El Tractat d'Utrecht

At the beginning of the 18th century, Minorca was a strategically valuable but economically modest island. Its central position in the western Mediterranean —equidistant from the Spanish, French and Italian coasts— made it a first-rate maritime control point.

The island economy rested on three pillars: sheep and cattle farming in the interior, fishing and coastal trade in the ports of Mahón and Ciudadela, and a local craft industry specialising in leather and footwear that already had external reach.

Minorcan social structure

Society was divided between the landowning aristocracy of Ciudadela —the traditional capital— and the mercantile bourgeoisie of Mahón and the eastern ports. This tension between the two poles of the island is one of the game's narrative axes.

On 13 July 1713, Spain ceded Minorca to Great Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht. It was the conclusion of a decade-long European war that had remapped the entire continent. For Minorca, it meant joining the world's foremost commercial empire.

The British quickly grasped the strategic potential of Mahón harbour. Unlike Gibraltar —a military stronghold of rock and cannons— Minorca offered farmland, a cooperative native population and, above all, the finest natural harbour in the entire Mediterranean.

British policy on the island

Far from colonising the island, the British opted for a pragmatic model: respecting local society and culture, guaranteeing freedom of worship and promoting trade. Minorca became a privileged entrepôt —a de facto free port— in a Mediterranean dominated by Catholic powers hostile to Protestant commerce.

Mahón harbour had exceptional depth —up to 30 metres in places— and a narrow, defensible entrance. It could shelter an entire war fleet with complete natural protection. It is no surprise that the Royal Navy made it its main Mediterranean base.

But Mahón was not only military: it was the heart of island trade. English textiles, Birmingham manufactures, colonial goods from the West Indies —everything passed through Mahón to be redistributed to Barcelona, Genoa, Marseille and Naples. The island became a privileged intermediary with Mediterranean reach.

The Minorcan economy of the 18th century was surprisingly diversified for a small island. Traditional livestock farming and fishing were joined by a footwear industry that exported across the Mediterranean, driven by demand from the British army and the royal navy.

Shipbuilding played a prominent role: Mahón's shipyards built vessels on British commission, and the activity generated a local value chain —carpentry, rope-making, sails— that employed a significant share of the coastal population.

The role of trading communities

Greek merchants, Sephardic Jews, Genoese traders and corsairs in the service of various powers created a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional commercial fabric. Minorca was, in many ways, a miniature of the 18th-century Mediterranean.

British rule over Minorca was not a monolithic bloc. Various corporations and economic interests competed for access to the island's resources and trade routes. The Royal Navy Company represented strictly British military and naval interests, while other groups sought to exploit the free port context for their own business.

The Compagnie du Levant

French merchants refused to be left out of the Mediterranean game. The Compagnie du Levant sought to maintain commercial connections with Minorca despite the political rivalry between France and Great Britain. Trade, more often than not, transcended political borders.

The Real Compañía and the Hispanic community

The Hispanic population —which constituted the majority— did not disappear from the economic circuit. The Real Compañía de Comercio represented commercial ties with the Peninsula, particularly with Ciudadela and the island's interior.

The 18th-century Mediterranean was a sea of wooden, sail-powered ships. The Xebec —a fast, manoeuvrable vessel, typically Mediterranean— dominated the short cabotage routes between nearby ports. Galleys and Frigates covered medium-range routes, while Ships of the Line were associated with British naval power and intercontinental trade.

The propulsion revolution

During British rule, improvements in naval design and navigation accelerated commercial routes. Mediterranean trade became more predictable and merchant ships gained capacity and speed. The Express Ship of the final phase symbolises the peak efficiency of the era's maritime commerce.

The 18th-century Mediterranean was the scene of constant rivalry between the great European powers. Great Britain, France, Spain and the Ottoman Empire competed for strategic positions, trade routes and harbours. Minorca, with its excellent natural harbour, was a key piece on this geopolitical board.

Peace as war by other means

The Treaty of Utrecht did not resolve European conflicts: it reconfigured them. Spain aspired to recover lost territories. France watched for any opportunity to expand its Mediterranean influence. In the absence of open conflict, Minorcan maritime trade suffered privateering and covert commercial competition from all the powers.

On 18 June 1756, a French expeditionary force under the Duke of Richelieu landed on Minorca, opening the Seven Years War in the Mediterranean. The British garrison, undermanned and poorly supplied, held out for two weeks in the Castle of San Felipe. On 29 June, it surrendered.

Admiral John Byng, commander of the British fleet sent in relief, was subsequently court-martialled and shot —the most famous case in 18th-century British military jurisprudence, immortalised by Voltaire in Candide.

The end of an era

For Minorcan merchants, the conquest meant the end of an economic model. The British free port disappeared, and with it the network of commercial connections that had made the island prosper for four decades. Many traders had to rebuild their networks from scratch under the new French administration.

One of the most significant works of British rule in Minorca was the construction of Kane's Road, the island's first modern highway. Ordered by Governor Richard Kane around 1714, the road crossed the island from Mahón to Ciudadela —a distance of some forty kilometres— largely following the route of ancient medieval tracks but widening and paving them to make them passable for carts and troops.

Richard Kane and the modernisation of the island

Richard Kane was Minorca's first effective British governor and one of the most capable colonial administrators of his time. In addition to the road, he promoted the drainage of marshlands, the introduction of new livestock breeds and the reorganisation of markets. His governorship (1712–1736, with interruptions) is considered the period of greatest prosperity in the British era. The road that bears his name is his most visible and lasting legacy.

An infrastructure with a dual purpose

Kane's Road was not just a commercial route: it was also a military artery. It allowed troops to be moved quickly from one end of the island to the other in case of invasion. This duality —commerce and defence— is characteristic of all British policy in Minorca during the 18th century. In the game, the private company British Royal Road (CRB) directly embodies this legacy: whoever controls it controls the flow of goods by land.

The game map includes seven coastal points that correspond to the 7 modern lighthouses of the island. In reality, during the British era (1713–1756), no modern lighthouse existed in Minorca. What did exist was a network of watchtowers, fire signals and fortifications that fulfilled equivalent functions: guiding ships, warning of attacks and controlling harbour entrances. Each node on the map corresponds to a real or plausible element of the period.

Moreover, these towers formed a genuine communication network: each one was visible from the next, so a fire signal could travel around the entire island within minutes.

Torre de Cavalleria · north (modern lighthouse: Far de Cavalleria, 1857)

A coastal watchtower dating from before the 17th century. Cape Cavalleria is one of the island's most dangerous points: its cliffs and currents caused numerous shipwrecks. During British rule, the tower guards lit fire signals when they spotted sails on the horizon.

Punta Nati fire signal · northwest (modern lighthouse: Far de Punta Nati, 1913)

Before any modern lighthouse existed, fishermen and sailors lit night fires at Punta Nati to mark the island's western tip. It was a fundamental reference for ships coming from Mallorca or Barcelona.

Artrutx defence tower · southwest (modern lighthouse: Far de Cap d'Artrutx, 1859)

Corsair raids were frequent in the 18th-century Mediterranean. The Artrutx tower was part of the surveillance network protecting commercial routes near Ciudadela from the south.

Sa Farola · Ciudadela harbour tower · west (modern lighthouse: Far de Ciutadella)

At Ciudadela harbour, a small tower or harbour signal indicated the entrance to approaching vessels. In the 18th century, Ciudadela harbour was still the island's traditional economic centre.

Torre de l'Illa de l'Aire · southeast (modern lighthouse: Far de s'Illa de s'Aire, 1860)

The small islet off Punta Prima was a fundamental reference point for sailors approaching Mahón from the south. From the signal tower they could orient themselves before entering the great natural harbour.

Favàritx fire signal · northeast (modern lighthouse: Far de Favàritx, 1922)

The dark rocks and strong tramontana winds made Favàritx a zone feared by mariners. Fires lit at the cape helped ships avoid running aground on its reefs.

Castle of San Felipe · Mahón entrance · east (modern lighthouse: Far de Punta Sant Carles)

The great fortress of San Felipe commanded the mouth of Mahón harbour. It is not a lighthouse but the island's most important military control point. During British rule it was continuously expanded and strengthened. Its fall in 1756 ended the British era.

1713 Menorca is a game of investment, logistics and business strategy. But behind each mechanic lies a conscious design decision that seeks to reflect the economic and geographical reality of Minorca in 1713–1756.

Investment and capital

The stock and share system is the central element. In British Minorca, capital was the scarce resource. Players replicate exactly this tension: they must decide how much capital to invest in which corporations, when to issue new shares and when to sell for personal liquidity.

Logistics: the heart of the game

The route and traffic system models real commercial logistics. A route is more valuable the longer it is and the more demand centres it touches. Competition for the best connections and the ability to block rivals' routes replicates the real dynamics of 18th-century island commerce.

The 1713 Menorca map is not arbitrary. Every design decision —which settlements to include, what value to assign them, which routes to draw— has a basis in the real economic geography of mid-18th-century Minorca.

Why these settlements?

Mahón is the map's inevitable hub: port, financial centre and British stronghold par excellence. Ciudadela is the western counterweight, traditional capital and seat of the aristocracy. Fornells, in the north, was the island's second harbour. Alaior and Es Mercadal represent the agricultural and livestock heart of the island. Ferreries, Es Migjorn, Port d'Addaia and Sant Lluís are minor villages that articulate the territory without having significant commercial weight. The Castle of San Felipe was the island's military key. The five coastal towers and signals —Punta Nati, Torre d'Artrutx, Torre de Cavalleria, Cap de Favàritx and Torre de l'Illa de l'Aire— mark the island's perimeter and represent reference points for cabotage navigation.

Why these values?

Node values have been calibrated to reflect relative economic importance. External connections —towards the Mediterranean, the Peninsula, the Levant— represent the outside markets to which Minorca was genuinely integrated and which constituted the highest added-value routes.