ISLA DEL REY – Privateers of Menorca

 Excerpt from Issue 370 – Spring 2025

By BEVERLEY WARD

Throughout the winter months, we have enjoyed the peace and quiet to continue our restoration work on Isla del Rey, with local visitors and a few French and English coming to investigate our activities at the Hospital. As I write, work is progressing on the jetty where we are returning it to its original size and thus providing suitable space for both the catamaran and the zodiac transport, bearing in mind there were some 79,000 visitors last year to the island.

Our visitors encourage and motivate us to carry on our work and over the years we have received many awards, but recently we were recognised not only locally by the newspaper “Diario Menorca” in their annual awards, but also we were delighted to be noticed by national and European organisations. Queen Sofia presented the awards to our President, General Luis Alejandre in Madrid for the Creative Europe and for European Patrimony.

The season for Hauser & Wirth will be inaugurated on 10th May and open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday in the low season, and of course our guided tours will also be available on those days as well as the usual early Sunday morning visit together with volunteers. The yellow catamaran will provide transport from the time of the gallery being open to the public.

THE MENORCAN CORSAIRS

The first floor of the old British hospital is where we have set up the Interpretation Centre for the harbour of Mahón, telling the many stories of different occupations and developments over the centuries up to the present day. One of the most recent rooms being finished caught my attention as it tells the story of the Corsairs or Privateers of Menorca. It’s a well-known fact that Menorca benefited economically from this system of what was in fact legalised piracy. I felt inspired to investigate a bit more – and found there is plenty of information available. So, here’s a quick summary of these boats and their activities.

There were times both before and after the British presence when corsairs were active but never more so than during the second British occupation, during the time of Sir James Murray as Governor of Menorca. In 1778 there were some 700 sailors on the island as well as 450 fishermen living in considerable poverty when King George III authorised ships to be armed to be used against the French. (The French, it must be added, had been capturing Menorcan merchant ships). Just 2 days later the preparation of local boats started and on 17 September the first of these Menorcan corsairs, the “Tartar”, set sail from Ciutadella, captained by Joan Caymaris.

It’s important to clarify the difference between corsairs and pirates. According to the “Reial Academia Espanola de la Lengua” a Corsair is a merchant ship with a patent from the Government to pursue pirates or enemy boats.

A pirate is carrying out criminal acts against property by boarding shops to rob and acting mercilessly and cruelly. That is to say that the intention of the Corsair was not to destroy or damage ships but to capture the ship with the least damage to the boat, cargo and crew. Once declared a valid capture, all would be sold for the benefit of crew and investors. The boats were often over-armed to intimidate the enemy and achieve a surrender, but the enemy ship typically tried to escape. For this reason, the boats of the corsairs were usually small and fast, able to manoeuvre quickly, anything from 22 to 66 metres long with 2 or 3 masts of lateen sails. The crew could number approximately 50 sailors. Only 14 of the 100 or more boats registered at this time carried more than 100 crew who were for the most part Menorcan seamen. Only during certain periods did they include immigrants and prisoners. The cannons they carried were anything from 4-24 pounds and they additionally used pieces of bronze and iron which could be used to shoot at the enemy ship without causing serious damage to the hull. Seventy-five per cent of the corsair boats were based in Mahón harbour, from where they would travel around the western Mediterranean as far as North Africa or Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. Only occasionally would they venture out to the Atlantic and Baltic or North Sea.

An agent would be appointed to take charge of all the bureaucracy for the documents needed for the validation of the captures by a special court, and their subsequent sale including the cargo etc. The agent would be responsible for the investors who were mostly middle and upper class Menorcans and all would be properly registered with a notary (It is said that even the nuns of Mahón took part in this lucrative investment). The captain and crew of the ship would receive 50% of the benefit. There were inevitably risks involved of being at sea for often long periods, facing battles and challenging maritime conditions and sometimes the captured ships would not be validated as enemies, and their efforts were all in vain.

However, some had notable success. To give you just one example, the “General Murray”, a berganti (brig) carrying 90 crew and two cannons, received a total benefit of 32,800 pieces of eight after capturing a French ship transporting wool and cereals to Tripoli. Interestingly, this same ship was later the first to spot the approaching French frigates and warned of the arrival of the Duke of Crillon just two days before they landed in Cala Mezquida. It then sought shelter below the walls of San Felipe but was intentionally blown up by the British troops and used to block the entrance of Mahón harbour.

Menorca most definitely benefited from the corsairs; up to 15 % of the population were involved as well as related work such as carpentry and naval construction. The cereal trade increased and all went well until 1820 when the Spanish government prohibited importing grain and that signified the beginning of the end of their activity. Merchant boats were also better protected, and more often under a neutral flag so of less interest to the Spanish Authorities. Finally, the king ordered all corsairs to down arms or be considered pirates. They all did so, as the risk of being declared a criminal was too great.

So, there you have it! Just a few snippets from all the information about the Corsairs of Menorca. If this has whetted your appetite for a visit to the hospital and the Interpretation Centre, you can come over any Sunday throughout the year, when we have visits in Spanish, English and French during the work time of the volunteers. In April we depart from the jetty of Calle Fontanillas in Es Castell at 08.30, back approx. 11.30. Donations welcome. From 14th May, we start on the low season and there will be hourly transport on the Yellow Catamarans during the day, and you can have a guided tour in English on Thursday mornings (in addition to our Sundaymornings).

Bookings can be made on the website of the catamarans
(https://www.yellowcatamarans.com/en/kings-island) or on our website:
https://www.islahospitalmenorca.org/en/home/?v=073cc70932ad