This is an almost forgotten war in world events but has lasting consequences to this day. Gibraltar entered the British empire in 1704 during the war of the Spanish succession when the Royal Navy captured it from the Spanish. During its bombardment of the isthmus some 15,000 cannonballs were poured into it and when they had finished the navy, unsurprisingly just walked in. Under the treaty of Utrecht it was then ceded to the Brits. Over the centuries the strategically vital rock has come under the attention of a number of foes looking to take it for themselves but it has always prevailed and still remains under British rule to this day. It has been under some form of siege, to lesser or greater degrees since the treaty was signed but it's greatest siege lasted from 1779 to 1783.