Alcúdia, Mallorca - All You Need to Know

Prehistory

The first vestiges of human occupation with in the present day municipality of Alcúdia dates from around 2,000 BC, in what is commonly referred to as the pre-Talayotic period in the Balearic Islands. From this early period, people used caves for habitation and funerary purposes. Some of the finds include the caves of Molí Des Barcarés, Manresa, S`hort Des Moro, Quintana, Sa Coma and Sa Cova.

From around 1,100 BC, the Balearic Islands entered a period known as the Talayotic. The Talayotic, or Talaiotic, culture got its name from the tower-like megalithic constructions that served as lookouts. In Catalan, talaia means lookout or watchtower, and these constructions became the main characteristic of this period and culture. They are evidence that this period was marked by colonizers and impact from outside, as life on the island switched from regular huts and caves to more military oriented architecture. One of the greatest examples in Alcúdia, is the remains and ruins of the former watchtower which simply carries the name “Sa Talaia” (the lookout), situated 400 meters above sea level on the Alcanada peninsula overlooking the bays of Alcúdia and Pollenca.

During the 6th century BC, colonizers from ancient Greece and Carthage started occupying the western Mediterranean region. The Greeks sailed from the Aegean coast, from Phocaea (present day Foça, Turkey), across the Mediterranean and built big colonies such as Empuries in present day Girona, north of Barcelona.

The Phoenicians of Carthage too started expanding their territories and trading activities in this period. The Phoenicians were highly productive people, they created multiple textile factories all over their territories and engaged in trading activities.

One of the main reasons that the Iberian peninsula and the rest of present day western Europe was interesting to them, was the ore found in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (stretch between northwest Portugal and Sevilla). The Phoenicians had a predilection for islands and territories close to the sea, which again proves their dedication to trading activities.

The mix of Phoenicians and ancient Greeks with the indigenous peoples gave rise to another characteristic of the Talayotic period, the Balearic foner. The foner was a warrior renown and feared for his abilities to throw spears and shoot slingshots. Chronicles from the wars in Sicily stated how much Hannibal valued these island warriors, and how he asked his generals and commanders to give them extra protection, as they were a unique weapon against the Romans during these wars.

The Roman conquest

The Roman conquest of the islands was defining for Alcúdia, and for the rest of Mallorca for that matter, as these were to first to start a civilization as we know it today.

In 123 BC, Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus took control of Mallorca, after the fall of Carthage. Metellus had learned about the feared foners and knew of their enormous strength and accuracy that had killed thousands of soldiers. He knew very well, that it was almost impossible to enter the bays of Mallorca without getting killed. However, he came up with a solution to this, by strapping pieces of leather around the boats he was able to sail close to the shores and embark his troops.

Following a long and protracted quest to locate and fight down the Balearic warriors, Metellus and his Roman army eventually took control of the island. This accomplishment gave Metellus the title of consul and the nickname “Balearicus”.

Along with the archipelago, the Roman army too gained the Balearic foners, the deadly warriors which were a great asset to the troops. In the war against Jugurtha in Numidia, the Balearic foners was again mentioned as a key asset, this time as part of the Roman delegation. Caesar mentions them again in context of the Gaul war, about 56 BC, fighting alongside other elite troops.

The conquest of the Balearic islands gave rise to two major urban areas; Palma and Pol-lentia, whereof Pol-lentia was the capital, the bigger and most important. Excavation works has shown incredible marks of the Roman city i.e. the forum consisting of blocks of buildings of shops and workshops, as well as bases of sculptures typical for Roman cities. Another fascinating feature of Pol-lentia, is/was the amphitheater dug into the rocky walls, and had a capacity of about 1,000 spectators.

The Obscure centuries

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire around the 5th century, Mallorca entered a long phase of changing cultures that lasted for about four centuries. This phase is called “the obscure centuries”.

Pol-lentia too suffered great decay and destruction, particularly in the years between 425 and 455 when it was completely sacked by Vandals.

The Byzantine conquest around 536, did not have much impact on Pol-lentia as the Byzantine’s were more occupied by Palma and the eastern part of the island.

Under Moorish rule

In the years 902-903, Moorish general Issam al-Khawlani conquered the archipelago and incorporated it into the Emirate of Córdoba. He was awarded the title of governor of the islands, and it was during his rule that present day Palma became the capital, only at that time it was called Madina Mayurqua.

During the Moorish rule of the island, a fiscal system was inaugurated and agricultural communities started to form. The Moors built tunnels for transporting water and cisterns for collecting it, which gave a much more efficient agriculture as irrigation of soil and cultivation of crops were scaled up.

Alcúdia was a large farmstead called “Al Kudi”. The meaning of the name is “on the hill“. Some of the place names such as Guinyent, Biniatria, Gatamoix and Alcanada, are all testimony to the Moorish presence in the area. The Moors settled in groups of tribes bound by blood. Many of the place names came from the name of their tribes, for example, Biniatria belonged to the Atria tribe, where the prefix of bini or beni means “children”, so the name of the place is “Children of Atria”.

It was also during the Moorish rule, that many of Mallorca’s districts and present day municipalities arose. The Moors divided the island into roughly twelve districts, so-called “ajzà”, whereof Alcúdia and Pollença belonged to the district called “Bullansa”. The overall purpose of dividing the island in jurisdictions, was to make it easier to collect taxes for Madina Mayurqua.

The Catalan conquest

In September 1229, King Jaume I landed in the bay of Santa Ponca with his 150 ships and nearly 21,000 soldiers and horsemen. The mission was clear and simple; Take control of the capital and fight down any Moorish resistance. After just three months of battle, Madina Mayurqua was completely sacked, looted and painted in Moorish blood.

The following year, King Jaume I initiated another campaign to Mallorca, in order to conquer the rest of the island. About 20,000 Moors had fled from the capital during the first Catalan siege to the mountains and Menorca. Once the entire island was conquered, the king founded the private kingdom of Mallorca dividing it into about eight districts, some given to knights, counts and church, some he kept for the monarchy. Most of the area of Alcúdia the king kept for himself, while the area of Sant Martí, south of the town, as well as Pollença, he gave to the Knights Templar.

The foundation of Alcúdia

The first Catalan population center was established around the farmhouse of Guinyent, which became Sant Jaume de Guinyent. However, the Al Kudi farmstead quickly grew more popular and became the larger population center. In 1298, King Jaume II of Mallorca decided to move the parish to the Al Kudi, where he built the church, rectory and cemetery.

Following the death of King Jaume I in 1276, his successor, Jaume II, inherited the new kingdom of Mallorca. In order to bring new settlers to the rural areas of Mallorca, Jaume II promulgated a set of ordinances in the year 1300, that would grant every land of more than 100 neighbors the privilege of becoming a village. With this set of ordinances, new settlers could become landowners for an attractive amount of money, which they could rent out to smaller peasants who could then cultivate the soil and/or keep livestock, and sell their products at the local market.

Each settler had to purchase 3.55 hectares of arable land, 7.10 hectares of garrigue and a quarter of land (1,775 m2) in the new town, where he had to build a houses and move to live here within the next half year. For a possession like this, the settler would pay a tithe and a cash census (tax).

The ordenadors (the person in charge of effectuating the ordinances), were required to designate 355 hectares of land and 710 hectares of garrigue. The owners of these lands were then obliged to establish them to the new settlers, the so-called “acaptadors”, in exchange for a tax paid in metal determined by the ordenadors.

With the new ordinances also declared the premises of what should be included and the delimitation of the perimeter of the town and the affected areas. Previous design patterns of small villages and functional delimitation of the arable territory, as well as the extent of garrigues, determined the location of the town. This disposition of lands and population concentration was clearly based on a desire to achieve administrative efficiency and to be able to easily collect feudal rents for the monarchy.

This also introduced the “Lleuda”, a law which granted every a set of privileges such as rights to trade, lower and fixed taxes on imported merchandise and several other economical privileges.

In regards to the creation of the town, the width of the streets was set to measure 6.3 meters, the center of the town should be enforced by a protective wall or other fortified enclosure, and, the total perimeter of the town was expected to occupy no more than about 17.76 hectares.

It was also during this time, that the construction of the massive town walls and gates were initiated, however, these were not completed until 1362. The walls served to protect not only the people of the town but also the northern part of the island. Moreover, Jaume II ordered a military hospital built next to the church, this is where the present day monographic museum is situated.

The faithful town

In the middle of the 14th century (1348-1350), the Black Death was on a rampage through Europe. It too stroke Alcúdia with rats coming from boats anchoring in Port d’Alcúdia, this was how Mallorca was infected.

With plagues, droughts and famine, Alcúdia and the rest of Mallorca was under massive economical and demographic pressure, which eventually resulted in higher taxes.

At the same time, corruption among the noble classes was a recurring issue that kept most peasants and day-laborers out of influence in the towns causing a series of disputes. The corruption also meant that it was more difficult for small farmers to make money at the market, as the landowners charged more money in rent of land.

In 1450, King Alfonso ordered a so-called “capbreu” to be created, a declaration of all real estate of the island. Landowners were obligated to document their ownership of their possessions and real estate, to prove their rights to administrate it. However, what sparkled the first real societal conflict on the island was that many of the small farmers seemed to have lost their documentation of their rights to own land. Moreover, it was people from the nobility that were in charge of writing this capbreu, which of course was interpreted by the peasants as another corruption scandal.

Soon after, an angry mob led by Simo “Tort” Ballester, a peasant from Manacor, raged against the people who had written the capbreu, who were stoned and had to flee to the Ciutat de Mallorca (Palma). On July 26, 5,000 farmers from many villages gathered outside Inca to march towards the capital. The following day, they reached the city walls from where they cut of the water supply from the Font de la Vila (stream of the town), which supplied the entire city with water, and besieged the city. The siege lasted until August when the bishop of Urgell intervened and the governor agreed to talk to the farmers. The farmers handed over a script of 31 chapters stating their demands, most of these about erasing the public debt and put an end to the corruption.

The demands of the farmers were not met by governor, which led to a violent approach from the farmers who started damaging towns all over the island and plunder merchants. One of the most bloody battles took place in the marches between Sa Pobla and Muro, not far from Alcúdia, where Simo Ballester and 200 peasants clashed with the governor’s lieutenant Jaume Cadell and his men. In the years of the Revolta Forana, many people took refuge within the walls of Alcúdia, because the town did not take part of the revolt except a small group led by Miquel Renovard.

In 1453, the king intervened by sending Italian mercenaries to the island to put an end to the revolt once and for all. After the defeat of the farmers, all of the cities and families that had had anything to do with the revolt was sentenced to pay severe fines to cover for the damages.

After a period of exile in France for 3 years, Simo “Tort” Ballester first returned to Menorca before coming to Mallorca, where he was captured and imprisoned in the Bellver castle. He was executed in 1457, his dead body drawn and quartered.

But things got worse and a second civil war was a fact in 1520, a war knows as the “Revolt of the Brotherhood”. The outbreak of this war was essentially a continuation of the Revolta Forana, as it had it roots in the heavy tax loads and corruption, only this time it was led by the artisans guilds. This was actually a movement happening all over Spain, as the situation was the same for all. On the mainland, parallel communities were created with own laws, elected jurors etc. These parallel communities were simply called “Communidades” (communities).

One of the main figures of the Brotherhood in Mallorca, was Joanet Colom from the town of Felanitx, whom had traveled to Valencia to meet with other guilds to find inspiration on how they had done. The Brotherhood managed to siege Palma and several other towns on the island, which caused the nobility to flee and take refuge behind the walls of Alcúdia. The town managed to resist the many violent attempts of the Brotherhood to break through.

Eventually, after a bloody battle in the marshes of Sa Pobla, in November 1522, the Brotherhood was more of less defeated. King Carles V had sent his royal army to the island to end the revolt once and for all. The amateur army was no match for the highly skilled and trained soldiers, they were slaughtered, their body parts nailed to the tress and dead bodies hung from the palms along the main road from Alcudia to set an example.

In spring 1523, Joanet Colom was hung, dragged and quartered, his body parts were nailed to the city walls and salt was sown in the fields of his properties so that they could never again be used for irrigation.

As a reward for its heroic role protecting the nobility and all those faithful to the crown, Carles V awarded Alcúdia the title of “ciutat fidelíssima” (faithful town), which meant a series of privileges including tax exemptions. In the heart of Alcúdia, you can find the Plaça Carles V with a beautiful monument of an eagle which commemorate and testify the events.

The battle against pirates

The attacks of the Brotherhood had left the town of Alcúdia and its inhabitants in fear, and caused many to leave the area. Many nobles who had stayed in Alcúdia during the revolt returned to Palma and could not give employment to people, which caused a considerably decrease in the population.

During the mid-16th century, the Ottoman empire started to approach the Mediterranean. The first sign of the new threat was in 1535, when Ottoman forces brutally plundered and destroyed the town of Mahón in Menorca and took 6,000 slaves. The campaign was led by famous admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, a ruthless but highly skilled man whom had been promoted by Suleiman the Magnificent.

In 1551, an Ottoman delegation landed at Cap des Pinar (Alcanada). Captain Bartomeu Maura and 150 Alcúdians confronted the Ottomans and came back victorious. Years later, in 1558, the Ottomans returned to Cap des Pinar in yet another attempt to invade the island, this time it was Captain Felipe Fuster and Captain Mateu de Pachs who led the town to victory, but was killed doing so.

In the time following these attacks, two watchtowers were constructed on the Alcanada peninsula; sa Talaia de Victoria (1567) and Torre Major (1602). The first was constructed in 400 meters altitude giving it the possibility to overlook both the bay of Alcúdia and Pollenca. Torre Major was equipped with a battery of four bronze cannons, it received signals from sa Talaia de Victoria and the ancient lookout of Penya des Migdia.

The industrial times

Despite of the stagnating attacks from the seaside, the economical instability continued to grow in Alcúdia during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1779, King Carlos III and his government took action and made the port of Alcúdia a trading center for international trade in order to promote the economical activities and repopulating the town.

In 1870, the yellow fever arrived in Mallorca. It started in Palma, and afterwards spread throughout the island. Alcúdia kept itself safeguarded thanks to its walls and ability to close the gates, except for the Porta de Mallorca which was guarded, and who controlled every person entering or leaving the town.

However, it was not until the 20th century that the economy changed remarkably in Alcúdia, when the GESA electric power factory was inaugurated in 1957. The factory delivers power not only to Mallorca, but also to Menorca.

In the mid-1960’s, the tourism boom hits Mallorca and Alcúdia too. This new industry quickly became the main industry of the area, especially during the 1970’s the amount of hotels grew significantly creating new jobs in construction and service. Since the 1970’s, Alcúdia has been more or less completely dedicated to tourism, there are more than 50,000 hotels beds available.