Mah - Spelling controversy

39º53N 4º16E, pop (2001e) 23 700. Port and capital of the island of Menorca in the Balearic Is, Spain; on the E coast of the island on the S side of a long inlet; birthplace of Pedro Ballester Pons and Mathieu Orfila; airport; dairy cattle farming for the production of cheese using traditional methods; Church of Santa Maria (rebuilt 1748–72); tourism.

Catalan it is also the official name, Spanish Mahón), is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca (an autonomic Spanish community), located in the eastern part of the island.

The name is attributed to the eponymous Carthaginian general Mago Barca, brother to Hannibal, who is thought to have taken refuge there in 205 BC.

Mahon was captured in 1287 from the Moors by Alfonso III of Aragon and incorporated into the Kingdom of Majorca, a vassal kingdom of the Kingdom of Aragon.

Minorca was captured by the British during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1707, and its status as a British possession was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

Today it serves as the seat of the Island Council of Minorca (Consell Insular de Menorca).

A traditional cheese made on the island (Queso de Mahón) is named after the city.

Spelling controversy

There is some debate over what the correct spelling of the city's name in English should be; due to the general tendency in English to ignore accents in foreign words, many dictionaries refer to the city by an adaptation (Mahon) of its Spanish name (Mahón), while many other sources vouch for using the Catalan spelling (Maó) in English-language publications.

Related to this, there is controversy around the correct official toponomy: (Maó) is the proper form according to Catalan orthography and approved by local, regional and national government, but (Mahó), is preferred by some conservatist and traditionalist Minorcan sectors.