History of Fornells
Menorca had long been a top priority for the British, who longed for commercial maritime control of the Mediterranean and needed a supply point for their ships. Menorca lent itself to this purpose, with two large natural harbours in its orography. The port of Mahón, considered at the time to be the best port in the western Mediterranean.
And the port of Fornells, which was not insignificant in size. When in 1708 the British, commanded by Sir Edward Whitaker, began their conquest of Menorca from the north, they found a small fishing village that barely put up any resistance to their advance: Fornells. The War of the Spanish Succession had divided the Spanish between the Bourbons and the Austracists, and the inhabitants of Menorca, most of whom were Aragonese and far from their homeland, had never been particularly sympathetic to the French candidate, so they welcomed the British with open arms.
The British consummated their advance by bombarding the only defensive point in the north of Menorca, the Castle of San Antonio, which had been completed barely 40 years earlier. Faced with incessant British cannon fire, the Franco-Spanish squadron occupying the position soon surrendered, and so the town that had grown up around it, Fornells, began a period of prosperity under British occupation.
In fact, the British never understood how the Spanish Empire had undervalued Fornells.
The British consummated their advance by bombarding the only defensive point in the north of Menorca, the Castle of San Antonio, which had been completed barely 40 years earlier. Faced with incessant British cannon fire, the Franco-Spanish squadron occupying the position soon surrendered, and so the town that had grown up around it, Fornells, began a period of prosperity under British occupation.
In fact, the British never understood how the Spanish Empire had undervalued and neglected a place as important for the control of the Mediterranean as Menorca. In order to preserve it at all costs, the British built a system of defensive towers all along the coast. One of these towers was built not far from the still smouldering ruins of the castle of San Antonio. A circular keep, with a rotating platform at its top, it could be defended with a small contingent and was capable of repelling any incursion into the bay of Fornells.
The Fornells Tower is one of the many defence towers that surround the coast of Menorca. The Fornells Tower was built between 1801 and 1802, during the last period of British domination, with the aim of guarding the entrance to the port of Fornells, preventing enemy ships from landing and protecting the Castle of San Antonio. It consists of four levels. A cistern dug into the subsoil and waterproofed with mortar.
A ground floor where weapons, ammunition and foodstuffs were stored. The first floor housed the garrison. The upper floor, which was the artillery platform, where there was a small furnace to heat the cannonballs until they were red-hot so that they would set fire to enemy ships. Under the parapet of this work of war engineering, the village of Fornells prospered until it became something similar to what we find today. Although the British soldiers were expelled from the island after the signing of the treaty, the British never left the island completely, one way or another.
But why did the British stay? The answer seems obvious: a mild climate, a privileged coastal relief... but also a unique gastronomy thanks to its abundant fishing.
