The story is set in Gibraltar. A Spanish man named Gil Braltar dresses up as a barbary macaque and becomes leader of a group of barbary macaques living there. He incites attack on a fortress in Gibraltar. The attack, initially successful, is foiled by a British general. This general is so ugly that the monkeys believe he was one of them and obey him when he leads them out. Verne's conclusion is that in the future only the ugliest generals will be sent to Gibraltar to keep the territory in British hands.[citation needed]
