The Baleacric Isles, from the unsustainable success to the sustainable tourism of an archipelago

Abstract

From the 13th century - even before the end of the reconquest of Spain from the Moors (1492) - the Balearic Islands attained some sort of political identity by being a member of Spain's Christian kingdoms. Before the political unity of Spain in the 15th century, the Balearic Islands had had only one period of self-government with their own monarchy, of Catalan blood, between 1276 and 1349. From then on, having become a Spanish province without any natural resources and with maritime trade of little importance (specially worse after the discovery- of America in 1492), the Balearic Islands became poorer and the surplus population emigrated to European countries (like France) and even American countries (like Cuba and Puerto Rico).