Mallorca: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox islands

| image_name = Flag of Mallorca.svg

| image_caption = Flag of Mallorca

| country2_leader_title = President

| country2_leader_name = Llorenç Galmés Verger ([[People's Party of the Balearic Islands|PP]])

| country_largest_city_population = 430,640

| population = 940,332<ref name="Estadística, Madrid 2023">Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Madrid, 2023.</ref>

| population_as_of = 2023 Official estimate

| density_km2 = 258.33

| ethnic_groups =

| additional_info = Anthem: [[La Balanguera]] <br /> {{lower|0.2em|}}

}}

 

 

The capital of the island, [[Palma, Majorca|Palma]], is also the capital of the [[autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous community]] of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983.<ref name=MALRCA3>{{cite book|title=Mallorca|last=Tisdall|first=Nigel|publisher=Thomas Cook Publishing|date=2003|isbn=9781841573274|page=15}}</ref> There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: [[Cabrera, Balearic Islands|Cabrera]] (southeast of Palma) and [[Dragonera]] (west of Palma). The [[anthem]] of Mallorca is "[[La Balanguera]]".

 

==Etymology==

 

==History==

===Prehistoric settlements===

[[File:Talaiot.jpg|thumb|Example of prehistoric talaiot in Mallorca]]

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]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fernandes|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Mittnik|first2=Alissa|last3=Olalde|first3=Iñigo|last4=Lazaridis|first4=Iosif|last5=Cheronet|first5=Olivia|last6=Rohland|first6=Nadin|last7=Mallick|first7=Swapan|last8=Bernardos|first8=Rebecca|last9=Broomandkhoshbacht|first9=Nasreen|last10=Carlsson|first10=Jens|last11=Culleton|first11=Brendan J.|date=1 March 2020|title=The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean|journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|language=en|volume=4|issue=3|pages=334–345|doi=10.1038/s41559-020-1102-0|issn=2397-334X|pmc=7080320|pmid=32094539|bibcode=2020NatEE...4..334F }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alcover|first=Josep Antoni|date=1 March 2008|title=The First Mallorcans: Prehistoric Colonization in the Western Mediterranean|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-008-9010-2|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|language=en|volume=21|issue=1|pages=19–84|doi=10.1007/s10963-008-9010-2|s2cid=161324792|issn=1573-7802|access-date=14 February 2022|archive-date=25 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025182536/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10963-008-9010-2|url-status=live}}</ref> The arrival of humans resulted in the rapid extinction of the three species of terrestrial mammals native to Mallorca, the dwarf goat-antelope [[Myotragus|''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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Valenzuela|first1=Alejandro|last2=Torres-Roig|first2=Enric|last3=Zoboli|first3=Daniel|last4=Pillola|first4=Gian Luigi|last5=Alcover|first5=Josep Antoni|date=29 November 2021|title=Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836211060491|journal=The Holocene|volume=32|issue=3|language=en|pages=137–146|doi=10.1177/09596836211060491|s2cid=244763779|issn=0959-6836|access-date=23 January 2022|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223095632/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836211060491|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=MALRCA1>{{cite book|title=Mallorca|last=Tisdall|first=Nigel|publisher=Thomas Cook Publishing|date=2003|isbn=9781841573274|page=11}}</ref> A non-exhaustive list of settlements is the following:

* [[Capocorb Vell]] ([[Llucmajor]] municipality)

 

====Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages====

 

From 707, the island was increasingly attacked by [[Islam|Muslim]] raiders from North Africa. Recurrent invasions led the islanders to ask [[Charlemagne]] for help.<ref name="The Dark Ages in Mallorca"/>

====Islamic Mallorca====

[[File:Arab baths in palma de mallorca.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Arab Baths in [[Palma, Majorca|Palma]]]]

 

The caliphate was dismembered in 1015. Mallorca came under rule by the [[Taifa of Dénia]], and from 1087 to 1114, was an [[Taifa of Mallorca|independent Taifa]]. During that period, the island was visited by [[Ibn Hazm]]. However, [[1113–1115 Balearic Islands expedition|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 Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Imran al-Tinmalali|Abu Yahya]] was the last Moorish leader of Mallorca.<ref>[http://mallorcaincognita.com/historymoorish_english.html Moorish Mallorca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207130604/http://www.mallorcaincognita.com/historymoorish_english.html |date=7 February 2012 }} mallorcaincognita.com, not dated.</ref>

====Medieval Mallorca====

{{Main|Conquest of Majorca}}

 

=== Modern era ===

 

===Geology===

 

The limestones, which predominate throughout Mallorca, are readily water-soluble, and have given rise to extensive areas of [[karst]]. In addition to limestone, [[dolomite (rock)|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.<ref>"Ein Felsen, der aus dem Meer gewachsen ist" [German], interview with geologist Rosa Mateos in ''Mallorca Magazin'' 13/2009, pp. 62-63.</ref>

Mallorca features a landscape characterised by a series of mountain ranges. The highest peak, [[Puig Major]], stands at approximately 1,445 meters (4,741 feet) above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Puig de Massanella : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost |url=https://www.summitpost.org/puig-de-massanella/150864 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.summitpost.org}}</ref> Other notable peaks include [[Puig de Massanella]], [[Puig Tomir]], [[Puig de l'Ofre]], and [[Puig des Teix]], all exceeding 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in elevation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climb to the highest mountains of Mallorca (Mallorca) |url=https://www.illesbalears.travel/en/mallorca/climb-to-the-highest-mountains-of-mallorca |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=illesbalears.travel |language=en}}</ref> These mountains are part of the [[Serra de Tramuntana|Serra de Tramuntana range]] with numerous peaks over 1,000 meters, offering opportunities for hiking and exploration with views of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. While not towering in comparison to some mountain ranges globally, the Mallorcan mountains provide visitors with diverse outdoor experiences and panoramic views of the island's rugged terrain and coastline.

 

{| class="wikitable"

!Mountain Name

|-

!scope="col"| Municipality

!scope="col"| Census Population<br /> 1 November 2001

!scope="col"| Census Population<br /> 1 November 2011

File:Karte Palma 2022.png|[[Palma de Mallorca|Palma]]

</gallery>

 

==Population==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"

|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"

|-

| colspan="4" | {{hidden begin|title=''Key to parties''|contentstyle=font-size:95%; border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

! colspan="2"|President

|-

| rowspan="2" |

{| style="width:45em; font-size:85%; text-align:center; font-family:Courier New;"

| style="background:{{party color|People's Party of the Balearic Islands}};"|

|}

 

==Renowned Mallorcans==

[[File:Ars Magna de Ramon Llull.jpg|thumb|right|upright|''Ars magna'', by Ramon Llull]]

Some of the earliest famous Mallorcans lived on the island before its reconquest from the Moors. Famous Mallorcans include:

*[[Al-Humaydī]], Moorish historian, born on the island in 1029.

*[[Abraham Cresques]], a 14th-century Jewish [[Cartography|cartographer]] of the [[Majorcan cartographic school]] from Palma, believed to be the author of the [[Catalan Atlas]];

*[[Antonio Maura]], two-time Spanish Prime Minister during the reign of King [[Alfonso XIII of Spain|Alfonso XIII]].

*[[Robert Graves]], English writer and poet who lived for many years in Mallorca, buried in a small churchyard on a hill at [[Deià]]

 

===Notable residents, alive in modern times===

*[[Hana Soukupova]], supermodel, owns a villa in Mallorca.

*[[José María Sicilia]], painter, resides in the town of [[Sóller]].

*[[Jørn Utzon]], an architect best known for designing the [[Sydney Opera House]], designed and built two houses in Mallorca, [[Can Lis]] and [[Can Feliz]].

*[[Agustí Villaronga]] (born 1953), filmmaker, born in Palma.

 

==Gallery==