The Alexians, a Greek family in Menorca in the 18th century

Immediately after the reconquest of Menorca by the Duke of Crillón in 1782, and during the government of the Count of Cifuentes, a series of events occurred that can reveal some nuances regarding a certain social situation existing on the Island, during the British domination in the century XVIII.

The English had introduced some groups of emigrants to Mahón, thus contravening clause 11 of the Treaty of Utrecht, which served to justify (at least from a formal point of view) the Spanish intervention in 1781.

One of these groups was called “the body of the Greeks”, made up of people from Leghorn, in Italy, and the Ionian Islands. Among them was a family, the Alexians, which we will deal with next.

In one of the files of the Archive of the Secretary of State of Carlos III appears a voluminous package of documents entitled “Affair of the Alexianos brothers”. It turned out to be documentation of a lawsuit filed by a family of Russian subjects of Greek origin, the Alexians, established in Menorca during the first British domination of the island, and who requested the return of some properties from the Spanish government that were confiscated shortly after. of the surrender of Menorca to the Spanish troops in 1782. The processing of the documents was carried out through the then governor Count of Cifuentes.

To be continue…

Source: José Luis Terrón Ponce.