Its highest point, called El Toro (from Catalan "turó" meaning hill), roughly in the middle of the island, is 358 metres (1,175 feet) above sea level.

The island is known for its collection of megalithic stone monuments: navetes, taules and talaiots, which indicate very early prehistoric human activity.

For example, the use of inverted plastered timber columns at Knossos is thought to have influenced early peoples of Menorca in imitating this practice.

The Roman occupation of Hispania had meant a growth of maritime trade between the Iberian and Italian peninsulas.

Pirates took advantage of the strategic location of the Balearic Islands to raid Roman commerce, using both Menorca and Mallorca as bases.

In 13 BC Roman emperor Augustus reorganised the provincial system and the Balearic Islands became part of the Tarraconensis imperial province.

When Menorca became a British possession in 1713, they actively encouraged the immigration of foreign non-Catholics, which included Jews who were not accepted by the predominantly Christian inhabitants.

At that time, the Jewish community consisted of about 500 people and they were transported from Menorca in four Spanish ships to the port of Marseille.

Following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Menorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903, with many Muslims emigrating to the island.

In 1231, after Christian forces took Mallorca, Menorca chose to become an independent Islamic state, albeit one tributary to King James I of Aragon.

A Catalan-Aragonese invasion, led by Alfonso III (also known as Count of Barcelona Alfons II), came on 17 January 1287; its anniversary is now celebrated as Menorca's national day.

Once the island was captured, most of its Muslim inhabitants were enslaved and sold in the slave markets of Eivissa, Valencia and Barcelona, while others became Christians.

Under the governorship of General Richard Kane, this period saw the island's capital moved to Port Mahon and a naval base established in that town's harbour.

In 1756, during the Seven Years' War, France captured the island after the Siege of Fort St Philip and a failed British relief attempt.

Menorca was invaded by the British once again in 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, but it was finally repossessed by Spain by the terms of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.

As with the rest of the Balearic Islands, Menorca was not occupied by the French during the Peninsular War, as it was successfully protected by the Royal Navy, this time allied to Spain.

It served ships from North Africa wishing to reach the Iberian Peninsula or the ports of the Balearic Islands.

The island did not see ground combat, but it was a target of aerial bombing by the pro-Nationalist Italians of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie Air Force.

After the Nationalist victory in the Battle of Minorca in February 1939, the British Navy assisted in a peaceful transfer of power in Menorca and the evacuation of some political refugees aboard HMS Devonshire.

As the major part of Balearic Islands, Menorca has a mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), with mild winters and hot summers.

The location of Menorca in the middle of the western Mediterranean was a staging point for the different cultures since prehistoric times.

The riders, or "caixers", ride the horses through the streets and, along with a tumultuous crowd of people, encourage them to rear up on their hind legs.

[citation needed] The third day sees intense competition between the riders in a harmless form of jousting that involves spearing a suspended ring with a lance at considerable speed.

There are currently 11 clubs contesting the Regional Preferente de Menorca, the champion of which progresses to the Tercera División Grupo XI playoffs.

In recent years, some sporting events that gather hundreds of participants have been successfully held on a yearly basis, such as the triathlon race Extreme Man Menorca and the single-staged ultramarathon race Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls.

Menorquí also has a few English loan words dating back to the period of British rule, such as "grevi", "xumaquer", "boinder" and "xoc" taken from "gravy", "shoemaker", "bow window" and "chalk", respectively.

[21] Lingering British influence is seen in the Menorcans' taste for gin, which during local festes honoring towns' patron saints is mixed with lemonade (or bitter lemon) to make a golden liquid known as Pomada.

According to this theory, it was first prepared by a French chef in 1756 as part of a victory feast after capturing Port Mahon, Minorca.

Menorca is a well watched island which is on the migration route of many species and good number of passage migrants can be seen in spring.

There are some small mammals including rabbits, bats, rats, mice, pine martens and a subspecies of North African hedgehog.