The British presence in Menorca lasted for almost the entire 18th century in three consecutive periods, from 1708 to 1802, the year the island was returned to the Spanish crown. From this era, a magnificent architectural legacy remains in the form of defensive military structures that dot the island’s coastline.
The island, also known as The Bloody Island, is in the middle of the Maó harbour, between Maó and Es Castell villages, where we find the old military hospital built by the British during their domination.
Fortress carved out of the bare rock by the English between 1710 and 1726 to defend the castle of Sant Felip, stands on the southern side of the entrance to Maó harbour, in the cove Cala de Sant Esteve.
Sant Felip Castle stands on the southern side of the entrance to Maó harbour. Over the course of successive British occupations the castle was extended until the Spanish siege in 1782.
A coastal defence tower built by the British in the early 19th century to guard the entrance to Fornells harbour and protect the nearby Sant Antoni Castle