Under British rule there was an end to the oppression and peculation of Governors sent to the island to mend their broken fortunes; justice was properly administered, and trade flourished. The condition of the people visibly improved during Sir Robert Walpole’s long peace. The island depended on foreign trade for a third of the corn that was required, and all the oil and spirits, besides other things. It was the English money circulated by the troops that preserved the islanders from bankruptcy, and indeed enabled them to live in prosperity as compared with their former lot.
The English garrison used to consist of five infantry regiments and a company of artillery, in all 2,400 effective men. They were quartered at San Felipe, Alaior, with a detachment at Fornelle, and Ciudadela, the favourite quarters. The successive Governors took an almost fatherly interest in the island, and British rule continued to be very popular.
One of the best Governors was Brigadier Kane, who was many years ruling in Minorca, and who died there. Soon after his arrival there was a great scarcity of fresh provisions: the numbers of sheep and bullocks had dwindled almost to nothing, and chickens had also become scarce. Kane set to work to remedy the evil with great energy. He procured and imported herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. He also got large supplies of poultry from France, Italy, and the Barbary coast, distributing them among the farmers and peasants; and he encouraged the people to set to work improving their breeds. Kane also made an excellent road for the whole length of the island, from Ciudadela to Port Mahon.
The British occupation was not wholly without permanent record, both as regards general history and some scientific results. Mr. John Armstrong, the Government Engineer, described the island, its physical aspects, antiquities, people, and institutions in a series of letters which were published as ‘The History of the Island of Minorca’ in 1752. Dr. George Cleghorn resided for many years on the island as Surgeon-Major to the garrison. In 1751 he published his ‘Observations on the Epidemical Diseases in Minorca,’ a work which contains a list of 180 species of plants of the island, with Latin, English, and Minorcan names.[36]