Gibraltar Chronicle
Encyclopedia
The Gibraltar Chronicle is a national newspaper
published in Gibraltar
since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language
newspaper to have been in print continuously. Its editorial offices are at Watergate House, and the print works are in the New Harbours industrial estate.
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The Gibraltar Chronicle was born in direct relationship with the garrison. Casualty lists and news were slow in the 18th century and when five regiments from the Garrison of Gibraltar were promptly shipped to Egypt in 1801, the news was posted on a notice board in the Gibraltar Garrison Library
. It was soon decided that the information should be made available to the public. A bulletin headed, "Continuation of the INTELLIGENCE FROM EGYPT received by His Majesty's ship Flora in three weeks from Alexandria," was printed at the Garrison Library press on May 4, 1801 and sold by H. and T. Cowper. The report consisted of four pages, three of which were in English and French. The news of Nelson's victory at Copenhagen appeared on the fourth page as well as the names of officers who had died since they had landed in Egypt. The second edition was printed on May 8, 1801. The first editor was a Frenchman named Charles Bouisson, who had settled in Gibraltar in 1794.
The last of the Gibraltar Chronicle to be numbered in Roman numerals
was number 160 (CLX) of September 22, 1804. Publication then ceased for five months owing to the yellow fever
epidemic until number 161 appeared on March 23, 1804, and it afterwards continued to be published weekly in editions bearing Arabic numerals
.
The first 160 editions carried verbatim extracts from The London Gazette
, Spanish
, French
(in original or translation) and Russian
, Court papers, Parliamentary debate
s, and proclamation
s, military and naval dispatches, local regulations, rates of exchange
and reports culled from foreign newspapers. They carried few letters, advertisements or details of social occasions except those connected with the Royal Court and the activities of the members of the Garrison. Therefore, in those days, the Chronicle included little or no local content. The Chronicle was sold at a price of 1½ reals, and the readership was mostly made up of serving officials.
The Chronicle did not lose its military character until well into the twentieth century. It is currently owned by an independent local trust.
Five days after the Battle of Trafalgar
in October 1805, Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
sent news of the victory to Lieutenant Lapenotiere, commander of a small schooner Pickle, which was en route to England
. Prime Minister
, William Pitt
, and King George III
did not have news of the victory until the early hours of November 6, consequently delaying publication in The Times
until November 7. The British fleet had met with a fishing boat a day after the battle that brought a report to Gibraltar from Admiral Collingwood. The Gibraltar Chronicle published the news of the victory on October 23, in English
and French
, and included a letter from Admiral Collingwood to the Governor of Gibraltar
Henry Edward Fox, giving an account of the battle.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspaper to have been in print continuously. Its editorial offices are at Watergate House, and the print works are in the New Harbours industrial estate.
History
Garrison Library
The Garrison Library was founded in Gibraltar in 1793 by Colonel John Drinkwater Bethune and officially opened in 1804 by the Duke of Kent. The library served as the headquarters and archive service of the Gibraltar Chronicle, the world's second oldest English language newspaper...
. It was soon decided that the information should be made available to the public. A bulletin headed, "Continuation of the INTELLIGENCE FROM EGYPT received by His Majesty's ship Flora in three weeks from Alexandria," was printed at the Garrison Library press on May 4, 1801 and sold by H. and T. Cowper. The report consisted of four pages, three of which were in English and French. The news of Nelson's victory at Copenhagen appeared on the fourth page as well as the names of officers who had died since they had landed in Egypt. The second edition was printed on May 8, 1801. The first editor was a Frenchman named Charles Bouisson, who had settled in Gibraltar in 1794.
The last of the Gibraltar Chronicle to be numbered in Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
was number 160 (CLX) of September 22, 1804. Publication then ceased for five months owing to the yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic until number 161 appeared on March 23, 1804, and it afterwards continued to be published weekly in editions bearing Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
.
The first 160 editions carried verbatim extracts from The London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(in original or translation) and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Court papers, Parliamentary debate
Parliamentary Debate
Parliamentary Debate is an academic debate event. Many university level institutions in English speaking nations sponsor parliamentary debate teams, but the format is currently spreading to the high school level as well...
s, and proclamation
Proclamation
A proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
s, military and naval dispatches, local regulations, rates of exchange
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
and reports culled from foreign newspapers. They carried few letters, advertisements or details of social occasions except those connected with the Royal Court and the activities of the members of the Garrison. Therefore, in those days, the Chronicle included little or no local content. The Chronicle was sold at a price of 1½ reals, and the readership was mostly made up of serving officials.
The Chronicle did not lose its military character until well into the twentieth century. It is currently owned by an independent local trust.
News of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
in October 1805, Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
sent news of the victory to Lieutenant Lapenotiere, commander of a small schooner Pickle, which was en route to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, and King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
did not have news of the victory until the early hours of November 6, consequently delaying publication in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
until November 7. The British fleet had met with a fishing boat a day after the battle that brought a report to Gibraltar from Admiral Collingwood. The Gibraltar Chronicle published the news of the victory on October 23, in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and included a letter from Admiral Collingwood to the Governor of Gibraltar
Governor of Gibraltar
The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...
Henry Edward Fox, giving an account of the battle.
Archives
Only two complete ,or almost complete, sets of the Gibraltar Chronicle are known to exist and both are in Gibraltar. The Garrison Library holds a complete series from 1801 which includes the famous Trafalgar "scoop" edition. A near-complete set, from which only the first few years are missing, can be found at the Gibraltar Archives.See also
- Communications in GibraltarCommunications in GibraltarCommunications in Gibraltar comprise a wide range of telephony systems , Internet access, broadcasting and satellite control. There is also printed and online media...
- Francis Oliva