The People of Gibraltar

 1669 - Menni's Map of Gibraltar - Section 1



h. “Parte muy alta e inaccesible del Peñón”
Probably describing the top edge of the sheer face of the Rock’s North Front. (see photo below)

i. “Continente firme”
The southern end of the isthmus
l.  “Sitio de las Arenas”Also part of the isthmus and often referred to as las arenas blancas (white sands) to distinguish it from las arenas coloradas (red sands) over which the foundations of the town itself are built as well as a large section to the south of the Southport gates. I am not quite sure why Menni distinguished between a narrow eastern section and the rest of the Isthmus.

The North Front of the Rock from the northern section of the isthmus  or arenas blancas  (Francis Frith 1850s)

n. “Fortificación que se propone para contra(?) al ataque de la plaza”
The eastern line of these proposed fortifications would have ended in line with the western sea-level of the North Front cliff face. 
(See Section 2 for more on these fortifications)

k. “Puerta de la Villa Vieja” (?)
This is must be wrong - A medieval tower, now no longer extant, once stood on the south-eastern area of the isthmus. The Puerta de la Villa Vieja or - Gate of the Old Town - is in fact shown and labelled correctly in Section 2. 

Note, however, that the small inset on the  bottom right hand corner of the main map (see below) shows the tower as (c) and labels it La Torre de los Angeles, yet another of the many names given to it by the Spaniards over the years – La Torre del Diablo, de los Diablos, el Angel de la Guardia, la Atalaya del Mar de Levante and la Torre de San Pedro. The British however stuck to a direct translation of the first name – The Devil’s Tower.

The Bay of Gibraltar  (1669 -Menni)

La Torre del Diablo (1727 - Antonio de Montaigu de la Perille)

The date of the tower's construction is unknown but it definitely appears in Anton Van den Wyngaerde's well known plan of Gibraltar which is reliably dated 1567. 

(1567 - Anton Van den Wyngaerde – cropped)


To view notes on other sections in detail, together with my comments where possible, please click on the following links.