Timeline of the history of Gibraltar The history of Gibraltar portrays how The Rock gained an importance and a reputation far exceeding its size , influencing and shaping the people who came to reside here over the centuries . Prehistoric . Evidence of hominid inhabitation of the Rock dates back to the Neanderthal s . A Neanderthal skull was discovered in Forbes ' Quarry in 1848 , prior to the " original " discovery in the Neander Valley . In 1926 , the skull of a Neanderthal child was found in Devil ' s Tower . Mousterian deposits found at Gorham ' s Cave , which are associated with Neanderthals in Europe , have been dated to as recently as 28 , 000 to 24 , 000 BP , leading to suggestions that Gibraltar was one of the last places of Neanderthal habitation . Modern humans apparently visited the Gibraltar area in prehistoric times after the Neanderthal occupancy . While the rest of Europe was cooling , the area around Gibraltar back then resembled a European Serengeti . Leopards , hyenas , lynxes , wolves and bears lived among wild cattle , horses , deer , ibexes , oryxes and rhinos – all surrounded by olive trees and stone pines , with partridges and ducks overhead , tortoises in the underbrush and mussels , limpets and other shellfish in the waters . Clive Finlayson , evolutionary biologist at the Gibraltar Museum said " this natural richness of wildlife and plants in the nearby sandy plains , woodlands , shrublands , wetlands , cliffs and coastline probably helped the Neanderthals to persist . " Evidence at the cave shows the Neanderthals of Gibraltar likely used it as a shelter " for 100 , 000 years . " Cro - Magnon man took over Gibraltar around 24 , 000 BCE . Ancient . The Phoenicians are known to have visited the Rock circa 950 BC and named the Rock " " Calpe " " . The Carthaginians also visited . However , neither group appears to have settled permanently . Plato refers to Gibraltar as one of the Pillars of Hercules along with Jebel Musa or Monte Hacho on the other side of the Strait . The Romans visited Gibraltar , but no permanent settlement was established . Following the fall of the Roman Empire , Gibraltar was occupied by the Vandals and later the Goths kingdoms . The Vandals did not remain for long although the Visigoths remained on the Iberian peninsula from 414 to 711 . The Gibraltar area and the rest of the South Iberian Peninsula was part of the Byzantine Empire during the second part of the 6th century , later reverting to the Visigoth Kingdom . The War of the Spanish Succession . The Gibraltar capture . " ( There is a common discrepancy in the chronology between Spanish and British sources , the reason being that England still used the Julian calendar . By 1704 the Julian calendar was eleven days behind the Gregorian , and the siege thus began on 21 July according to the Julian . ) " During the rest of the war . Although nominally in the hands of the Archduke Charles , and garrisoned with both English and Dutch regiments , Britain began to monopolize the rule of the town . Even if the formal transfer of sovereignty would not take place until the signature of the Treaty of Utrecht , the British Governor and garrison become the " de facto " rulers of the town . British rule . Until the Peninsular Wars . Between 1713 and 1728 , there were seven occasions when British ministers was prepared to bargain Gibraltar away as part of his foreign policy . However , the Parliament frustrated always such attempts , echoing the public opinion in Britain . Second World War and after . The history of Gibraltar from the Second World War is characterized by two main elements : the increasing autonomy and self - government achieved by Gibraltarians and the re - emergence of the Spanish claim , especially during the years of the Francoist dictatorship . During World War II ( 1939 – 1945 ) the Rock was again turned into a fortress and the civilian residents of Gibraltar were evacuated . Initially , in May 1940 , 16 , 700 people went to French Morocco . However , after the French - German Armistice and the subsequent destruction of the French fleet at Mers - el - Kebir , Algeria by the British Navy in July 1940 , the French - Moroccan authorities asked all Gibraltarian evacuees to be removed . 12 , 000 went to Britain , while about 3 , 000 went to Madeira or Jamaica , with the rest moving to Spain or Tanger . Control of Gibraltar gave the Allied Powers control of the entry to the Mediterranean Sea ( the other side of the Strait being Spanish territory , and thus non - belligerent ) . The Rock was a key part of the Allied supply lines to Malta and North Africa and base of the British Navy Force H , and prior to the war the racecourse on the isthmus was converted into an airbase and a concrete runway constructed ( 1938 ) . The repatriation of the civilians started in 1944 and proceeded until 1951 , causing considerable suffering and frustration . However , most of the population had returned by 1946 .