Palma, is the major city and port on the island of Majorca, and it is also the capital city not only of Majorca but also of the autonomous community of the Balearic islands in Spain. The current position of the city of Palma is believed to have originally been occupied by a Talayotic settlement that was closely associated with the sea.
Palma got it’s name from the Romans around 120BC. They had a hilltop base here, and although very little remains, there are a few walls from the settlement which still remain to be seen today.
In the 10th Century, the Moors also built a wall around the same area, but sadly none of this remains. The only remaining piece of architecture from this period is the Arab Majorcan Baths at the Majorcan Museum.
In the 13th Century (1229) Palma was conquered by King Jaime I who founded a municipality which encompassed the whole island. Because of it’s geographical position Palma had dealings with traders from Italian dominions, the Maghreb, and the Turkish Empire as well, and it became well known as a place to trade. Later in the 16th century pirate attacks, plagues, and various foreign rebellions meant that trading slumped and the city entered a period of decline.
This decline continued until the 18th century when the Decree of Nueva Planta by Philip V completely changed the islands government structure and Palma became the capital of the new province of Baleares. It was also in the 18th century that under Charles III freedom to trade with the Indies was established which lead to an increase in commerce for both Majorca as a whole and Palma as it’s main port.
It wasn’t until the 19th century when the growth of tourism in the Balearics really got going, and the 1950’s marked the real beginning to the arrival of tourists in large numbers. Since then, tourism has grown and from around 500,000 visitors to the Balaerics in 1960, the islands now receive far greater numbers, with over 22,000,000 passengers passing through Palma airport in 2008.
If you are having a holiday in Majorca – be it hotel or renting one of the many villas in Majorca than Palma needs to be on your list of things to see.
