"Which admiral was executed in 1759, for ""failing to do his utmost"", during the Battle of Minorca?"
Battle of Cartagena (1758) passage through the Straits of Gibraltar. The battle went a long way to restoring the reputation of the Royal Navy which had been badly tarnished in the wake of the Fall of Minorca in 1756, which ultimately resulted in the execution of Admiral John Byng for "failing to do his utmost" to save Minorca. This was particularly the case as Arthur Gardiner had Byng's flagship at the Battle of Minorca and his death while fighting served to remove the allegation of cowardice against him. The campaign offered an example of the "tight blockade" tactics that the British would use even
Battle of Minorca (1756) "failure to do his utmost" to relieve the siege of the British garrison on Minorca. The French had been menacing the British-held garrison on Minorca, which had come under British control during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1708. Great Britain and France had commenced hostilities in the New World colonies earlier in 1754 (the French and Indian War), and at this point the conflict was not going well for Great Britain. The government was anxious to protect her presence closer to home, and was concerned that the French might even be planning to invade Great Britain themselves (as