Overview of the Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands (official name Catalan: Illes Baleares; Spanish: Islas Baleares), one of the autonomous regions of Spain. A province of Spain. Located in the Western Mediterranean, between the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and North Africa, it consists of a series of islands with a total area of ??slightly more than 5,000 square kilometers, a coastline of 1,239 kilometers, and a population of approximately 736,865 (1994). Nearly half of the population lives in the capital, Palma.

It is located 80 to 300 kilometers (50 to 190 miles) east of mainland Spain. It consists of two major island groups. The Eastern Island Group is larger and includes the main islands of Majorca and Minorca, as well as another small island of Cabrera. The western island group is called Pitiusas and consists of the islands of Ibiza and Formentera.

The Balearic Islands are an extension of the Spanish mainland, and the two parts are connected by an undersea ridge near Cape Nao in the province of Alicante. The terrain on the island varies greatly, with rolling hills, plateaus and lowlands. Menorca has large plains. Annual rainfall is low, rarely exceeding 450 mm (18 inches), and is concentrated in spring and autumn.

They were occupied by the Roman Empire, the Vandals, the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, and the Aragonese Empire. The Aragonese Empire originally governed the Balearic Islands as a vassal state of the Majorcan Empire. It was not integrated into the empire until 1344, and then the entire empire was annexed by Spain. At the beginning of the 18th century, it was occupied by the British. Became a Spanish province in 1833. In the 19th century, regional independence movements emerged, but they were ineffective. In 1931, there were suggestions to change it into an autonomous region, but it officially became a Spanish region in 1983.