Little idea I had today. Thoughts? (In particular, does anyone know what Coat of Arms Minorca had under British rule? Trying to imagine what the flag would look like.)
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To the British mind today, “Minorca” most likely brings to mind images of pristine beaches and old Spanish and Georgian-style mansions, and indeed, to the thousands of Britons who will go there for holiday this year, it has much to offer. Sometimes, however, it is worth taking a step back and remembering Minorca’s long history, forged over three centuries of strife and empire.
Minorca’s history as a separate nation from Spain begins with the island’s capture by Britain during the war of Spanish Succession in 1708. Under governor Richard Kane, Britain expanded the harbor at Mahon, which replaced the old capital, Ciudadela, as the island’s main city. Spain would recapture Minorca in 1756, but it was returned in the Treaty of Paris and has remained British ever since, holding firm against a Spanish invasion in 1782 [POD: The Spanish IOTL managed to recapture Minorca that year] and attempts by the Spanish and French during the Napoleonic wars. After 1783, Britain undertook a large-scale expansion of Minorca’s fortifications, and even today, the looming watchtowers and shore batteries-alongside their more modern counterparts-testify to the value that the crown put in its far-flung possession.
During the 19th century, the British imposed minimal restrictions on Minorcan trade, and Port Mahon became something of an entrepot. The era’s prosperity is visible today in a stroll down the streets of old Port Mahon, with Victorian British and Belle Epoque-era Spanish architecture standing side by side. During the later part of the 19th century, the British began to encourage the use of English in Minorca’s government and education, and gradually it replaced Spanish as the island’s main language of prestige-a fact confirmed in the 1924 law which stripped Spanish of its official status, replacing it with English and Catalan (the language spoken natively by the islanders).
After Franco’s victory in Spain in 1939, many anti-fascist Spaniards, especially Catalans, fled to Minorca. During World War II, the island, heavily fortified by Britain, withstood almost two years of constant bombing, and intermitant blockades and naval bombardments, by the forces of Nazi Germany. Germany had hinted that Franco could have the island if he agreed to enter into the war against Britain, and Britain was determined to deny Hitler this little bargaining chip. The Minorcans, for their part, strongly resisted the imposition of Nazi or Francoist rule, ultimately becoming (along with Malta) one of only two nations to be collectively awarded the Cross of Saint George for their courage and persarvierence under the often harsh circumstances of the “Sixth Siege of Minorca”. During the latter part of the war, Minorca would serve as an important base for RAF bombing missions, and was one of the staging points for Operation Dragoon, Britain’s 1944 invasion of southern France.
Post-war, Britain granted Minorca dominion status in 1964, and the island became a favorite refuge for Spaniards fleeing Franco’s dictatorship (these were often of intellectual and artistic persuasions, and gave some areas of Port Mahon a rather Bohemian quality). Most of the exiles, however, relocated back to their homeland following Franco’s death in 1975. Today, Minorca is most famous for tourism, with tens of thousands of Britons and Americans vacationing there every year. Virtually all of the native population speaks Catalan, though English remains a major language of business, government, and higher education, understood by almost all of the islanders.