Zeeslag bij Gibraltar, 1705 1707 - 1720

Pieter Schenk created this print titled "Zeeslag bij Gibraltar, 1705," which translates to "Naval Battle of Gibraltar, 1705." Created during a time of European conflict, this image captures a moment in the War of the Spanish Succession. It illustrates the complexities of power, territory, and identity. Gibraltar, as depicted here, was a strategic point of contention, a place where the ambitions of empires clashed. The sea, far from being a neutral space, becomes a theater of war, filled with ships representing different nations vying for dominance. Schenk's print invites us to consider the human stories embedded within these grand narratives of war, and the countless lives touched and altered by these battles. How might the experience of a sailor, or the perspective of a resident of Gibraltar, differ from the dominant, heroic accounts of war?