Guerra i defensa en temps de penúria: el cas de Mallorca durant el regnat de Carles II. Algunes notes aproximatives

Abstract

The defenses of the kingdom of Majorca were very weak during the reign of Charles II because of economic hardship, which prevented the islands of Majorca and Minorca from having suitable protection even by the end of the seventeenth century. In Majorca, a good amount of work was undertaken in the fortifications of the city of Palma, unlike Alcúdia. In Minorca both the fortifications and the garrisons of Ciutadella and Mahó found themselves in very poor conditions. Ibiza, on the other hand, had suitable fortifications and artillery since the late sixteenth century, although the garrison was poorly equipped. The pressures from the crown in order to get men and money from Majorca in the war against France were very strong. Majorcans did not openly oppose those subsidies, but, instead, found ways enabling them to postpone their payment as much as possible. Three different situations (those of Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza) are analyzed against a common background: the French navy, increasingly seeking to take some of the islands or, at least, some of their ports, such as Mahó.