Historically, Gibraltar has not always been a British Territory. In 1704, The Grand Alliance ( made up of England, Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, and other smaller European nations) captured Gibraltar during the War of Spanish Succession. The War of Spanish Succession decided who would become the newest King of Spain after Charles II died without an heir. Spain and France backed King Louis XIV of France’s grandson, Philip, to take over as king. The rest of Europe’s royalty was mainly from the Hapsburg family. They did not like another family potentially gaining more power in Europe, and feared the growing power of the French. This led to the formation of the Grand Alliance which had the goals of placing King Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empires
