Mallorca, also spelled Majorca in English, is the largest of Spain's Balearic Islands, and the seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Its capital, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. Two smaller islands lie just off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera (southeast of Palma) and Dragonera (west of Palma). The island's anthem is "La Balanguera".
Along with other Balearic Islands, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, Mallorca is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain; it was used by 28 million passengers in 2017, with use increasing every year between 2012 and 2017.
Etymology The name originates from Classical Latin insula maior, meaning "larger island". In Medieval Latin, this evolved into Maiorca, referring to "the larger one" in contrast with Menorca, "the smaller one". The term Maiorca was later modified by central Catalan scribes through a process of hypercorrection, resulting in the form Mallorca, which eventually became the standard spelling.
History
Prehistoric settlements
The Balearic Islands were first colonised by humans during the 3rd millennium BC, around 2500–2300 BC from the Iberian Peninsula or southern France, by people associated with the Bell Beaker culture. The arrival of humans resulted in the rapid extinction of the three species of terrestrial mammals native to Mallorca, the dwarf goat-antelope Myotragus balearicus, the giant dormouse Hypnomys morpheus, and the shrew Nesiotites hidalgo, all three of which had been continuously present on Mallorca for over 5 million years. The island's prehistoric settlements are called talaiots or talayots. The people of the islands raised Bronze Age megaliths as part of their Talaiotic culture. A non-exhaustive list of settlements is the following: Capocorb Vell (Llucmajor municipality) Necròpoli de Son Real (east of Can Picafort, Santa Margalida municipality) Novetiforme Alemany (Magaluffa, Calvià, Miconio) Poblat Talaiòtic de S'Illot (S'Illot, Sant Llorenç des Cardassar municipality) Poblat Talaiòtic de Son Fornés (Montuïri municipality) Sa Canova de Morell (road to Colònia de Sant Pere, Artà municipality) Ses Païsses (Artà municipality) Ses Talaies de Can Jordi (Santanyí municipality) S'Hospitalet Vell (road to Cales de Mallorca, Manacor municipality)
Phoenicians, Romans, and Late Antiquity
The Phoenicians, a seafaring people from the Levant, arrived around the eighth century BC and established numerous colonies. The island eventually came under the control of Carthage in North Africa, which had become the principal Phoenician city. After the Second Punic War, Carthage lost all of its overseas possessions and the Romans took over.
The island was occupied by the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia (Alcúdia), and Palmaria (Palma) were founded. In addition, the northern town of Bocchoris, dating back to pre-Roman times, was a federated city to Rome.Oppidum Bocchoritanum . The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites . The local economy was largely driven by olive cultivation, viticulture, and salt mining. Mallorcan soldiers were valued within the Roman legions for their skill with the sling (Balearic slingers).. North South Guides.
In 427, Gunderic and the Vandals captured the island. Geiseric, son of Godigisel, governed Mallorca and used it as his base to loot and plunder settlements around the MediterraneanThe Dark Ages in Mallorca mallorcaincognita.com, not dated until Roman rule was restored in 465.
Middle Ages
Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages In 534, Mallorca was recaptured from the Vandals by the Eastern Roman Empire, led by Apollinarius. Under Roman rule, Christianity thrived and numerous churches were built.
From 707, the island was increasingly attacked by Muslim raiders from North Africa. Recurrent invasions led the islanders to ask Charlemagne for help.
Islamic Mallorca
In 902, Issam al-Khawlani(es)(ca) () conquered the Balearic Islands, and they became part of the Emirate of Córdoba. The town of Palma was reshaped and expanded, and became known as Medina Mayurqa. Later on, with the Caliphate of Córdoba at its height, the Muslims improved agriculture with irrigation and developed local industries.
The caliphate was dismembered in 1015. Mallorca came under rule by the Taifa of Dénia, and from 1087 to 1114, was an independent Taifa. During that period, the island was visited by Ibn Hazm. However, an expedition of Pisans and Catalans in 1114–15, led by Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, overran the island, laying siege to Palma for eight months. After the city fell, the invaders retreated due to problems in their own lands. They were replaced by the Almoravides from North Africa, who ruled until 1176. The Almoravides were replaced by the Almohad dynasty until 1229. Abu Yahya was the last Moorish leader of Mallorca.Moorish Mallorca mallorcaincognita.com, not dated.
Medieval Mallorca
In the ensuing confusion and unrest, King James I of Aragon, also known as James the Conqueror, launched an invasion which landed at Santa Ponça, Mallorca, on 8–9 September 1229 with Catalan forces consisting of 15,000 men and 1,500 horses. His forces entered the city of Medina Mayurqa on 31 December 1229. In 1230, he annexed the island to his Crown of Aragon under the name Regnum Maioricae.
Modern era
From 1479, the Crown of Aragon was in dynastic union with that of Castile. The Barbary corsairs of North Africa often attacked the Balearic Islands, and in response, the people built coastal watchtowers and fortified churches. In 1570, King Philip II of Spain and his advisors were considering complete evacuation of the Balearic islands., Contemporary Balears.
In the early 18th century, the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in the replacement of that dynastic union with a unified Spanish monarchy under the rule of the new Bourbon Dynasty. The last episode of the War of Spanish Succession was the conquest of the island of Mallorca. It took place on 2 July 1715 when the island capitulated to the arrival of a Bourbon fleet. In 1716, the Nueva Planta decrees made Mallorca part of the Spanish province of Baleares, roughly the same to present-day Illes Balears province and autonomous community.
20th century and today A Nationalist stronghold at the start of the Spanish Civil War, Mallorca was subjected to an amphibious landing, on 16 August 1936, aimed at driving the Nationalists from Mallorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic. Although the Republicans heavily outnumbered their opponents and managed to push inland, superior Nationalist air power, provided mainly by Fascist Italy as part of the Italian occupation of Mallorca, forced the Republicans to retreat and to leave the island completely by 12 September. Those events became known as the Battle of Mallorca.The Spanish Civil War, Hugh Thomas (2001)
Since the 1950s, the advent of mass tourism has transformed the island into a destination for foreign visitors and attracted many service workers from mainland Spain. The boom in tourism caused Palma to grow significantly.
In the 21st century, urban redevelopment, under the so‑called Pla Mirall (English "Mirror Plan"), attracted groups of immigrant workers from outside the European Union, especially from Africa and South America."Large rise in number of foreign nationals" . The Mallorca. 15 January 2009.
Archaeology In September 2019, A 3,200-year-old well-preserved Bronze Age sword was discovered by archaeologists under the leadership of Jaume Deya and Pablo Galera on the Mallorca Island in the Puigpunyent from the stone megaliths site called Talaiot.Emblematic objects for societies in transition. An archaeological and archaeometric study of the sword of Serral de ses Abelles (Puigpunyent, Mallorca). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports Volume 40, Part A, December 2021, 103201 Specialists assumed that the weapon was made when the Talaiotic culture was in critical decline. The sword will be on display at the nearby Mallorca Museum.
Palma
The capital of Mallorca, Palma, was founded as a Roman camp called Palmaria upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement. The turbulent history of the city had it subject to several Vandal sackings during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It was later reconquered by the Byzantines, established by the Moors (who called it Medina Mayurqa), and finally occupied by James I of Aragon. In 1983, Palma became the capital of the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands. Palma has a famous tourist attraction, the cathedral, Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca, standing in the heart of the City looking out over the sea.
Climate Mallorca has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), with mild and relatively wet winters and hot, bright, dry summers. Precipitation in the Serra de Tramuntana is markedly higher. Summers are hot in the plains, and winters are mild, getting colder and wetter in the Tramuntana range, where brief episodes of snow during the winter are not unusual, especially in the Puig Major. The two wettest months in Mallorca are October and November. Storms and heavy rain are not uncommon during the autumn.
Palma de Mallorca sea temperatureMonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYearAverage sea temperature °C (°F)14.4(57.9)13.9(57.0)14.1(57.4)15.9(60.7)18.9(66.1)22.5(72.5)24.9(76.7)26.0(78.8)25.0(77.1)22.7(72.9)19.7(67.4)16.3(61.4)19.5(67.2)Mean daily daylight hours10.011.012.013.014.015.015.014.012.011.010.09.012.2Average Ultraviolet index2356899864225.3Source: seatemperature.orgSource: Weather Atlas
Geography
Geology Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands are geologically an extension of the fold mountains of the Betic Cordillera of Andalusia. They consist primarily of sediments deposited in the Tethys Sea during the Mesozoic era. These marine deposits have given rise to calcareous rocks which are often fossiliferous. The folding of the Betic Cordillera and Mallorcan ranges resulted from subduction of the African Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate with eventual collision. Tectonic movements led to different elevation and lowering zones in the late Tertiary, which is why the connection to the mainland has been severed at the current sea level.
The limestones, which predominate throughout Mallorca, are readily water-soluble, and have given rise to extensive areas of karst. In addition to limestone, dolomitic rocks are mainly present in the mountainous regions of Mallorca; the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serres de Llevant. The Serres de Llevant also contain marl, the more rapid erosion of which has resulted in the lower elevations of the island's southeastern mountains. Marl is limestone with a high proportion of clay minerals. The eroded material was washed into the sea or deposited in the interior of the island of the Pla de Mallorca, bright marls in the north-east of the island and ferrous clays in the middle of Mallorca, which gives the soil its characteristic reddish colour."Ein Felsen, der aus dem Meer gewachsen ist" [German], interview with geologist Rosa Mateos in Mallorca Magazin 13/2009, pp. 62-63.
Mountains of Mallorca