Roman presence in the area has been verified by several discoveries done in the 19th century. Two of the most remarkable founds of this period are the funerary tombstones found in the area of Son Cota and a pillar with Latin  inscription found in a grave. Exactly when the Roman left Mallorca is uncertain, but it is commonly believed that it must have been sometime around the 5th century AD.

During Muslim dominance between 902 and 1229, the area belonged under a bigger district known as “Juz’ de Manaqur” which also included the current municipalities of Manacor, Felanitx and Ses Salines. The area belonged to the Moorish Berber tribes of Zanata and Humeya, who settles in small huts and farmhouses. Some of these farmhouses are still found in the municipality, or at least their names are preserved. The Moors introduced hydraulic infrastructure to the island in form of water tunnels (qanats) for transporting water and wells for collecting water. The most outstanding examples are the wells of Juà and Dama. Also, Arabic coins minted in Mallorca has been found in the area.

With the Catalan conquest of Mallorca in 1229/32, Mallorca was distributed amongst supporters and participants of the conquest by King Jaume I of Aragón. Moors that wasn’t killed was taken as slaves and sold to new settlers from the mainland. The area of Porreres was given to count Nuno Sanç, but with his death already in 1241, the area passed to King Jaume I.

The name of Porreres came from one of the participating knights; Guillem de Porrera, whom came from the town of  Priorat in Tarragona. Guillem de Porrera became the owner of the former Moorish farmhouses of Alquazor, Maffumet and  Totzeta.

The new Christian dominance in Mallorca meant that all mosques had to be either transformed or destroyed, and it did not take many years before the first churches and chapels were built. The first documentation of a chapel in Porreres derives from 1242, and again in 1248 a church was described in a bull of Pope Innocence IV. Documents points on the old church of l’Hospitalet to be the first primitive church construction of Porreres. Moreover, in 1879, a major restoration work of this church led to the found of a Gothic altarpiece representing the two patron saints of Sant Joan Baptista and San Joan Evangelista (John the Baptist and Jogn the Evangelist).

During this time and until the year 1300, Porreres belonged under the same district as Campos, Santanyí and Felanitx.

Under the reign of King Jaume II of Mallorca, a period of great societal balance and peace, some fundamental yet very important decisions were made. The most noteworthy politics of this period, was the creation of the Mallorcan monetary system and the enactment of the ordinations in the year 1300. This document, Ordinació de les pobles, very well defined and constituted towns with at least 100 inhabitants. A lot of towns and villages of Mallorca was found already at that time by those ordinations, including Porreres. Some of the other towns founded here, includes Artà, Capdepera, Montuïri, Sant Joan, Petra, Felanitx, Campos and Manacor.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the urban nucleus of Porreres grew, new streets were opened and new neighborhoods arose. During this time, a Jewish community also settled in Porreres.

From the late 14th century, a societal conflicts started to evolve between small farmers and the nobility of the island. Between 1391 and 1523, two major conflicts marked the history of Mallorca and the local community of Porreres, the Revolta Forana and later the rise of the Germanies. Both conflicts had major impact on the local economy and population, as lives were lost and severe damages  left the town in massive depth.

In 1498, the oratory of Our Lady of Monti-Sion was erected at the summit of the hill of same name, in 245 meters altitude. In the beginning of the 16th century, a grammar school is inaugurated here with the purpose of preparing pupils for general studies and achieve higher education. Documents claims that there was about 200 pupils in 1680.

During the War of Succession (1702 – 1715), Porreres fought in favor of Archduke Charles of Austria, even though there was a small group of supporters of Felipe V (botiflers). With the victory of the Bourbon power, all municipal governance was essentially removed and replaces by decrees from the central power, meaning that only administrative and smaller urban affairs was handled in the town councils. Moreover, mayors were appointed by the military. In Porreres, also the grammar school was closed and only Castilian language could be taught.

The 19th century brought yet another series of turbulent years to Porreres, again caused by conflicts in regards to the Spanish crown. First, the First Carlist War, and later, the Glorious Revolution. During the First Carlist War (1833-1840), in 1836, the Prime Minister of Spain at that time, Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, confiscated all monastic properties of Spain, including the Monti-Sion and 53 other properties in Porreres, and auctioned them to private investors in order to raise money to support Maria Christina and Isabell II. This was known as “La desamortización eclesiástica de Mendizábal“. Later, in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution, more than 50 people from Porreres participated in fights and vandalism causing the municipal document files to be lost in the fires.

In the first quater of the 20th century there were about 5,000 inhabitants in Porreres. The number varied a lot during this time due to pandemics such as the Spanish Flu in 1918, and the big emigration to South America due to the pylloxera (wine lice) causing many fields to be burnt to the ground.

During the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939), the first mayor of Porreres was democratically elected, this was Joan Mora Ferrando whom represented the regionalist party. Also during the Second Spanish Republish, several unions were founded for workers in Porreres, the football (soccer) club of US Porreres was founded, the Instructional Center and the public school were founded and the municipal library was opened. Moreover, the Plaça de la República (currently Plaça de la Vila) and several other areas of the town underwent major improvements.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, more than 30 inhabitants of Porreres were shot, among these the mayor and the entire town council. The executions of people happened inside the walls of the Santa Cruz oratory. Prisoners from other prisons like Can Mir, Can Sales and Castell de Bellver, was also brought here for execution. The Franco regime banned all unions, Mallorcan flags, political parties, teaching of the Catalan language etc. First in 1979, a democratically elected mayor was reinstated – Francesc Sastre Mora.