When Menorca became British

In some of the Menorcan houses that populate the city of Mahón, the windows of the houses can be opened by a sliding system, from the bottom to the top. This is known as sash windows. A little further east, in the municipality of Es Castell, an old colonial house, now a hotel, christened Son Granot, stands in the purest English colonial style. During the celebrations of the patron saint’s festivities, one drink flows in abundance in the glasses of Menorcans and tourists alike: pomada. All of these, including the last one, are vestiges of British Menorca, as the island belonged to the British for more than 70 years.

The War of Succession: the beginning of the game

At the beginning of the 18th century, King Charles II of Spain, nicknamed ‘the Bewitched’ and the last monarch of the House of Habsburg, died without descendants. However, just before he died, he named his grand-nephew Philip of Bourbon as his successor, known as Philip V. Philip was also the nephew of King Louis XIV of France and Duke of Anjou.

The union of the two crowns, France and Spain, was seen by Britain, Portugal and Holland, as well as the Crown of Aragon, as a danger. These powers then supported another possible candidate for the European throne, one who came from the House of Habsburg: Charles III. Meanwhile, Castile and France remained on the side of Philip V, who was to become King of Spain in 1700. Thus began the War of Succession, a famous national and international war for the Spanish throne.

Menorca in the early 18th century

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometres away from the mainland, the Balearic Islands were ending a bittersweet 17th century. Sour because many of its citizens lived in misery. Sweet because the administrative laxity to which Castile had subjected them allowed a few to indulge in corruption. For the latter, life was certainly not bad.

However, when Philip V ascended to the throne, he tried to implement a centralist structure throughout the Spanish territories, as the historian José Luis Terrón Ponce points out in an article. This sudden concern for the islands did not please everyone, especially the privileged classes, who saw their unusual use of public money in danger. Moreover, according to the historian, ‘the secular appointment of a governor in the figure of a person born in the Crown of Aragon was broken and Diego Leonardo Dávila, born in the Crown of Castile, was appointed sole governor’, something that was not in the plans of Menorcan society at the time.

The British conquest of Menorca

In 1706, with the War of Succession at its midpoint, Mallorca fell into the hands of the House of Austria, the side of Archduke Charles. When the news reached Menorca, those supporters of Charles III, who were dissatisfied with the reign of Castile, came to show their support for him. However, Dávila put down the rebellion and then subjected the Menorcans to repression. All the pieces were now in place on the chessboard.

On 5 September 1708, the British made their move. The fleet of the English admiral John Leake, together with General Stanhope’s squadron from Mallorca, landed on the small island and conquered it. After the many conflicts and the bloody repression perpetrated by Dávila, the majority of the population welcomed the invaders with great joy. Menorca had just passed into British hands.

Thus, we reach the end of the war in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht. Terrón Ponce points out that, in the end, Great Britain ‘will be the great victor of this conflict in the international order’. Why? Because thanks to this treaty, Britain was not only able to put an end to the Spanish monopoly in the Americas, but also to take over the territories of Menorca and Gibraltar. In fact, Britain only agreed to recognise Philip V’s Spanish sovereignty after Louis XIV agreed to cede these two territories, which were of great strategic interest to him.

The British flag would fly over Menorca for 71 years from then on, interrupted only twice. Between 1756 and 1763 the island passed into French hands. Between 1782 and 1798 it was temporarily returned to Spain. In 1802, the Treaty of Amiens was signed. That treaty was the checkmate as far as the island of Minorca was concerned: since then, its sovereignty has resided in the Spanish state.

British Menorca

During those years of British rule, the British limited themselves to the effective occupation of the eastern part of Menorca. Their intention was really to use the island as their main naval base in the Mediterranean. Politically, the British did not interfere much. However, without the opposition of the Church and small sections of the population, the inhabitants were favoured by the occupation.

This was because Menorca was legally free from Bourbon centralism. On the other hand, the island’s own language continued to be the official and public language, the cultivation of trepadella and other forage plants was introduced, and the British fleet put an end to the incursions of the Barbary pirates. Livestock farming was also improved, with the number of cattle greatly increased. The British were also tolerant of non-Catholic beliefs such as Orthodoxy and Judaism, one of the issues that set them at odds with the Church.

Vestiges of British Menorca: gin and bastions

As mentioned at the beginning, some vestiges of those years of occupation remain on the small Balearic island. Apart from the sash windows and some English-style houses, the British built mainly military constructions. The camí d’en Kane, a path that crossed the island from east to west and became the main transport for more than a century, is worth mentioning. The British also built the Malborough fort, very close to Es Castell; the castle of San Felipe, of which only its underground tunnels remain; and the defensive towers of Fornells and Castellar.

However, one of the greatest contributions they left behind, or at least one of the most popular among their neighbours even today, is the pomada. In British Menorca, gin became a regular in the drinks of its inhabitants. Its consumption became so widespread in Mahón that the locals began to make their own. Thus, with a little lemon, pomada was born. In Menorca there is, in short, a certain British and gin aroma that goes unnoticed by many.