Gibraltarian people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gibraltarians Llanitos |
|---|
     |
| Some notable Gibraltarians: William Penney · Peter Caruana · Paul Isola Alfred Holmes · Joe Bossano |
| Total population |
|
27,967 (July 2007 est.)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
 Gibraltar
Significant populations also in: |
| Languages |
| English, Spanish Llanito |
| Religions |
| Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, other Christians, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese, Andalusian and British |
The Gibraltarians (also called Llanitos/as, Spanish: Gibraltareños/as) are a cultural group or nation[citation needed] from the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Gibraltarians are a racial and cultural fusion of the many European immigrants who came to the Rock of Gibraltar over three hundred years. They are the descendants of economic migrants that came to Gibraltar after the majority of the Spanish population left in 1704. The few Spaniards who remained in Gibraltar in August 1704 left in 1727 when Gibraltar was subjected to its first siege.
Genoese (who arrived to work for the garrison and later went on to form the basis of Gibraltar's civilian police force) and Catalans (who arrived in the fleet with Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, possibly some two hundred in all), became the core of Gibraltar's first civilian population under a Dutch flag, soon replaced by the flag of England. Jews from Tetouan in Morocco, who had previously been suppliers to the English territory of Tangier started supplying fresh produce to Gibraltar from 1704.
In 1728 the settlement of Jews in Gibraltar was such that by 1755 they formed 50% of the 1300 civilian population together with the Genoese. In 1888 the construction of the new harbour at Gibraltar started in order to provide an additional coaling station on the British routes to the East. This resulted in the importation of Maltese labour both to assist in its construction, and to replace striking Genoese labour in the old coaling lighter-based industry. Maltese, and Portuguese people formed the majority of this new population. Other groups include Minorcans (forced to leave their homes when Minorca was returned to Spain in 1802), Sardinians, Sicilians and other Italians, French, Germans, and the British.
Immigration from Spain and intermarriage with Spaniards from the surrounding Spanish towns was a constant feature of Gibraltar's history until General Francisco Franco closed the border with Gibraltar, cutting off many Gibraltarians from their relatives on the Spanish side of the frontier. The Spanish socialist government reopened the land frontier, but other restrictions remain in place.
[edit] Population
- See also: Demographics of Gibraltar
27,967 (July 2007 est.)[2]
Population growth rate: 0.91% (2000 est.)
[edit] Nationality
Gibraltarians are British, albeit with a distinct identity of their own.
noun: Gibraltarian(s) adjective: Gibraltar
Gibraltarian 83.22%, Other British 9.56%, Moroccan 3.50%, Spanish 1.19%, Other EU 1.00%, Other 1.54%. (2001 census)[3]
[edit] Ethnic groups
| Lists of Britons |
| by constituent country |
| English |
| Northern Irish |
| Scottish |
| Welsh |
| by ethnicity or nationality: |
| White European |
| Armenian | Cypriot | Croatian | French | German |
| Gibraltarian | Greek | Hungarian | Irish |
| Italian | Polish | Portuguese |
| Russian | Scandinavian | Serbian |
| Spanish | Turkish | Ukrainian | Swiss |
| White Other |
| American | Australian | Canadian |
| Australian | South African |
| South Asian |
| Bangladeshi | Indian |
| Pakistani | Sri Lankan |
| Black African and Caribbean |
| Antiguan | Barbadian | Dominican |
| Grenadian | Ghanaian | Guyanese |
| Jamaican | Kenyan |
| Nigerian | Saint Lucian |
| Trinidadian | Zimbabwean |
| Oriental |
| Burmese | Chinese |
| Filipino | Japanese |
| Singaporean | Thai |
| Arab |
| Iraqi | Moroccan | Yemeni |
| Latin American |
| Argentine | Brazilian | Chilean |
| Colombian | Cuban | Ecuadorian |
| Mexican | Peruvian |
| Other |
| Jewish | Iranian | Romani | Mixed Race |
Gibraltarian British (of mixed Genoese Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Andalusian Spanish descent), other British, Moroccan and Indian.
[edit] Religions
Roman Catholic 78.09%, Church of England 6.98%, Other Christian 3.21%, Muslim 4.01%, Jewish 2.12%, Hindu 1.79%, other or unspecified 0.94%, none 2.86% (2001 census)[4]
[edit] Languages
- See also: Languages of Gibraltar
English (used in schools and for official purposes) and Spanish are the main languages of Gibraltar. Most Gibraltarians converse in Llanito, an Andalusian Spanish based creole. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English as well as languages such as Maltese, Portuguese, Italian of the Genoese variety and Haketia. Among more educated Gibraltarians, it also typically involves code-switching to English. Arabic is spoken by the Moroccan community, just like Hindi and Sindhi is spoken by the Indian community of Gibraltar. Maltese is still spoken by some families of Maltese descent.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- List of Gibraltarians
- Gibraltarian status
- Demographics of Gibraltar
- History of Nationality in Gibraltar
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