Minorca

Minorca

Native name: Menorca
Flag of Minorca
Location in the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands
Geography
Location	Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	39°58′N 4°05′E / 39.967°N 4.083°E / 39.967; 4.083Coordinates: 39°58′N 4°05′E / 39.967°N 4.083°E / 39.967; 4.083
Archipelago	Balearic Islands
Area	695.7 km2 (268.6 sq mi)
Highest elevation	358 m (1,175 ft)
Highest point	Monte Toro
Country
Spain
Autonomous Community	Balearic Islands
Province	Balearic Islands
Largest settlement	Maó, Spanish Mahón (pop. 29,321)
Demographics
Population	94,383 (as of 1 January 2010)
Density	135.67 /km2 (351.38 /sq mi)

Minorca (traditional English spelling) or Menorca (/mɪˈnɔːrkə/; Catalan: Menorca [məˈnɔrkə]; Spanish: Menorca [meˈnorka]; from Latin: Insula Minor, later Minorica "smaller island") is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca.

Minorca has a population of approximately 94,383 (2010). It is located 39°47' to 40°00'N, 3°52' to 4°24'E. Its highest point, called El Toro or Monte Toro, is 358 metres (1,175 feet) above sea level.

History

The island is known for its collection of megalithic stone monuments: navetes, taules and talaiots, which speak of a very early prehistoric human activity. Some of the earliest culture on Minorca was influenced by other Mediterranean cultures, including the Greek Minoans of ancient Crete (see also Gymnesian Islands). For example, the use of inverted plastered timber columns at Knossos is thought to have influenced early peoples of Minorca in imitating this practice.^[1]

The end of the Punic wars saw an increase in piracy in the western Mediterranean. The Roman occupation of Hispania had meant a growth of maritime trade between the Iberian and Italian peninsulas. Pirates took advantage of the strategic location of the Balearic Islands to raid Roman commerce, using both Minorca and Majorca as bases. In reaction to this, the Romans invaded Minorca. By 121 BC both islands were fully under Roman control, later being incorporated into the province of Hispania Citerior.

In 13 BC Roman emperor Augustus reorganised the provincial system and the Balearic Islands became part of the Tarraconensis imperial province. The ancient town of Mago was transformed from a Carthaginian town to a Roman town.^[2]

Jews of Minorca

Historic map of Minorca by Piri Reis

The island had a Jewish population.^[3] The Letter on the Conversion of the Jews by a 5th-century bishop named Severus tells of the forced conversion of the island's 540 Jewish men and women in AD 418.^[4] Several Jews, including Theodore, a rich representative Jew who stood high in the estimation of his coreligionists and of Christians alike, underwent baptism. The act of conversion brought about, within a previously peaceful coexisting community, the expulsion of the ruling Jewish elite into the bleak hinterlands, the burning of synagogues, and the gradual reinstatement of certain Jewish families after the forced acceptance of Christianity, allowing the survival of those Jewish families who had not already perished.^[3] Many Jews remained within the Jewish faith while outwardly professing Christian faith. Some of these Jews form part of the Xueta community.

When Minorca became a British possession in 1713, they actively encouraged the immigration of foreign non-Catholics, which included Jews who were not accepted by the predominantly Christian inhabitants. When the Jewish community in Mahon requested the use of a room as a synagogue, their request was refused and they were denounced by the clergy. In 1781, when Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, duc de Mahon invaded Minorca, he ordered all Jews to leave in four days. At that time, the Jewish community consisted of about 500 people and they were transported from Minorca in four Spanish ships to the port of Marseilles.^[5]

Middle Ages

The Vandals easily conquered the island in the 5th century. The Byzantine Empire recovered it in 534. Following the Moorish conquest of peninsular Spain, Minorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903 and given the Arabicized name of Manûrqa, with many Moors emigrating to the island. In 1231, after Christian forces reconquered Majorca, Minorca chose to become an independent Islamic state, albeit one tributary to King James I of Aragon. The island was ruled first by Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd Hakam al Qurashi (1234–1282), and following his death by his son, Abû 'Umar ibn Sa'îd (1282–1287). An Aragonese invasion, led by Alfonso III, came on 17 January 1287; its anniversary is now celebrated as Minorca's national day. Some of the Muslim inhabitants of the island were enslaved and sold in the slave markets of Ibiza, Valencia and Barcelona, while others became Christians.

Until 1344 the island was part of the Kingdom of Majorca, a vassal state of the Crown of Aragon. Aragon subsequently annexed the kingdom and was then absorbed itself into the unified Spanish crown. During the 16th century, Turkish naval attacks destroyed Mahon, and the then capital, Ciutadella, before Turkish settlement took place on some of the island. In Mahon, Barbary pirates from North Africa took considerable booty and as many as 6,000 slaves.^[6] Various Spanish kings, including Philip III and Philip IV, styled themselves "King of Minorca" as a subsidiary title.

18th century

Battle of Minorca, 1756

Invaded by Britain's Royal Navy in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, Minorca temporarily became a British possession. Britain took possession in 1713 under the terms of the Article XI of the Treaty of Utrecht. Under the governorship of General Richard Kane, this period saw the island's capital moved to Port Mahon, and a naval base established in that town's harbour.

During the Seven Years' War, France captured the island after the Siege of Fort St Philip (1756), following a failed British relief attempt. Thanks to the Treaty of Paris (1763), the British returned to the island again following Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War. During the American War of Independence, the British were defeated for a second time, in this instance by a combination of French and Spanish forces, which regained the island after a long siege of St. Philip's Castle in Port Mahon on 5 January 1782. As an expression of joy, Carlos III ordered the viceroys, captains general, governors and military commanders, on Epiphany's day, to bring together the garrisons and to extend his greetings to chiefs and army officials on the so-called Pascua Militar. The British ceded the island back to Spain the next year in the Treaty of Versailles. Minorca was invaded by the British once again in 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, but it was finally and permanently repossessed by Spain by the terms of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. The British influence can still be seen in local architecture with elements such as sash windows.

As with the rest of the Balearic Islands, Minorca was not occupied by the French during the Peninsular War, as it was successfully protected by the Royal Navy, this time allied to Spain.

Post-1900

During the Spanish Civil War, Minorca stayed loyal to the Republican Spanish Government, while the rest of the Balearic Islands supported the Nationalists. It did not see combat, except for aerial bombing by the Italians of Corpo Truppe Volontarie Air Force. Many Minorcans were also killed when taking part in a failed invasion of Majorca. Also some Majorcans and a priest were executed in Minorca during the Pedro Marqués Barber era (July–December 1936). After the Nationalist victory in the Battle of Minorca in February 1939, the British Navy assisted in a peaceful transfer of power in Minorca and the evacuation of some political refugees aboard HMS Devonshire.

In October 1993, Minorca was designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. In July 2005, the island's application to become the 25th member of the International Island Games Association was approved.

Climate

Culture

Port de Maó (Mahón)

The location of Minorca in the middle of the western Mediterranean was a staging point for the different cultures since prehistoric times. This Balearic Island has a mix of colonial and local architecture.

The festes take place throughout the summer in different towns around the island, and have their origins in the early 14th century.^[8] The international opera week and international organ festival in Mahon and, the summer music festival and Capella Davidica concerts in Ciutadella are the main events of the island.

Minorca’s cuisine is dominated by the Mediterranean diet which is known to be very healthy. While many of the locals have adopted modern attitudes they still uphold certain old traditions.^[9]

Traditional celebrations

Menorquín horse ridden by caixer at festes

Minorca is especially well known for its traditional summer fiestas, which intrigue many visitors. The 'Festes de Sant Joan' is held annually in Ciutadella, during 23–25 June. The festes lasts for three days. On the first day, a man bears a well-groomed sheep upon his shoulders and parades around the local streets. In the late evening, main streets are closed and bonfires held upon them.

On the second day, locally bred black horses are the star of the show, dressed up for the occasion with ribbons and rosettes. The riders, or "caixers", ride the horses through the streets and, along with a tumultuous crowd of people, encourage them to rear up on their hind legs. The brave can be found running underneath them as they do so.

The third day sees intense competition between the riders in a harmless form of jousting that involves spearing a suspended ring with a lance at considerable speed. The festes is brought to a close with a firework display.

Sports

As a small island, it is very seldom that there is a chance to see top level sport competitions in Minorca. In football, CF Sporting Mahonés managed to play in Segunda División B, the third level of the Spanish football league system, between 1987-1993 and between 2009–2012. In basketball, Menorca Bàsquet played in the Liga ACB, the first tier level men's professional basketball league in Spain, between 2005-2009 and in 2010/2011. Incidentally, both clubs dissolved in 2012 due to financial problems.

In the last years, some sport events that gather hundreds of participants are successfully held on a yearly basis, such as the triathlon race Extreme Man Menorca or the single-staged ultramarathon race Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls. In 2014 it was announced that the island would host the 18th editions of the Island Games in 2019.,^[10] however Menorca later pulled out of hosting the event, citing a change of government as the main reason.^[11]

Language

The two official languages are Catalan and Spanish.^[12] Natives to the island speak the variety of Catalan called Menorquí, and they typically speak Spanish fluently as a second language; many immigrants are monolingual in Spanish.

Between Menorquí and standard Catalan proper, as with most Balearic dialects, the most distinctive difference is the different word used for the article "the", where Menorquí uses "es" for masculine and "sa" for feminine. Menorquí thus shares the source of its article with many Sardinian varieties (masc. sing. su, fem sing. sa), rather than the standard Catalan "el" and "la", common to other Romance languages (e.g. Spanish el, la, Italian il, la), corresponding to a form which was historically used along the Costa Brava of Catalonia, from where it is supposed that the islands were repopulated after being conquered from the Moors. Menorquí also has a few English loan words dating back to the British occupation such as "grevi", "xumaquer", "boinder" and "xoc" taken from "gravy", "shoemaker", "bow window" and "chalk", respectively.

Food and drink

Bottle of Gin Xoriguer, the typical gin from Minorca. It is very often mixed with lemonade.

Wine production has been known on the island since ancient times, but it went in to a heavy decline over the last century. Now, several new, small wineries have started up, producing wines locally.^[13]

Lingering British influence is seen in the Minorcans' taste for gin, which during local festes honoring towns' patron saints is mixed with bitter lemon to make a golden liquid known as a Pomada. Also famous is Mahón cheese, a cheese typical of the island.

It is thought that mayonnaise was brought back to France from Mahon, Minorca, after Louis-François-Armand du Plessis de Richelieu's victory over the British at the city's port in 1756.

Sweets known as flaons are one of the typical gastronomic products of Minorca.

Wildlife

Flowers

Minorca is rich in wild flowers with over 900 species of flowering plants recorded. Many are those typical of the Mediterranean but some are endemic. There are 24 or 25 species of orchid found and of these most flower early in the year in late March, April and May.

Insects

Cleopatra, Algendar gorge.

30 species of butterflies have been recorded on Minorca and most are on the wing from March to late September. The species that occur include the Cleopatra, Lang's short tailed blue and the two-tailed pasha.
Despite not having many large wetlands dragonflies abound on Minorca. Seventeen species have been recorded including the emperor dragonfly.

• list of butterflies of Minorca
• list of dragonflies of Minorca

Reptiles and amphibians

Minorca does not have many species of reptiles or amphibians. There are three species of amphibia; green toad (Bufo viridis), marsh frog and stripeless tree frog (Hyla meridionalis). The common lizard seen all over the island is the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) although the Moroccan rock lizard (Scelaris perspicillata) also occurs. The Balearic endemic Lilford's wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) can be found on many of the offshore islands. Two species of gecko can be found on Minorca, the Moorish (Tarentola mauritanica) and the Turkish (Hemidactylus turcicus) also called the Mediterranean house gecko. Four species of snake occur: the viperine snake (Natrix maura); grass snake; false smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus) and the ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris).

Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is quite common and can be found all over the island. Two terrapin species are also found, the native European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis) and the introduced American red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta).

Birds

The birdlife of Minorca is very well known. Menorca is a well watched island which is on the migration route of many species and good number of passage migrants can be seen in spring. Residents include Audouin's gull, blue rock thrush and Thekla lark. booted eagle and red kite are easy to see as is Egyptian vulture in the right habitat. In summer there are bee-eaters and Minorca has major colonies of Cory's shearwater and Balearic shearwater.

Mammals

Minorca has no large native mammals. There are some small mammals including rabbits, rats, mice, pine martens and a subspecies of North African hedgehog.

Municipalities

municipal boundaries in Minorca

The major towns are Port Mahon and Ciutadella de Menorca. The island is administratively divided into eight municipalities (from west to east):

• Ciutadella de Menorca (or just Ciutadella locally) - the ancient capital of Minorca until 1722
• Ferreries
• Es Mercadal -
  • Fornells, which belongs to the municipality of Es Mercadal. Famous for its lobster stew.
• Es Migjorn Gran (or Es Mitjorn Gran) - hometown of Joan Riudavets.
• Alaior
  • Cala En Porter - a tourist and residential area
• Port Mahon (officially Maó in Catalan, Mahón in Spanish) - became the capital in 1722 during the British domination, thanks to its strategic natural harbour.
  • Llucmassanes - a small hamlet which belongs to the municipality of Maó.
  • Sant Climent, which belongs to the municipality of Maó.
• Es Castell - Founded by the British and originally named as Georgetown.
• Sant Lluís - Founded by the French and originally named Saint-Louis.

The areas and populations of the municipalities (according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Spain) are:

Gallery

• 

  Taula from the site of Talatí de Dalt about 4 km (2 mi) west of Maó.

• 

  Cales Coves of Minorca. Note the hand-hewn entrances to the caves.

• 

  Minorcan countryside

• 

  Cala Trebalúger

• 

  Martello tower, Alcaufar with Illa de l'aire lighthouse in the distance.

• 

  Cala Galdana

See also

• Gymnesian Islands
• Isla del Aire
• List of butterflies of Menorca
• List of dragonflies of Menorca
• Manûrqa
• Menorca Airport
• Menorca Sun
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Menorca

References

Further reading

• Burns, Robert I., (1990) "Muslims in the Thirteenth Century Realms of Aragon: Interaction and Reaction", p. 67, In: Powell, J.M. (ed.) Muslims under Latin Rule, 1100–1300, p. 57–102, Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05586-6.
• Hearl, G., (1996). A Birdwatchers guide to Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Arlequin Press. pp56. ISBN 1-900159-20-1
• Pons, G., (2000). Les papallones diurnes de les balears., pp87. Edicions Documenta Balear, Palma de Mallorca.
• Carlo Ginzburg, "The Conversion of the Jews of Minorca (A.D. 417–418)," in Idem, Threads and Traces: True False Fictive (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2011)
• Taylor, David Wilson (1975). Minorca. ISBN 0 7153 6787 0 (Great Britain) ISBN 0 8117 1032 7 (United States) First full account of Minorca in English since John Armstrong's memoirs of 1740.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Menorca.

• UNESCO's Menorca Biosphere Reserve

Municipalities in the Balearic Islands Majorca Alaró Alcúdia Algaida Andratx Ariany Artà Banyalbufar Binissalem Búger Bunyola Calvià Campanet Campos Capdepera Consell Costitx Deià Escorca Esporles Estellencs Felanitx Fornalutx Inca Lloret de Vistalegre Lloseta Llubí Llucmajor Manacor Mancor de la Vall Maria de la Salut Marratxí Montuïri Muro Palma Petra Sa Pobla Pollença Porreres Puigpunyent Ses Salines Sant Joan Sant Llorenç des Cardassar Santa Eugènia Santa Margalida Santa Maria del Camí Santanyí Selva Sencelles Sineu Sóller Son Servera Valldemossa Vilafranca de Bonany Minorca Alaior Es Castell Ciutadella de Menorca Ferreries Mahón Es Mercadal Es Migjorn Gran Sant Lluís Ibiza Ibiza Sant Antoni de Portmany Sant Joan de Labritja Sant Josep de sa Talaia Santa Eulària des Riu Formentera Formentera