In the early 14th century, the Spanish attempted (as they seem to quite frequently) to occupy Gibraltar. While ultimately the Gibraltarian military was able to fend off the woefully impotent Spaniards (official memos refer to the invading force as "Cute,") the attack revealed some of the inherent flaws in the Gibraltarian systems of governance, checks, balances, checks and balances, and balancing checkbooks.