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Minorca2

  (mĭ-nôr') pronunciation
n.

A domestic fowl of a breed originating in the Mediterranean region and having white or black plumage.

[After MINORCA1.]


 
 
Dictionary: Mi·nor·ca1  (mĭ-nôrkə, mĕ-nôr')

A Spanish island in the Balearics of the western Mediterranean Sea. Held by the British and the French at various times during the 18th century, it was a Loyalist stronghold in the Spanish Civil War.

Minorcan Mi·nor'can adj. & n.

 

 

Minorca is a Balearic island of strategic importance, with Port Mahon a fine harbour. It was taken by the British in 1708. At the outbreak of the Seven Years War in 1756, Admiral Byng's failure to prevent the French from capturing it brought down Newcastle's ministry and led to his own execution. It was returned to Britain again in 1763 by the treaty of Paris. Lost to a combined French and Spanish force in 1782 it was ceded to Spain in 1783, and though the British once more took the island in 1798, it was given back to Spain at the peace of Amiens in 1802.

 
(mĭnôr') , Span. Menorca, Spanish island (1991 pop. 65,109), 271 sq mi (702 km), Baleares prov., in the W Mediterranean Sea, the second largest of the Balearic Islands. Port Mahón is the chief city and port. The terrain is mostly low but has a hilly center. Cereals, wine, olive oil, and flax are the chief products. Much of the agriculture is irrigated. Lobster fishing, the export of livestock, and local light industries add to the economy. Tourism is also important. A great number of megalithic monuments exist on the island. Minorca shared the history of the other Balearic Islands until 1708, when it was occupied by the English during the War of the Spanish Succession. England retained it until the Seven Years War, when it was seized by the French. The Treaty of Paris (1763) restored Minorca to Britain, but the French and Spanish again seized it (1782) in the American Revolution. In 1798, in the French Revolutionary Wars, England regained control; the Peace of Amiens (1802) awarded Minorca to Spain. The island still has a somewhat British flavor.


 

A lightweight, black breed of egglaying fowl with a large, erect, single comb, and black legs; it lays a bright, white-shelled egg.


 
Wikipedia: Minorca
Minorca
Flag of Minorca
Flag of Minorca
Geography
Localització_de_Menorca_respecte_les_Illes_Balears.svg
Location Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates Coordinates: 39°58′N, 4°05′E
Archipelago Balearic Islands
Area 694.39 km²
Highest point Monte Toro 358 m
Administration
Flag of Spain Spain
Autonomous Community Balearic Islands
Province Balearic Islands
Largest city Maó (27,468)
Demographics
Population 88,434 (as of 2006)
Density 127.4 /km²
This is a taula from the site of Talatì de Dalt about 4km west of Maó
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This is a taula from the site of Talatì de Dalt about 4km west of Maó

Minorca (Menorca both in Catalan and Spanish; from Latin Balearis 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 belongs to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than nearby island of Majorca. Minorca has a population of approximately 88,000. It is located around 39°47' to 40°00'N, 3°52' to 4°24'E. Its highest point, called Monte Toro, is 358 m/1174 ft above sea level.

History

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

The island is known for it large collection of megalithic stone monuments: navetes, taules, and talaiots, which speak of a very early prehistoric human activity.

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 sent an army to the islands in order to put an end to such activities. By 121 BC both islands were fully under Roman control, later being incorporated into the province of Hispania Citerior. In 13 BC Caesar Augustus reorganized the provincial system and the Balearic Islands became part of the Tarraconensis imperial province.

The Letter on the Conversion of the Jews by a fifth century bishop named Severus tells of the conversion of the island's Jewish community in AD 418. Vandals conquered it on the 5th century. Following the Moorish conquest of peninsular Spain, Minorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903 and given the Arabicized name of Manûrqa. In 1231, after Christian forces reconquered Majorca, Minorca became 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 (12341282), and following his death by his son, Abû 'Umar ibn Sa'îd (1282–1287). An Aragonese invasion, led by Alfonso III came on January 17, 1287, now celebrated as Minorca's national day. Most of the Muslim inhabitants of the island were enslaved and sold in the slave markets of Ibiza, Valencia and Barcelona. Until 1344 the island was part of the Kingdom of Majorca, also an Aragonese vassal state, which was itself annexed to Aragon, and subsequently to the unified kingdom of Spain. During the 16th century, Turkish naval attacks destroyed Maó, and the then capital, Ciutadella.

Captured by the British navy in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, Minorca became a British possession. This period saw the island's capital moved to Maó, and a naval base established in that town's harbor. During the Seven Years' War, however, the failure of a British naval squadron to lift a French siege of Minorca on May 20, 1756 later led to the court-martial and execution of Admiral John Byng. This naval engagement, the Battle of Minorca, represented the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in the European theatre. Despite this defeat, British resistance persisted at Maó, but the garrison was forced to capitulate under honourable terms, including free passage back to Britain, on June 29 of that same year. The Treaty of Paris (1763), however, saw British rule restored, since Britain and its allies largely prevailed in the war. During the American Revolutionary War, the British were defeated for a second time, in this instance by a combination of French and Spanish forces, which captured the island on February 5, 1782. Minorca was recovered by the British once again in 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, but it was finally and permanently ceded to Spain by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. The British influence can still be seen in local architecture with elements such as sash windows.

Minorcan countryside
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Minorcan countryside
Cala Galdana
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Cala Galdana

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. After the Nationalist victory in 1939, the British navy assisted in a peaceful transfer of power in Minorca and the evacuation of some political refugees.

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.

Language

Most locals are bilingual in Spanish and the dialect of Catalan called Menorquí. Between Menorquí and 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, Catalan uses "el" and "la", a form which was historically used along the Costa Brava of Catalonia, from where 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" or "xoc" taken from "gravy", "shoemaker", "bow window" and "chalk", respectively.

Food and drink

Lingering British influence is seen in the Minorcans' taste for gin, which during the local festes (holidays dedicated to a town's patron saint), the islanders mix with bitter lemon to make the popular Pomada. Also famous is Formatge de Maó, a cheese typical of the island.

Municipalities

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

References in popular culture

  • Minorca is where Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin first meet in the Patrick O'Brian novel Master and Commander, the first in his Aubrey/Maturin series.

See also

References

  • 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 0-6910-5586-6

External links

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
British History. A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. The Veterinary Dictionary. Copyright © 2007 by Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Minorca" Read more

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