Invasion of Minorca, 1781

Invasion of Minorca and Siege of Fort St. Philip (1781)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Key features of Minorca, 1781
Date 19 August 1781 – 5 February 1782 Location Minorca, Mediterranean Sea Result Franco-Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain  France	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Duke of Mahon	James Murray
Strength
~14,000	~3,000
Casualties and losses
184 dead, 380 wounded	59 dead (excluding disease), 149 wounded, 2,481 captured

The Franco-Spanish conquest of Minorca from its British defenders in February 1782, after the Siege of Fort St. Philip lasting over five months, was an important step in the achievement of Spain's aims in its alliance with France against Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The ultimate result was the ceding of the island to Spain in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

At the eastern end of the island of Minorca is the port of Mahón, one of the best deep-water anchorages in the Mediterranean Sea. For a naval power with no Mediterranean coast, possession of Minorca, therefore, was of major strategic advantage, and for most of the 18th century, Minorca was in the hands of the British. The narrow entrance to the port was guarded by a fort, known to the British as St. Philip's Castle, a translation of the original Spanish, el castillo de San Felipe, which (with two outlying fortlets, San Carlos and Marlborough) was massively strengthened after the unfortunate events of 1756, when Admiral John Byng judged the safety of his fleet more important than the possession of the fort, and was subsequently shot to encourage other admirals to take a more positive view of their duties. Although the French won that battle, they lost the Seven Years' War in 1763, and so Minorca was returned to Britain rather than France's ally Spain, to which the island was historically tied. The Spanish government renewed its alliance with France against Britain by means of the Treaty of Aranjuez (12 April 1779), with the recapture of Minorca as one of its main aims. Although secondary to the recapture of Gibraltar, Britain's other Mediterranean sea-fortress, removing Minorca from British control was important because it was home to a thriving fleet of privateers, licensed by the Governor, Lieutenant-General James Murray, to seize vessels which might be doing business with Britain's enemies.

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