Editing Mahón (section)

==History==
The name's origin is attributed to the Carthaginian general [[Mago Barca]], brother to [[Hannibal]], who is thought to have taken refuge there in 205&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tropasdemagon.com/en-blanco-c1iiz|title=Magon Barca|website=tropasdemagon|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805115854/https://www.tropasdemagon.com/en-blanco-c1iiz|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1G0zn-QVxsYC&q=Magon+Barca+Minorque&pg=PA74 | title=Historia antigua de Hispania| isbn=9788483381076| last1=Estallo| first1=Ignasi Garces| date=July 1999}}</ref> After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], it became part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]; it suffered raids from [[Vikings]] and [[Arabs]] until the Islamic [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] conquered it in 903.

Mahón was captured in 1287 from the [[Moors]] by [[Alfonso III of Aragon]] and incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Majorca]], a vassal kingdom of the [[Crown of Aragon]]. Its harbour, one of the most strategically important in the western Mediterranean, was refortified.

In 1535, the Ottomans, under [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]], attacked Mahón and took 600 captives as slaves back to [[Algiers]], in the [[Sack of Mahon]]. <ref>[https://www.menorca.org/es/historia-de-menorca/saqueos-turcos-menorca/ Los saqueos turcos de Menorca] (In Spanish)</ref>

[[File:Port Mahon 1890.jpg|thumb|left|250px|1890 map of Mahón and surrounding region]]

===British rule===
Menorca was [[Capture of Menorca (1708)|captured in 1708]] by a joint British–Dutch force on behalf of [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI]], during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. The British saw the island's potential as a naval base and sought to take full control. Its status as a British possession was confirmed by the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713. During the island's years as a [[British Empire|British dependency]], the capital was moved from [[Ciutadella de Menorca]] to Mahon, which then served as residence for the [[Governor of Menorca|governor]], the most famous being [[Richard Kane|General Richard Kane]]. During this period the natural harbour leading to the town and surrounding settlements were sometimes collectively known as "Port Mahon" (see adjacent map).<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTsgAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA251 Minorca]". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Volume 15. 8th edition. Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black, 1858. p. 251.</ref>

The island was lost to the French in 1756 following the naval [[Battle of Menorca (1756)|Battle of Menorca]] and the final [[Siege of Fort St Philip (1756)|Siege of Fort St Philip]], which took place several miles from the town. After their defeat in the [[Seven Years' War]], France returned the island to the British in 1763. In a joint Franco-Spanish effort and following a long [[Invasion of Menorca (1781)|five month invasion]], the British surrendered the island again in 1782; It was transferred to Spain in 1783 as part of the [[Peace of Paris (1783)|Peace of Paris]]. The British [[Capture of Menorca (1798)|recaptured the island]] in 1798, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. The British and the French tried (and failed) to end their hostilities with the [[Treaty of Amiens]] in 1802. Both nations agreed to cede or withdraw from certain territories, with the island of Menorca passing to the Spanish, with whom it has remained since.

====The Royal Navy====
{{Main|Port Mahon Dockyard}}
A small but important [[Royal Navy Dockyard]] was established by the British on the north side of the harbour, opposite the town, in 1715.<ref name=Coad2013>{{cite book|last1=Coad|first1=Jonathan|title=Support for the Fleet: Architecture and Engineering of the Royal Navy's Bases, 1700–1914|date=2013|publisher=English Heritage|location=Swindon}}</ref> It served as the Royal Navy's principal Mediterranean base for much of the 18th century, and remains in use today as a [[Spanish Navy|Spanish Naval]] station. Several Dockyard buildings, dating from the 1760s, can still be seen on Illa Pinto (formerly known as Saffron Island) including a Naval Storehouse with clock tower.  There recently have been moves to establish a maritime museum here.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://retedigital.com/wp-content/themes/rete/pdfs/portus/Portus_23/la_estación_naval_de_port.pdf|title=Information booklet (bilingual Spanish/English)}}</ref> The island has a distinctive octagonal shape, formed when wharves were constructed around it in the 1760s to enable several warships to be [[Careening|careened]] there all at once.

The ruins of a former [[Royal Naval Hospital]], founded in 1711, stand on another nearby island ([[Illa del Rei]]). They recently have been restored.<ref name=Coad2013 /> Hauser & Wirth has established a gallery on the island. <ref>��Minder, Raphael; Reyburn, Scott (26 July 2021). "Art Meets Luxury Lifestyle at a Gallery's Sunny New Location". New York Times. Vol. 170, no. 59131. p. C6. ISSN 0362-4331</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
File:S'Arsenal, illa des Gegants o d'en Pintot (Maó).JPG|Naval storehouse and [[careening]] wharf on Illa Pinto
File:IllaDelRei.jpg|The ruined Naval Hospital in 2008
File:Illa del Rei, Mao 2011.jpg|and in 2011, following restoration
</gallery>

===20th century===
During the [[Spanish Civil War]], the island remained loyal to the Republic, but [[Battle of Menorca (1939)|was captured by the Nationalists]] in 1939. During [[Battle of Minorca (1939)|the battle]] to capture the islands from the republicans, Mahón was bombed by [[Francisco Franco]]'s Nationalist bomber planes, with support from [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Italian Fascist government.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historia |url=http://www.excursionesmenorca.com/Sobre-Menorca/historia.html |website=Excursiones Menorca}}</ref>

General Franco visited the city on 11 May 1960 to open a new [[thermal power station]]. The event was used by the authorities to further promote [[Francoist Spain]].{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

===Modern era===
[[File:Mahon-Altstadt.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Historic centre of Mahón]]
Today it serves as the seat of the Island Council of Menorca (''Consell Insular de Menorca'').

Towards the end of the 20th century, the renovation of its historic centre was made possible by income from tourism.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

A traditional cheese made on the island (''[[Mahón cheese]]'') is named after the city. In Spanish ''mahón'' is also the name of [[nankeen]], especially the blue cloth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nanquín |url=http://www.enciclonet.com/articulo/nanquin/ |website=Enciclonet 3.0 |access-date=21 December 2020}}</ref>
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