Exploring Menorca’s Turbulent History

Menorca’s wonderful natural harbour and position on the Mediterranean Sea have attracted interest from many different people throughout the ages. Visitors have come from many different parts of the world, but in contrast to the welcome given to visitors taking a villa break on the island today, the earlier inhabitants were not always so well received.

Early History

The first visitors are thought to have come from mainland Spain and the eastern Mediterranean in the Prehistoric age. Remnants of their stay on the island can be visited as the island has many monuments and ruins from the prehistoric age. The strangest and perhaps most interesting of these are the taulas, which are T-shaped tables that were probably used for religious rituals. A lot of restoration has been taking place in recent years and today one of the most popular sites is the Naveta des Tudons, which is a bronze age burial chamber - when it was excavated in the 1950s it revealed 100 corpses. Many of the objects that have been recovered during excavations are on show at the Museu de Menorca, which should be on the itinerary of anyone taking a villa break with an interest in history. It has a wonderful collection of funerary objects, coins and pottery from this period and later ones.

In around 400 BC, Hannibal’s brother Magan came to the island to recruit the expert Balearic slingers, the honderos, who were then active during the Punic Wars. In 123 BC the Romans arrived and Quintus Caecilius Metellus conquered the island. A period of road building ensued and it was during this period that Christianity started to gain a foothold. In 903 AD the Moors captured the island, and during their time here they developed new irrigation techniques to improve agricultural production.

Later Occupants

In the 13th century, Southern Spain was recaptured from the Moors and returned to Christianity. In 1287 Alfons III conquered Menorca and Catalan became the official language. A period of economic stability ensued until the 16th century, when plague, poverty and clashes between the classes brought the island to a dark period in its history. In 1535 Barbarossa, a Turkish pirate, invaded Mahon and threw half the population into slavery; this was followed by another Turkish attack in 1558 when the city was virtually destroyed. During the 17th century the Bubonic Plague hit and crops were destroyed by swarms of locusts. It was during this upheaval the British started to have an influence on the island. British domination lasted from 1708 to 1756, when the Duke of Richelieu arrived with 20,000 French troops and, with the British offering little resistance, he took control of the island. The French ruled until 1763 when the island was returned to the British; it finally returned to Spanish rule in 1802.

Modern History

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) this tiny Balearic island was the last part of Spain to fall under Franco’s rule. His reprisals, including the banning of the Catalan language, were to make this a very troubled time in local history. In 1975 Spain returned to democracy. The first British charter flight landed on the island in 1953 and visitors arriving for a hotel or villa break have been flowing in ever since.

You can be sure of a warm welcome when you arrive in on this delightful island for a villa break. Nowadays, visitors come to enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunny climate unlike the visitors from previous centuries.

Brenda Jaaback is the Managing Director of Bartle Holidays. They can provide you with a wide selection of superb accommodation for your villa break on Menorca. Bartle Holidays makes no warranty as to the accuracy of information contained in this article and excludes any liability of any kind for the information.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.