Holidays Majorca are great ideas, this large island is great place to visit, but lets see what is there for tourists and a hisatory of the island. In 2005, there were over 2,400 restaurants on the island of Majorca according to the Majorcan Tourist Board. They ranged from small bars to full scale restaurants. Despite Majorca’s location in the Mediterranean, seafood is often imported. Olives and almonds are typical of the Majorcan diet. The island now has over 4 million almond and olive trees. Among the food items that can be truly stated as being Mallorquin are sobrassada, arros brut -saffron rice cooked with chicken, pork and vegetables- and, for the sweet lover, ensaïmada.
In addition, the diversity of the population is reflected by the increasing variety of restaurants.
The official languages of Majorca are Catalan and Spanish. The local dialect of Catalan is Mallorquí, even though the dialects are different in each island and in most villages. Typically, young Majorcans are bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, with some knowledge of English or German as a foreign language, especially due to the large number of tourists and foreign residents on the island.
History of Majorca
Majorca has been inhabited since antiquity. Burial chambers and traces of habitation from the Paleolithic period (6000–4000 BC) have been discovered. The island was occupied by the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia (Alcúdia), and Palmaria (Palma) were founded. The local economy was largely driven by Olive cultivation, viniculture, and salt mining. Majorcan soldiers were valued within the Roman legions for their skill with the sling.
In 426, the Vandals sacked the island, and annexed it to their kingdom in 465. In 534, Majorca was conquered by the Byzantine Empire, and administered as part of the province of Sardinia. Under Byzantine rule, Christianity flourished and numerous churches were built. But from 707, the island was increasingly attacked by Muslim raiders from North Africa.
In 902, the Caliphate of Cordoba conquered Majorca, ushering in a new period of prosperity for the island. With the Caliphate at its height, the Moors improved agriculture with irrigation, developed local industries and the island benefited from the overall prosperous times. After the Caliphate dismembered in 1015, a new, more decadent, era started. Majorca came under rule by the Taifa of Denia, and from 1087–1114 was an independent taifa. However, in 1114, an expedition of Pisans and Catalans overran the island, laying siege to Palma for 8 months. After the city fell, the invaders retreated, and were replaced by the Almoravides from North Africa, who ruled till 1203. The Almoravides were replaced by the Almohad dynasty until 1229. In the ensuing confusion and unrest, King James I of Aragon launched an invasion with 15,000 men and 1,500 horses, annexing the island to his Crown of Aragon after a 3 month campaign.
After the death of James I in 1276, his kingdom was divided between his sons. James II became king of the new Kingdom of Majorca. In 1344, King Peter IV of Aragon invaded, and re-incorporated the island into the Crown.
From 1479, the Crown of Aragon was in dynastic union with that of Castile. In the early 18th century, the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in the replacement of that dynastic union with a unified Spanish monarchy. In 1716 the Decretos de Nueva Planta made Majorca part of the Spanish province of Baleares, roughly equivalent to present-day Illes Balears province and autonomous community.
Main article: Palma de Mallorca
The capital of Majorca, Palma, was founded as a Roman camp called Palmaria upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement. The turbulent history of the city saw it subject to several Vandal sackings during the fall of the Roman Empire. It was later reconquered by the Byzantine, colonised by the Moors (who called it Medina Mayurqa), and finally established by James I of Aragon. In 1983, Palma was adopted as the capital of the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands.
20th century and today
A Nationalist stronghold at the start of the Spanish Civil War, Majorca was subjected to an amphibious landing, on August 16 1936, aimed at driving the Nationalists from Majorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic. Although the Republicans heavily outnumbered their opponents and managed to push 12 kilometres inland, superior Nationalist air power mainly provided by the Fascist Kingdom of Italy forced the Republicans to retreat and to leave the island completely by September 12. Those events became known as the Battle of Mallorca.
For the rest of the Civil War the island was used as a base for the Nationalist navy and airforce, who mounted raids on the Spanish mainland. The Spanish Nazis caused 1 Million dead in Spain, at least in their reign, possibly 2 Million.
Since the 1950s, the advent of mass tourism radically changed the physiognomy of both the city and the island, transforming it into a centre of attraction for foreign visitors and attracting workers from mainland Spain. This contributed to a huge change in the traditions, the sociolinguistic map, urbanisation and acquisitive power.
The boom in tourism caused Palma to grow significantly, with repercussions on immigration. In 1960 Majorca received 500,000 visitors, while in 1997 it received 6,739,700. In 2001, more than 19,200,000 people passed through Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma, with an additional 1.5 million arriving by sea.
In the 21st century, urban redevelopment, under the so-called Pla Mirall (English "Mirror Plan"), attracted important groups of immigrant workers from outside the European Union, especially from Africa and South America.
On November 14, 2005, the local newspaper Diario de Mallorca reported allegations that the CIA used an airport on the island for its controversial extraordinary rendition program.
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