Minorca (Menorca both in Catalan and Spanish and increasingly in English usage; from Latin insula minor, later Minorica "minor island") is one of the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears Catalan official name, Islas Baleares in Spanish), located in the Mediterranean Sea, and belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than nearby island of Majorca. The island has a population of approximately 82,000.

The local dialect of Catalan is called Menorquí: it uses "es" for masculine "the" where Catalan uses "els" and Spanish "el". It also has some English loan words dating back to the British occupation such as "grevi" taken from "gravy".

Minorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903. The island was conquered by Alfons III of Aragon on January 17, 1287, Minorca's national day, and until 1344 was part of the Kingdom of Majorca, before being annexed to Aragon and thus becoming later part of Spain. During the 16th century, Turkish naval attacks destroyed Mahon and the then capital Ciutadella .

Captured by the British navy in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, it became for some 70 years a British dependency (and Mahon harbour a Mediterranean naval base) in the 18th century. The capital was moved to Mahon. The British influence can be seen in local architecture with elements such as sash windows.

During the Seven Years' War, the failure to relieve a French siege of Minorca in 1756 led to the execution of Admiral John Byng. It was restored to British control by the Treaty of Paris (1763). During the American Revolutionary War, Spanish and French forces defeated British forces and captured the island on February 5, 1782, but it was recovered by the British in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was finally and permanently ceded to Spain by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802; one story is that Nelson preferred to hold a base at Malta so as to be closer to Emma Hamilton in Naples.

In the Spanish Civil War, Minorca supported the Republicans, while Majorca supported the Nationalists. It did not see combat, and when the Nationalists won in 1939, the British navy assisted a peaceful transfer of power in Minorca and the evacuation of some political refugees.

The island had applied membership for the International Island Games Association to be the 25th member. The chairman of the International Island Games Association Executive, Bo Frykenstam, and his vice-chairman, Brian Partington, have received an invitation from Presidenta del Consell Insular de Menorca to visit the Island between January 19-23, 2005. There, they will meet political representatives as well as those from sports federations, potential sponsors and the media. There will also be an opportunity of viewing the Island’s sports facilities.

Famous megalithic stone monuments: navetes, taulas, and talaiots.

See also: sobrassada (typical sausage with paprika), gin (strong liquor, a vestige of the British period), Maó cheese (original cheese of the island).

The major towns are Ciutadella and Maó. The island is administratively divided into these municipalities:

• Alaior
• Es Castell (Spanish Villacarlos)
• Ciutadella (Spanish Ciudadela), previously the capital of Minorca
• Ferreries
• Mahon, the capital of Minorca and the city from which mayonnaise gets its name (Menorquín Maó, Spanish Mahón), became the capital because of its deep-water harbour
• Es Mercadal
• Es Migjorn Gran or Es Mitjorn Gran (Spanish Sant Cristóbal but now little used) hometown of Joan Riudavets
• Sant Lluís

External links

• Island government of Minorca
• Virtual tour through Es Mercadal

External link

• Menorca Information.

• Idò!: Web directory of Menorca.