History of Sencelles

The area of Sencelles has been inhabited by humans since ancient prehistoric times. Some of the archaeological sites that evidence early occupation are those of Son Morei, sa Teulera, Can Garau and Can Baldó, which goes back to the Pre-Talayotic period about 2,400 – 1,600 BC. The navetas villages such as Morelló Nou, Son Calussa, Son Fransoi and Son Caimari are great examples of the period between Pre-Talayotic and Talayotic periods known as “Naviforme” due to the ship shaped huts. From the Talayotic period (1,100 – 300 BC), the Talaiot Son Fred and Can Xim are undoubtedly the most significant excavations done in the municipality of Sencelles, both found just outside the village.

During Muslim occupation on the island (902-1232), the area was part of a bigger district or jurisdiction called “Juz’ d Qanarusa”, which also included the current municipalities of Binissalem, Lloseta, Alaró, Consell, Costitx, Sencelles, Santa Eugènia and Santa Maria del Camí. The area was most likely occupied by the Zanata/Zenata Berber tribe, a group that lived in farms and huts scattered all over the countryside.

Following the Catalan/Aragonese conquest of Mallorca (1229-1232), the king distributed the lands of the island among lords, counts, archbishops and knights which was documented in the Llibre de Repartiment (Book of Distribution). The district of Qanarusa was renamed to Canarossa and granted Gastón de Montcada, viscount of Bearn. The new Christian settlers were not late to replace all Islamic mosques with chapels to mark the new religious dominance. The first chapel that was built in this area was situated in Costitx and erected in 1236, however, already in 1246 a new chapel was built in Sencelles.

Mallorca became a kingdom, and in 1309, King Jaume II of Mallorca and his advisors came up with a document of ordinances that difined the villages of the island and which had the right to trade. One of the requirements was that a village had to have a least 100 inhabitants or houses. Sencelles was one of these villages. Moreover, to increase the revenue of the area, Costitx, Biniali, Cascanar and Ruberts was included in the same parish.

Plagues, droughts and corruption the following centuries limited the population growth remarkably. Especially corruption came to play a significant role in the history of Mallorca during the Middle Ages. The nobility, with strong bonds to the monarch, saw an opportunity to claim more lands than they actually owned. In the first half of the 15th century, a so-called “Cabreu” was to be created, in order to state who owned what, an early cadastre if you will. For various reasons, many small landowners and peasants did not have paper on their ownership of lands which the upper class and nobility took advantage of in collaboration with officials who wrote these cabreus, allowing for them to claim most of the lands and thereby demand rents and taxes from the peasants. All this led to an uprising against the nobility in 1450, known as “Revolta Forana” (Revolt of the Foreigners or Revolt of the Forals). For three years, there was battles and clashes all over the Mallorcan countryside until the conflict ended with interference from the monarch whom sent mercenaries to stop the peasants. The conflict resulted in massive debts to the peasants’ families which made it even more impossible to make a living because now almost all income had to be paid in taxes and penalties. The debt continued to grow year for year, as it became more difficult to make money as a small peasant. In the beginning of the 16th century, a small movement of twin communities began to form in all secrecy all over Spain as a result of public debts that suffocated people, the so-called “Comunetas”. In 1521, this movement started in Mallorca and became known as “La Germania”. La Germania started with a diplomatic approach appealing to the king and politicians to cancel the massive tax loads and public debt. But as the peaceful approach did not make quick progress, the leaders were killed by their own people in Castell de Bellver and a violent approach started to take place. For two years, Mallorca saw the worst blood shedding since the Catalan conquest in 1229-1232, with thousands of casualties. The conflict ended with the king sending 3,000 soldiers from the royal army to Alcúdia to come the nobility to rescue and fight the La Germania. In just a few months the skilled soldiers had slaughtered the amateur army of peasants. They hung their dead bodies from the trees on the main road between Alcúdia and Inca and cut their limbs into the trees, to exemplify what would happen to anyone not willing to surrender.

More serious droughts in the first half of the 18th century resulted in a shift in the agricultural activities in Sencelles, making the farmer bank on cultivation of dry soil like almonds, cattle, cereals and figs. However, in the 19th century, Sencelles benefited from the increasing demand for Mallorcan wines, which unfortunately did not last long as the terrifying phylloxera (wine plague) caused all vineyards to be burnt to the ground.

After a series of struggles and strides, Costitx and Sencelles finally parted in 1855, mostly in favor of Costitx. The political turbulence in Spain and the French invasion during the 19th century, resulted in many changes of where municipal power.

Today, Sencelles is still an agricultural area with its main activities centered around cereals, almonds and livestock. The municipality include the hamlets of Jornets, Biniali Cascanar Laià, Ruberts and Judí.

In regards to the name of the municipality, there are literally hundreds of theories about the origin of the name. Some etymologists suggests that the name derives from “Cent selles” (One hundred seals), other suggests that it derives from “Cent cel-les” (One hundred cells) and some believe that the name derives from the surname “Centselles”.

Agriculture is and has always been the predominant source of income in Sencelles. Sustainability and ecology are keywords in this municipality that does a lot to keep itself innovative.