Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands (Illes Balears Catalan official name, Islas Baleares in Spanish) are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Spain. They form one of the Autonomous Communities of Spain, the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. The Community's capital city is Palma de Mallorca. Its only province is also called Illes Balears.

The official languages are Catalan and Spanish. The Catalan name Illes Balears is used by the Spanish government.

Geography, Politics and Culture

The Balearic Islands are one of the Catalan-speaking teritories designed by the cultural term of Catalan Countries.

The main islands are Majorca (Mallorca), Minorca (Menorca), Ibiza (Eivissa), and Formentera, all popular tourist destinations.

Among the minor islands is Cabrera, which is the location of the Parque Nacional del Archipiélago de Cabrera.

Majorca and Minorca are the Balearic Islands proper, while the other islands are included in the appelation as part of the Autonomous Community. The islands can be further grouped, with Majorca, Minorca, and Cabrera as the Illes Gimnesias, and Ibiza and Formentera as the Illes Pitiüses.

History of the Archipelego

In ancient times, the islanders constructed talayots, and were famous for their skill with the sling. Historically they have been invaded by the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantines, the Arabs, and the Aragonese. The latter brutally settled the islands, mainly by Catalan population, virtually extinguishing the previous populations, and initially ruled the Balearics as the vassal Kingdom of Mallorca, but in 1344 this ceased to exist and it was directly incorporated into the Crown of Aragon, which was later united dynastically with Castile as a result of the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, and formally absorbed into Spain by the Nueva Planta decrees after the War of Spanish Succession.

Minorca was a British dependency most of the 18th century, a time in which the island was conquered and reconquered and traded by British, French and Spanish forces in several wars

Illes Balears sponsors a professional cycling team in the UCI ProTour.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Balearic Islands".