During the 18th century Minorca was occupied mainly by the British, who were here from 1708-1756, when it was seised by the French, (1756-1763) when again it became under British rule until 1782, when it was taken by the Spanish, (1782-11798), and again taken by the British between 1798-1802, and finally given back to the Spanish in 1802 with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens.

During this time Minorca was the centre of strategic military importance, and for this reason there is an abundance of cartography in existence of the Island.

The British converted the port of Mahón to its main base in the Mediterranean, enlarging the castle of San Felipe, creating an Arsenal with its entire infastructure, including warehouses, workshops, shipyard and hospitals.

Port Mahón soon expanded commercially thanks to the protection of the British and the declaration of a free port, thus allowing the Muslim countries to trade all the European coasts. Minorca saw a huge increase of agriculture and all type of activities related to navigation, eg, the building of the navel base and a strong cultural dynamism (through people like Joan Ramos).

The vilage of San Felipe (S´Arraval) continued next to the castle. The British authorities authorised the amplification of the wharf to increase the castle in 1719, it was reconstructed after the French occupation in 1756, and eventually the village was rebuilt on its present site in 1771 and named Georgetown.

The pictures of views, plans and maps you are about to see are from this period of Minorca´s history and are for sale under licience from the TNA and the NMM of London, many of them have never been seen by the public before today.