewish population are dirty in their persons and habits, and possess to an almost exaggerated degree, the features and cunning twinkle of the eye, characteristic of their race. They may be seen in filthy brown striped" bernouse" or long gown, leaning against the door posts, or seated on the stop, eagerly trafficking; their faces almost touching in the eagerness of their pursuit.
They appear to converse more with the face and hands than with the lips; some of their customs are said to be most peculiar. Previous to marriage the intended wife sits on the side of a bed, for a week, in full dress, with painted eyebrows, hands covered with jewels, and the nails also stained, to receive visitors. Every Jewish woman in this part of the world on marriage, shaves the head and wears a wig; and so rigidly is this adhered to, that an English Jewess of the better class who refused to comply with this custom, was on that account not visited by the ladies of her own persuasion.
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Jewish Woman of Gibraltar ( 1830s -John Frederick Lewis )
They never allow anyone to die in bed, but put them on the floor when they appear to be "in a dying state;" a ready way, it may be supposed of extinguishing the little life that remains. All the water in the house is also emptied at once, as the Jews of the lowest class believe, that Death (whom they personify) cleans his bloody sword after the stroke, in the water.
Their houses are dirty and wretched, and the food upon which they live, of the poorest kind. They are chiefly Barbary Jews, and I believe are as low in the mental and physical scale as possible. I make these statements on the authority of one of the most respectable natives of the rock, and have no reason to doubt their truth.
A sustained diatribe expounding the kind of sentiments that were unfortunately held by many British visitors at the time - although the most revealing sentence is undoubtedly the last one. It would have been interesting to know the identity of that 'respectable native'.
Moors from Barbary . . also crowd the streets and walk most majestically; their tall, upright, manly figures, loosely enveloped ill a white or brown robe, their legs generally stockingless, and their feet encased in bright yellow slippers - the massive turban twisted tightly round the open and high fore-head, make an impression not readily effaced.
They are not much darker in complexion than the Southern Spaniards, exhibiting in their faces indisputable marks of the purity of their race, and in their slow and dignified walk, the scorn which every true mussulman feels for the unbeliever. They frequent the theatre when it is opened for performance, and seem to enter very fully into whatever may be represented, but their feelings with regard to the fair sex must be dreadfully shocked by the appearance of ladies on the stage.
Fowler is by no means alone in his odd English preference for all things Moorish - perhaps confusing the romantic notion of the stereotypical desert Arab and his maritime counterpart - the cruel but dashing corsair of the Barbary coast - with the reality of the common Gibraltarian market trader from nearby Tetuan.
Commercial Square - The scene . . . on an auction morning, is also most curious and entertaining. First of all, a few huge casks of leaf tobacco are disposed of; then probably the auctioneer mounts a little stool, with a desk about the size of an ordinary octavo volume attached to it, and offers to public competition, a most miscellaneous assortment of goods - say a case of champagne, half a-dozen old sails, Dutch cheeses, left off uniforms, odd volumes of books, a chain cable, a few spars, an iron bedstead, a chest of drawers, old nails, a few prints of sacred subjects, most grotesquely coloured to suit the Spanish peasants' taste, some soap, knives, needles and pins, and a bale or two of trumpery cotton prints; finishing probably with the sale of a horse, "warranted sound," and only parted with because the owner is leaving the garrison.
While this is going on, the ground is being strewed with the usual contents of a "marine store" in England, around which people gather, and traffic, nothing being apparently too old or valueless to find a purchaser. In about two hours all is gone, and the open space resumes its quiet half-deserted aspect until the band appears for evening gun fire.
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Street market in Commercial Square in the early 20th century ( Unknown )
It was these auctions held in the Commercial Square that would give it its local Llanito ( see LINK ) or slang name of el Martillo. It was perhaps during the Peninsular War when local privateers were filling the harbour on a daily basis with "prizes" that the auction market was probably at its height.
The Market - Had I been an early riser I should have found the fruit and vegetable market amusing; but the sun does not appear over the rock until it has been shining an hour or two on the level country around; and mess dinners and whist parties in rather too rapid succession do not induce early hours in the morning. In Gibraltar, as in the United States, the gentlemen go early to market; the ladies are spared that trouble.
Poultry and Egg Market ( 1890 - P Naumann )
As shown on the etching, it was not a costume that would persist - if it ever was in Gibraltar. During the 20th century women were probably far more likely to go to the market than men.
Waterport Street - Nowhere can a greater variety of people language and dress be heard or seen than in the part of Gibraltar near the port, and particularly in Waterport Street; almost every country in the world is more or less represented. In other places a similar variety probably exists, but scattered thinly over a much larger space; here, it is concentrated as it were into one focus, a thick slowly moving mass . .
Waterport Steet - late nineteenth century ( Unknown )
By Waterport Street he means today's Main Street. His amazement at the colourful mosaic of nationalities is identical to that of a plethora of other visitors - as is his inability to identify the real inhabitant of the Rock of which there were probably well over 15 000 as against less that 1500 Jews and far fewer Moors.
The Neutral Ground - Passing through the Waterport gate . . . brought me to the level plain, which separates the bay of Gibraltar from the Mediterranean; on this plain are scattered, here and there, a few guard-houses, a kennel for the Calpe fox hounds ( see LINK ) , an enclosed burial ground for the troops; close to which, but unprotected in any way, are a few flat stones, indicating that here, in former days, the race of Israel were buried; and in singular and rather misplaced juxtaposition with these records of mortality, is the circular race-course; ( see LINK ) while, a little further on, are the sheds and slaughterhouses, in which the cattle are fatted and killed, for the supply of the garrison.
The Slaughter House - this building probably replaced the one mentioned by the author ( Unknown )
About 500 Barbary oxen are always kept here. There is also a little cultivated patch of garden ground, enclosed by a prickly pear hedge, in which vegetables are grown for the garrison, which derives, however, its chief supply of these necessaries from Spain; this garden is irrigated by means of a Persian wheel, turned by a poor blindfolded ox.
'Persian waterwheel' - known locally as a 'noria' and blindfolded ox ( Unknown )
La Línea - About a mile from the rock stands, the little cluster of houses, forming the village at the Spanish lines. The only house with two stories, in the place, is the dwelling of the colonel commandant; all the rest are, to the last degree, poverty stricken.
The uniform of the Spanish soldier, is made of grey frieze, and is mean looking; the men are under-sized, and by no means soldier like in their walk or appearance, though their long stride enables them to march quicker than any other troops in Europe. The mounted police are fine picked men, who, in their large jaunty cocked hat, yellow glittering belt, and other showy accoutrements, both of rider and horse, look more like field marshals than simple policemen.
Passing this spot, the road skirts the bay shore, and is a mere sand track; when the tide is out the road is good, and the favourite ride of the Gibraltar people. A few reeds grow out of the sand, other vegetation there is none . . .
". . A few reeds grow out of the sand, other vegetation there is none . . ." ( 1868 - G. W. Wilson )
. . . and after following the course of the bay, for about two miles, and turning inland to the right, we soon reach the little village, of Campo, one of the Summer retreats of the merchants, and officers of the garrison; which is a mean-looking little place, but undoubtedly a beneficial change of residence, for the Gibraltar people.
Gibraltar from Campamento ( 1850 - Unknown )
Beyond this is a "Quinta" and farm, of several hundred acres, on whose rather trying soil, Mr. F - exercises his patience, as a farmer.
The 'little village of Campo' must have been what is today known as Campamento. Mr F was a Gibraltarian resident called Mr. Francia. Even as far back as the early 18th century the family's 'Quinta' was well known as an exceptionally attractive place. It was usually referred to as the 'Orange Grove'.
The Orange Grove ( 1772 - Francis Carter )
San Roque . . . the town of St. Roque stands, about six miles from Gibraltar. . its only attraction is a capital hotel . . Macrae's" fonda" is unexceptionably clean, and moderate in its charges; I do not know what the Gibraltar people would do without this hotel . . .Here the newly-wedded, of all grades of society, sacrifice to the cold etiquette of the world, their first week or two of married life. They SHOULD be all in all to each other, for in this solitude they will find little to interfere with the proper concentration of their thoughts.According to the Gibraltar Directory of 1879 ( see LINK ) at McRae's Hotel in Calle San Felipe, "an excellent glass of milk-punch can be obtained, and the owner, who was for more than 39 years the Post-office agent between San Roque and Gibraltar, is always ready and willing to draw upon his memory for a store of anecdotes connected with the place and its associations."
A view of San Roque ( 1868 - G.W.Wilson )
Almoraima - From St. Roque, it is an easy ride to the cork-wood, and convent of Almoraima. Those who have been long in Gibraltar, talk of the cork-wood most enthusiastically; to them it is the perfection of Sylvan scenery; the simple truth is, that there is nothing remarkable about it. . . . The goal to be reached, is the convent of Almoraima, now deserted, except by a solitary Priest, exiled thither, it is said for his sins; and an amazing colony of little boys and girls. The question of paternity might be a curious subject of enquiry, but there, at any rate, they are.
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A picnic in the Almoraima Cork Woods ( 1877 - Graphic )
Censorship . . . it must be confessed that propagandism of any kind, either political or religious, is studiously discountenanced by the Gibraltar authorities. This censorship is carried to the very verge of tyranny. No public meeting to discuss a local grievance is allowed, and the Gibraltar Chronicle, the only newspaper published on the rock, is subject to the most rigid exanimation on the part of two octogenarian officials. No original matter is allowed to appear in it, except it be the different "garrison orders," . . all is mere scissors work.
The Gibraltar Chronicle ( 1826 )
It is in consequence, a poor shrivelled anatomy, the sort of thing an Englishman expects to find in a cafe in Rome or Naples, or possibly Vienna. In Gibraltar, liberty does not exist; "cedant arma togae" is reversed. The sentinels warn you off this place, and that; at night after 12 o'clock, a "pass" and a lamp are necessary, as you walk along the streets, under penalty of an hour or two in one of the guard houses, unless an officer in uniform be with you, or you are bold enough to shout out " Officer" in gruff and disciplinarian tones.
The officials in the civil departments have "passes" issued to them, which saves them from this nuisance, but a mere visitor is sadly annoyed by it. It is not therefore a matter of surprise, that Protestantism has not gained many converts, education much advanced, or that the Spaniards cling as tenaciously as ever to every national habit.
By 'Spaniards' he is almost certainly referring to the local residents - a very large proportion of whom were not even of Spanish descent.
A very tiny steamer plies between Algeciras and Gibraltar This little cockle shell is really quite a curiosity. The crew consist of a man to steer, and two little boys.
The tiny steamer that plies between Algeciras and Gibraltar may have been like the one shown here on the wharf ( Early 2oth century - Unknown )