Spain, Palma de Mallorca

Palma is the major city and port in the island of Mallorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of the island on the Bay of Palma. As of the 2005 census, the population of the city of Palma proper was 375,773, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 474,035, ranking as the 12th-largest urban area of Spain. Almost half of the total population of Mallorca live in Palma. The archipelago of Cabrera, though widely separated from Palma proper, is administratively considered part of the municipality. Its airport, Son Sant Joan, is one of the busiest in Europe.  The Marivent Palace was offered by the city to the then Prince Juan Carlos I of Spain. The royals have since spent their summer holidays in Palma.

History

Palma (Palmaria) was founded as a Roman camp upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement. The turbulent history of the city saw it the subject of several Vandal sackings during the fall of the Roman Empire, then reconquered by the Byzantine, then colonised by the Moors (who called it Medina Mayurqa), and finally established by James I of Aragon.

17th to 19th Century

The 17th century is characterised by the division of the city in two sides or gangs, named Canamunts and Canavalls (from Mallorcan Catalan "the ones from the upper/lower side"), with severe social and economical repercussions. During this period the port became a corsair's haven. During the last quarter of the century, the Inquisition reinforced its prosecution of the Jews, locally named xuetes

Sunset in the bay of Palma.The fall of Barcelona in 1714 meant the end of the Spanish Succession War and the end of the Crown of Aragon, and this was reflected on the Decreto de Nueva Planta, issued by Phillip V of Spain in 1715. This decree modified the government of the island and separated it from the municipality's government of Palma. At this time the City was officially named Palma, and by the end of the 19th century, the term Palma de Mallorca was generalised, written, mostly, and in Spanish. In the 18th century Charles III of Spain liberalised commerce with the United States and the port and commercial activity of the city grew once again.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Palma became the refuge of many who had exiled themselves from the Napoleonic occupation of Catalonia and Valencia; during this period freedom flourished, until the absolutist restoration. With the creation of the national state of Spain, Palma became the capital of the new province of Balearic Islands in 1833. The French occupation of Algeria in the 19th century ended the fear of Maghrebi attacks in Mallorca, which favoured the expansion of new maritime lines, and consequently, the economic growth of the city, which suffered a demographic increase, with the birth of new nucleus of population.

20th Century to today

Since the 1950s, the advent of mass tourism radically changed the physiognomy of both the city and island, transforming it into a centre of attraction for visitors and attracting workers from mainland Spain. This contributed to a huge change in the traditions, the sociolinguistic map, urbanisation and acquisitive power.

The boom in tourism caused Palma to grow significantly, with repercussions on immigration. In 1960 Mallorca received 500,000 visitors, in 1997 it received more than 6,739,700. In 2001 more than 19,200,000 people passed through Son Sant Joan airport near Palma, with an additional 1.5 million coming by sea.

In the 21st century, urban redevelopment, by the so-called Pla Mirall (English "Mirror Plan"), attracted important groups of immigrant workers from outside the European Union, especially from Africa and South America.

Climate

Mallorca has an ideal climate for holidaymakers with little rain and average temperatures kept below 86ºF (30ºC) even in mid-summer. Temperatures remain nice in the spring and autumn and even in winter rarely drop below 50ºF (10ºC), though rain is more likely at this time of year. Water temperatures range from 64ºF (18ºC) in May to 79ºF (26ºC) in August making Mallorca ideal for watersports.