The Ruins of Fort St. Barbara (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Ruínas del Fuerte de Santa Bárbara'') are the ruins of a fort located in

La Línea de la Concepción La Línea de la Concepción (), often referred to simply as La Línea, is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was declared ''

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

'' in 1994.

History

This fort was just one part of a whole line of defence known as the

Lines of Contravallation of Gibraltar The Lines of Contravallation of Gibraltar (Spanish: ''Línea de Contravalación de Gibraltar'' or ''Línea de Gibraltar''), known in English as the "Spanish Lines", were a set of fortifications built by the Spanish across the northern part of the ...

. This fortification was constructed by the Spanish after

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

was formally ceded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

after being captured by an

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

force in 1704. The agreement to cede the isthmus was part of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

and Spain gave Britain

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

and the right to sell slaves to Spanish colonies. As a result, a defensive line (hence ''La Línea'') was built at the north end of the isthmus joining the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

to Spain in order to keep the British from attacking or encroaching on Spain.Fuerte de Santa Bárbara
MonumentalNet, accessed February 2013 In a later bilateral agreement between Spain and the UK when they agreed mutual support against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, it was agreed that this defensive line would be destroyed. It was argued that this was necessary to prevent these fortifications from falling under French control. The main Spanish lines were destroyed by Colonel Sir Charles Holloway on 14 February 1810. Following the main explosion other towers were destroyed and volunteers took away the rubble. The ruins today are owned by the Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción. The ruins were declared a national cultural interest of Spain (''

'') in 1994.

References

Ruins in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cádiz Fortifications in Gibraltar La Línea de la Concepción {{Spain-castle-stub