Plague in Europe and Mallorca

Plague and the Black Death in Mallorca
1230
Chroniclers mention an outbreak of plague coinciding with the Conquest of Mallorca, possibly a result of the slaughter inflicted on the inhabitants after the Palma seige was broken, but there is no further mention until the most deadly one of all, the Black Death, spread across Europe in 1348.



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1348
Mallorca, an island on a busy trade route, was one of the first places in Spain to be affected by the Black Death. In April, Pedro IV rather optimistically instructed the Island government to take steps to prevent further spread of the disease. There was little that could be done, however, and one writer puts the number of deaths at fifteen thousand in a single month. Another chronicler suggested that the total loss was almost 80% of the population. By 3rd May, the Mallorcan government was complaining that the Island was so weakened by disease that it was unable to defend itself against attacks by pirates and the Bey of Tunis. Pedro IV promised to send some galleys but insisted that Mallorca should pay half the cost! This was to be the beginning of 150 years of intermittent outbreaks which would devastate and weaken the Island population. In 1343, Mallorca had a population of 11,283 and by 1349 it was 9,164. 19% of the population died, unequally distributed through the Island, with 10.25% in the urban area and 23.7% in the country. Bunyola lost 70% of its population, Santa Maria del Camķ 46%, Calvią 43%. In Palma, Santa Euląlia was one of the areas most badly affected, losing some 17-22% of its inhabitants.
1349
The Government of Mallorca was instructed to send troops to defend the even more depopulated Minorca against enemy attack.
1375
This plague affected children most of all.
1383/4
A milder variant.
1493
An edict was published forbiding the disembarkation of travellers and merchandise from areas with plague.
1450
Pesta d'en Boga - Boga was the name of a sailor thought to be the carrier of the disease.
1524
Saint Sebastian proclaimed patron saint of Palma following the miraculous end to the 1523-1524 plague on the arrival from Rhodes of an arm bone of the saint.
1652
An epidemic spread from Valencia (1648) Catalonia (1649-53) via Sóller spreading to Palma . Of the 90,000-100,000 inhabitants, some 14-1500 died of which 9,000 were in Palma. Inca and Sóller were badly affected as was Alarņ, Petra, Selva and Sineu, where there were more than one hundred deaths.
1820
Like the rest of Europe, plague practically disappeared in Mallorca during the last half of the XVIIIth century although isolated outbreaks continued into the second half of the XIXth century. However, Bubonic plague attacked Artą, Capdepera and Son Servera leaving 1,267 dead in Artą and 1,040 dead in Son Servera.