History of the Maltese in Gibraltar

A Maltese community has existed in Gibraltar since shortly after its capture by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1704. Following the Capture of Gibraltar, most of the existing population elected to leave, leaving behind a small population of around seventy (mainly neutral Genoese people). Immigration from neighboring Spanish towns soon followed, giving Gibraltar a very cosmopolitan population. Years of coexistence and intermarriage on the Rock soon led to a coalescence of Maltese, Italian and Andalusian culture, preserving the Mediterranean and Catholic nature of Gibraltar despite the centuries of British rule.