| When
Gibraltar was taken by the British and Dutch in 1704, those
Spaniards who were living on the Rock were given the choice
of staying behind or leaving. |
| Apart
from a very few, the most of them, about 4000, decided to leave. |
| Some
of them went off to Castellar, Jimena and Los Barrios; others
went as far as Tarifa or even Ronda. The majority, however,
stayed with their leaders and settled around the nearby hermitage
dedicated to San Roque. |
| Among
their belongings they took with them the old banner of Gibraltar
and the Grant of Arms which had been given to them by Queen
Isabel and King Ferdinand in 1502. Read
more about this. |
| Slowly
a new town developed around the hermitage which was to be known
as "San Roque - the City of Gibraltar in Exile". |
| The
Arms of San Roque are very similar to those of Gibraltar itself. |
