Strait of Gibraltar

By James A. Oliver

Subjects: Algeciras, Morocco, Strait, Mediterranean, Greek, Spain, Phoenician, Phocaean, Tarifa, Gibraltar, Tangier

Description: Strait of Gibraltar: Non Plus Ultra End of the World: an investigation of the great waterway that inter-links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and forms the inter-continental divide between Europe and Africa across the legendary Pillars of Hercules. In this post-Cold War era of massive geo-political flux, the Strait is viewed as a ‘strategic asset’ for its shipping lanes: between the Atlantic as far as the Bosporus to the Black Sea; and via the transformative Suez Canal to the Red Sea and the Gulf, and beyond. The strait has, though, been a strategic waterway since the days of those early seafarers, the Phoenicians, who encouraged the myth that any vessel passing through the Strait would sail off the edge of the world. For the Romans of a later era this, too, was Non Plus Ultra. In this same way, the great and improbable human adventure is formed, and inevitably eclipsed, by the geo-graphical dimension: the prehistoric trans-migrations out of Africa, the outstanding achievements and titanic clashes of classical antiquity, the sea battles and world conflicts over the centuries since, and the geopolitical intrigues of the present era. The epic story of the Strait opens with its formation over five million years ago. The timeline established with End of the World, this investigation places the focus on: Sea of Antiquity and Early Exploration, Ancient Geographers and the Mapping of the Strait, Pillars of Hercules, and A World Waterway. Strait of Gibraltar aims to locate the identity of the waterway in its greater or global perspective for this early twenty first century.