The Minister for Heritage John Cortes opened the XV International Conference of the Association of Latin American and Caribbean Historians (ADHILAC) held last week at the Sunborn Hotel.

The conference, titled ‘The history of mobility in the Atlantic and the Pacific: People, goods, ships, ideas, and routes between the continents and islands’, was organised by Prof Christian Cwik, Director of the International Centre for Atlantic History, and was attended by delegates from around the world.

Speakers at the official opening included ADHILAC President Jorge Enrique Elias Cato from Colombia, and Vice-Minister for Culture of the Republic of Venezuela Rosario Soto.

In his opening address, Minister Cortes highlighted Gibraltar’s strategic and cultural importance throughout the ages, for ancient civilisations including the Phoenicians, as a link with North Africa throughout their conquest of Iberia, and as a destination for traders and seafarers traversing the British Empire.

Minister Cortes welcomed the researchers and emphasised the importance of shedding light on the historic connections between Gibraltar and the Americas, particularly due to the emigration of Gibraltarian families to the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1920s, and the human stories that may be uncovered as a result.

The Minister for Heritage, the Hon Prof John Cortes, said: “This conference has brought international historians to Gibraltar and has increased awareness of Gibraltar and its history among researchers. As Gibraltarians, I know we are fascinated to learn about descendants of our compatriots who are now scattered across the globe. This contact with ADHILAC, which will continue, will add to our knowledge of our diaspora, and could well re-establish long-lost contact.”