Prehistory

The Balearic Islands have a long and interesting history. The archipelago has always been inhabited by many different peoples coming from different parts of the mainland around the Mediterranean. The first people already settled on the Balearics 4000 years BC. Very little is known about this period. Most pre-historic recoveries and artifacts date from the period that started 2000 BC. In this time the Balearics already were an important hub for international trade, and people coming to the Balearics from other Mediterranean and even further countries, have all left their foreign influences.

There are still a lot of pre-historic monuments to visit on the islands. Especially on Menorca there are many ancient tombes, stone buildings that served as meeting points and pre-historic round towers.

Antiquity

In the year 645 BC the Cartages invaded Ibiza. They dismantled many of the old buildings and the material was used to build an entirely new civilization. Thousands of objects from this period have been kept remained, like vases, clay statues and decorated ostrich eggs. On Majorca and Menorca the Cartages only placed some military posts. The Cartages soon discovered the strength and good qualities of the Balearic people and they started hiring them as mercenaries. Many Balearic soldiers in history have been praised for their braveness by the Cartages and later also by the Romans. This because the Romans conquered the Balearics after the Cartages in 123 BC. The Romans were the ones who founded the two cities Palma and Pollentia (close to the present Alcúdia) where nowadays the ruin of an acient theatre is to be found and where the first road network was established. It was also during this time that Christianity reached the islands. After the Romans the islands were taken over by Roman vandals in the year 421 AD and in 553 the Byzantines took over. This put an end to Christianity and after many years of resistance the Islamic law got officially inserted in the year 902. The Muslim religion reined the islands for 500 years.

Islamic Reign

Thanks to the Byzantines the islands quickly developed in modern civilizations, with irrigation canals and the cultivation of products from Africa and Persia like rice, cotton and vegetables. Terraces for cultivating these products were created and the first olive and orange trees were planted. The Arabs also left their hallmarks in the houses, embroideries and decoration techniques and motives for ceramics. In the year 1113 the Christian kings decided to cast the Islamic religion away from the islands again, and a Catalan fleet sailed out under command of Ramon Berenguer III, the condor of Barcelona. After many long battles for the cities Palma and Ibiza, the Muslim governor fled, but the Christians didn’t do any effort to really take over power on the islands. Almohad troops from Morocco took this opportunity to take over the islands and Islamic religion still reigned. It wasn’t until 1228 that the king of Aragón Jaime I, only 21 years of age, defeated the Almohad king of Majorca and became one of the most important persons in the history of Majorca.

Independence

After the victory of the king of Aragon, the islands were integrated in the kingdom of Aragón. In order to maintain a large population on the islands, the king let the Moors live on the islands but only as servants. Other groups like Jews and people from Genova and Pisa were also welcomed on the islands, because they would bring in taxes. When king Jaime died in 1276, his kingdom was divided between his two inheritors. Jaime II became king of Majorca and thus of all Balearics and the islands became independent. A period of political stability and economical and intellectual growth started. Palma became one of the most important harbors in the Mediterranean and also a strategic trade center between Barcelona, Valencia, North Africa and even Northern Europe. The naval industry developed swiftly and Majorca became famous for their production of ships of excellent quality.

There came an end to this prosperity after the discovery of the Americas when Europe started concentrating its trade more towards the Atlantic instead of the Mediterranean. Several strikes took place and the aristocrats lost their power on the islands. The Germanic uprising, several Corsican attacks and the plague caused economic downfall until the Aristocrats took over again. They replaced the production of trade vessels with the war vessel industry and as a strategic point against the Ottoman Empire, the islands regained some of their former wealth. Since then the Balearics have been involved in many wars and battles. In 1708 the English occupied the island Menorca, in 1756 the French took it over for seven years until they had to give it back according to the treaty of Paris of 1763. In 1802 Spain finally took over again.

All these different kings, religions and people that have reigned over the islands in their long history have definitely left their traces. Every different culture enriched the Balearics with different working methods, different products and above all different people and today we can visit the islands and discover this great history and enjoy the impressive diversity in the ancient buildings and artifacts that are still to be found everywhere in the Balearics.