History of Menorca

Menorca is, of the Balearic Islands, the most varied as far as history talks about. It has rest of the time pretalayótica, settler that disembarked in the island in the second millenium before Christ, of that conserve the shuttles (of great variety).
    Towards the 1400 before Christ disembarkation arrives the second from settlers who will constitute the talayótica culture, with rest as the caves of Are Seine fishing, Form, Calascoves (where we can still find, in the ceiling, the natural exit for the smoke of the homes of the most recent occupants) and Are Morell.
    Of later cultures we found rest of Phoenicians, Greek and cartaginenses (ceramic, bronze, amphoras, seals and currencies), who settled down in Menorca an important port of commerce in the Mediterranean.
    In the 123 before Christ the Romans arrived, who settled down themselves until year 902, leaving cultural the legacy more important.
    Finally, the island will be conquered by the Muslims, who happen to depend on the Califato of Cordova in year 903; in 1230 the inhabitants already pay to the tributes to the king Catalan-Aragonese Jaume I (in Majorca), and so the power of the Arabs is debilitated very.
    In 1287 recapture the island on the part of the Christians. The kingdom of Aragon, with king Alfonso III to the control, disembarks in the port of Mahón and puts in a corner to the Muslims in the Castle of Santa Àgueda, in Ferreries, where they will surrender. It is recovered the Christianity. In 1293 the island will happen to comprise of the Kingdom of Majorca. The territories of Menorca will be repopulated with the Christians who helped in the conquest, to those who #***a-refl mng earth to them. It gets to be an important commercial center by the production of wools, fabrics and ships.
    During century XVI (1535), with the monopoly of the commerce of America, the kings of Spain, more worried in the other side about the territory, leave neglecting the Mediterranean, being exhibited all danger. The Turks, with Barbarroja to the front, sack the city of Mahón, and in 1559 to Ciutadella (at this moment, in height of constructions of defensive towers, the castle of Sant Felip is constructed).
    Century XVII was a period of successive extreme hungers and droughts, followed of bad harvests, besides a plague that knocked down great part of the island between 1615 and 1652.
    In century XVIII there is an event that marks Menorca like different from the rest of the Balearic Islands: when dying king Carlos II in Spain without succession, had appointed like successor prince Felipe V, of the relative of the Bourbons (France). This fact left displeasures to the Hapsburg (Austria), governors until now. Corona of Castile, that supports the French king (with its possible fusion with France) initiates a civil war with the crown of Aragon, that supports to the Hapsburg. An unexpected end (the Hapsburg aspiring is appointed emperor of Germany, retiring of the aspiration to the reign of Spain), turns Felipe V into king, although for it must resign the future to French throne, making sure therefore the European powers the nonunion between these countries. In the 1713 the treaty of Utrecht is signed, in which, among others distributions, Spain will have to yield Menorca and Gibraltar to the British government. In spite of the commotion that this cause, is a time of great economic splendor for the island, since it allows him to enter “Europe”.
    His first governor, Richard Kane, was intelligent and the confidence of the Minorcan ones gained immediately: it ended the bandits, undid of the practices of the Inquisición, recovered old the Minorcan one straight. Also it made fix a way between Mahón and Ciutadella (that at the time was the best one to go from a place to another one) and favored the operation of the bovine cattle, that would be later the base of the menorquina economy.
    Throughout the century the British occupation, French and Spanish is alternated, without too much arriving rennet bag no from these governments.
    A small truce in 1802 between France and England (that followed in war) will be taken advantage of to sign the Treaty of Amiens, by which Menorca is given back definitively to the Spanish government.
    Menorca begins a process to recover to itself: language, customs and traditions. She is open to the problems that surround to him, several swelling of hunger will bring about the emigration of many Minorcan ones towards Algiers, or other countries of Africa, and even to the United States (still today we found signs of colonies of Minorcan emigrants in Florida).
    In 1854 of navigation for passengers is inaugurated regular forward edge. They begin with small factories of footwear, that they will become great industries with the export to Cuba, and the countries that collaborate in the two world wars.
    All this industry decays again at the beginning of century XX. The dictatorship in Spain will be a hard blow after the civil war (1939), when Frank it prohibits all language outside the Castilian, prohibiting in this case the Catalan in all scopes. The tourist development of years 1690 and 1970 does not arrive at Menorca, that with its economy based on agriculture, cattle ranch and industry, seems to autoabastecer itself.
    But it will not obtain that all their history disappears, since he is something that underlies in its earth. With the restoration of the democracy, it will be created in the Independent Communities self-government systems (city councils, Insular Consell, Govern of the Comunitat Autònoma next to the Consell of Majorca, Ibiza and Formentera). In 1983 the Insular Consell of Menorca is constituted, although his it soothes does not appear until the 2002. This Consell is located in Mahón. At local level, it coordinates the municipal services to assure the attendance and legal, economic and technical cooperation of the eight existing city councils in each municipality; at autonomic level, it exerts of intermediary between the competitions of the Balearics that are attributed to him (culture, sports, tourism, health, environment, highways…)
    Already in 1993, Menorca was declared Reserve of the Biosphere by UNESCO, and patrimony of the Humanity, with more of the 40 percent of the legally protected island, counting on a natural reserve and a marine reserve (It is Grau). All this makes that in the island we pruned to enjoy so much the beauty of its beaches and coasts, like of excursions, strolls on foot, horse, in boat… without forgetting the amount archaeological enclosures, caves or monuments, its popular celebrations, its history and traditions, its gastronomy… everything a legacy of millenia of history that make of Menorca an island with their own identity.

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