French capture of British Menorca
"Fall of Minorca" and "Siege of Minorca" redirect here. For other uses, see
Invasion of Minorca
.
The
siege of Fort St Philip
, also known as the
siege of Minorca
, took place from 20 April to 29 June 1756 during the
Seven Years' War
. Ceded to
Great Britain
in 1714 by
Spain
following the
War of the Spanish Succession
, its capture by
France
threatened the British naval position in the Western Mediterranean and it was returned after the
Treaty of Paris (1763)
.
Background
[
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]
The Spanish island of
Menorca
was captured by the British in 1708 during the
War of the Spanish Succession
and along with
Gibraltar
ceded to
Great Britain
under the 1714
Treaty of Utrecht
. Although considered vital for control of the Western Mediterranean, it was also extremely vulnerable, since the Spanish deeply resented British occupation, while it was only two days sail from
Cadiz
, and one from the French naval base at
Toulon
.
Attempts by
William Blakeney
,
Lieutenant governor
of Menorca and commander of the garrison of
Fort St Philip
, to reduce local opposition by encouraging his troops to marry local women, and controlling Catholic schools and institutions proved unsuccessful.
A
Parliamentary
committee later set up to investigate the island's loss noted the poor state of its defences, with crumbling walls and rotten gun platforms, while over 35 senior officers were absent from their posts, including the governor of Fort St Philip, and the colonels of all four regiments in its garrison.
In addition, while Blakeney had a long and distinguished military career, by 1756 he was over 80 years old and suffering from
alcoholism
.
Aware of the island's vulnerability, the French hoped its capture would provide them with a bargaining chip to persuade
Ferdinand VI of Spain
to join the war as their ally. In the event this proved not to be the case, as Ferdinand remained neutral until his death in 1759.
Although the
Seven Years' War
did not formally begin until France declared war on Britain on 9 June 1756, at the beginning of the year
Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville
, then head of the
French naval ministry
, ordered the
Duke de Richelieu
to prepare an expeditionary force to take the island.
Siege
[
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]
Richelieu sailed from
Marseille
on 10 April with transports carrying 16,000 troops and escorted by seventeen naval vessels; he reached Menorca on 18 April, occupied most of the island and then on 8 May began to bombard St. Philip's Castle. Informed of Richelieu's preparations in mid March, Blakeney had substantially strengthened his fortifications but the presence of numerous non-combatants, including over 800 women and children, meant the garrison would quickly run short of supplies.
A squadron of the
Royal Navy
from
Gibraltar
under
Admiral John Byng
attempted to relieve the fort but withdrew after the largely indecisive
Battle of Minorca
on 20 May.
Although the engagement has been described as a "minor cannonade",
his retreat effectively sealed the fate of the garrison, and Blakeney surrendered on 29 June, two days after the besiegers captured several important outworks.
During the siege, the British garrison lost 59 killed and 149 wounded,
French casualties amounting to some 1,600 dead and 2,000 wounded.
Since Blakeney surrendered on terms, the surviving members of the garrison along with British civilians from the local administration, a total of 4,378 in all, were transported to Gibraltar in French ships, arriving there on 11 July.
In the inquiry that followed, Byng was condemned of failing "to do his utmost" and executed in March 1757 despite pleas for leniency, prompting French author
Voltaire
to later write that the English "shoot an admiral from time to time, to encourage the others".
[11]
Thomas Fowke
, Governor of Gibraltar, previously
court-martialled
but acquitted for his role in the 1746 defeat at
Prestonpans
, was also found guilty of not sending reinforcements early enough and dismissed.
In contrast, the popular press portrayed Blakeney as a hero, the heavy drinking that left him with "a paralytick disorder" and "nervous tremors" being portrayed as the virtues of a simple soldier.
His professional colleagues were far more critical; William Cunninghame, his chief engineer and deputy, strongly objected to the surrender, which he considered premature, and listed numerous deficiencies in the conduct of the defence.
Aftermath
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]
Hyacinthe Gaetan de Lannion
was appointed the first French
Governor of Menorca
. A British naval squadron led by
Sir Edward Hawke
sent out to replace Byng, arrived off Menorca shortly after the surrender. As Hawke did not have enough troops on board to land and mount a siege to retake the island he departed, cruising in the waters off Marseilles for three months before sailing home. He was later criticised for failing to mount a
blockade
of the island, which might have forced it to surrender through starvation.
The French held Menorca until the
Treaty of Paris (1763)
, when Britain exchanged it for the island of
Guadeloupe
. The Spanish
recaptured Menorca in 1781
during the 1779 to 1783
Anglo-Spanish War
and it was formally returned to them by Britain in the
Treaty of Paris (1783)
.
Order of battle
[
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]
British Army
[
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]
Land forces which formed part of the garrison included:
[15]
French Army
[
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]
The French invasion force consisted of:
[19]
[20]
Arriving later as reinforcements:
Notes
[
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]
References
[
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Debrett (1792).
History, Debates & Proceedings of Parliament 1743-1774; Volume III
. Debrett.
- Donaldson, David Whalom (1994).
Britain and Menorca in the 18th century; Volume 3
. Open University.
- Gregory, David Whalom (1990).
Minorca, the Illusory Prize; A History of the British Occupations of Minorca Between 1708 and 1802
. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
ISBN
978-0838633892
.
- Harding, Richard (2008). "Blakeney, William, Baron Blakeney".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/2591
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- McGuffie, T. H. (1950). "The Defence of Minorca 1756".
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
.
28
(115).
- McGuffie, T. H. (1951). "Some fresh light on the siege of Minorca, 1756".
History Today
.
1
(10).
- Pajol, Charles Pierre Victor (1888).
Les guerres sous Louis XV, vol. IV
(in French). Firmin Didot freres, fils et Cie.
- Pope, Dudley (1962).
At 12 Mr Byng was shot
(1987 ed.). Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd.
ISBN
978-0436377495
.
- Regan, Geoffrey (2000).
Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders
. Brassey's.
ISBN
978-1574882537
.
- Royle, Trevor (2016).
Culloden; Scotland's Last Battle and the Forging of the British Empire
. Little, Brown.
ISBN
978-1408704011
.
- Susane, Louis (1874).
Historie de la Cavalerie Francais
(in French). J. Hetzel et Cie.
- Susane, Louis (1851).
Historie de L'Ancienne Infanterie Francais
(in French). J. Correard.
- Susane, Louis (1876).
Historie de L'Artillerie Francais
(in French). J. Hetzel et Cie.
- Verge-Franceschi, Michel, ed. (2002).
Dictionnaire d'histoire maritime - H-Z, Volume II
(in French). editions Robert Laffont, coll. ≪ Bouquins ≫.
ISBN
978-2221097441
.
- Ward, Sir Adolphus William (1907).
The Cambridge Modern History, Volume VI
. Cambridge University Press.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Anderson, Fred (2000).
Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
. Faber and Faber.
- Browning, Reed (1975).
The Duke of Newcastle
. Yale University Press.
- Longmate, Norman (1993).
Island Fortress: The Defence of Great Britain, 1603-1945
. Harper Collins.
- McLynn, Frank (2005).
1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World
. Pimlico.
- Rodger, N. A. M. (2006).
Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815
. Penguin Books.
- Simms, Brendan (2008).
Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire
. Penguin Books.