Plague in Europe and Mallorca

Eighteenth Century Mallorca
1706
A few years after the start of the Spanish War of Succession between Felipe V and Charles of Austria, an English fleet supporting the Austrian king sailed into Palma Bay. Although the aristocracy supported the Bourbon king, the middle and lower classes supported Charles. There was such confusion between the supporters of the pretenders that the fleet succeeded in capturing the town after firing only six shots!




1713
Birth of Father Juniper Serra in Petra. Founder of the Californian Missions, in Los Angeles in particular. Died in Monterrey in 1784.
1714
Fall of Barcelona and with it the House of Aragon and the end of the Spanish War of Succession.
1716
Felipe V centralised government in Madrid with his Nueva Planta Decree. Catalan and other regional languages were replaced by Castilian Spanish. Ciutat de Mallorca the Catalan name for the Mallorcan capital was officially changed to Palma but “de Mallorca” was not added until the nineteenth century.
1764
Felip Bauçà Canyes, geographer, cartographer, sailor and politician was born in Palma and died in London in 1834 where he was buried in Westminster Abbey. He drew up nautical charts of the Spanish coastline and maps of the Balearic Islands. He took part in several martial actions and was exiled to London in 1823. Three years later he was condemned to death in absentia. Although he was pardoned in 1833, age and failing health prevented his return to Mallorca.His maps were the best of their time and were used as the official ones in many European and American countries. His surveys and nautical charts on South America are held in the British Museum where they are known as the Bauzà Collection.
1776
The Dragon de na Coca, was in fact a crocodile, presumed to have arrived onboard ship, that made its home in the area between the Jewish Quarter of El Call and La Portella. Initially it was quite content with cats and rats but as it grew so did its appetite and it took a violent fancy to the helpless and defenceless young and old. One night, the Governor of Alcúdia, Captain Bartomeu Coch was paying court to his lady from outside her window when the creature emerged from the shadows. Immediately the captain drew his sword and killed the beast, offering it to his lady as a token of his love. Na Coca’s dragon was embalmed and can still be seen in the Diocesan Museum.