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- The reconquest of Menorca.

Menorca, as we mentioned earlier, was under English sovereignty until September, 1708, although this was not formalised until the Treaty of Utrecht. In any case, 1708 saw the start of a period of English domination (274, 106, 132) which lasted until the start of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), when it came under French control, a fact that rose the Spanish hopes of also recovering Gibraltar (134). The period of French domination (13 and 275), coincided with the duration of the war. In fact, the Treaty of Paris(1763) –which put an end to the Seven Years War–, established that the island would be returned to the English crown, starting the second period of British domination. Spain, which never renounced to its recovery –just like Gibraltar– made every diplomatic and military effort to do so. In the context of the third Spanish siege of Gibraltar (1779), there was an attempted assault on Menorca (276, 125, 277, 278). The most spectacular attack took place later, on August 19, 1781: a large French-Spanish army commanded by the Duke of Crillon, disembarked and set siege to the northern and southern flanks of the port of Mahón (279). The island, however, remained under British sovereignty until 1782, when the Marquises of Avilés and Peñafiel, after a long siege, recovered it for Spain (18 and 280).

- The sieges of Gibraltar

Gibraltar, the other source of discord with the British, was subject to greater efforts, over a longer period and with less successful outcomes. On August 4, 1704 the Spanish troops surrendered to the Prince of Darmstadt’s English-Dutch army,