The Catalans did not bring "salty speak" to the Balearic Islands, they were Majorcans and Menorcans who took their "salty speak" to the coast of Catalonia fleeing the Muslim invasion in the 10th century.
Salty speak. The official version tells us that the most significant characteristic of the Balearic language was brought by the repopulators coming from the coast of Gerona, mainly. Where still today resists some population with this characteristic, like Cadaqués.
However, to think that the repopulators of all the islands came in their immense majority of Catalonia, and besides a concrete zone of this one, it is simply absurd In addition we think that Menorca was conquered almost 60 years after Majorca and also uses the salty article.
Without forgetting that the South of Catalonia and a few years later Valencia also needed repopulators. Where did they get such a large population, if 80 years ago they do not have people to repopulate Tortosa or Lérida, recently conquered by the Moors, and after conquering Majorca and Valencia they still make population letters to repopulate other places in Catalonia ? There is another theory that seems much more plausible.
In the eighth century, when almost the entire Iberian Peninsula has succumbed to Islam, the Balearic Islands remains within the Byzantine domain, however it suffers repeated attacks by the Saracens. Because of this from the Balearic Islands the protection of Charlemagne is requested, which has managed to stop the Saracens in the north of the peninsula and has created what was called, "the Marca Hispanica". Throughout the ninth century, the Catalan counties, Occitania and the Balearic Islands will be part of the same political and religious entity, within the Carolingian Empire.
The Balearic Islands seems to have a special relationship with the County of Empúries. It seems that Ermenguer of Empúries was in charge of the protection of the islands by order of Charlemagne. There is evidence that in the year 813, Ermenger, commanding a Carolingian fleet stationed on the Balearic coast, captured some Muslim pirate ships that passed near the Balearic Islands when they came to ravage the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica.
Thanks to this protection, the Balearic Islands could remain outside the Arab domain until the tenth century, which, coinciding with the weakening of the Carolingian Empire, the Muslims invaded the Balearic Islands.
The invasion began in the year 902 with the capture of Ibiza and after Majorca, and in the year 903 of Menorca, this made that in Majorca, but especially in Menorca had time to prepare the evacuation of all those who had the possibility of do what. Taking into account the special relationship of the Balearic Islands with the County of Empúries, the most logical area to flee from would be precisely this one, and that it coincides with the area where the salty speak exists or existed.
Year 902, the Muslims invade Ibiza and Majorca. From Majorca and Menorca the population that could, fled mainly to the County of Empúries, taking with them their "salty speak".
In all likelihood, the Catalans did not bring us thre "salty speak", they were the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands who fled from the Muslims who took the "salty speak" to that area of Catalonia.
While in the Balearic Islands it happened the same as in the Iberian Peninsula, where the immense majority of the population was still a native population, and in the same way as 100 years ago in Majorca there was an army and administration in Spanish language, while the vast majority of people spoke majorcan language. The army and the administration at that time will speak Arabic language, while the vast majority of the population would speak the majorcan language of that time.
There are reports that in those years there was a large increase in population, in that area of what would later be Catalonia, but we still have not managed to find reliable documents to prove it.
In the coast of Gerona there are two clearly identifiable zones where their geographical features are named using the salty article. One is to the north, in the Cadaqués area and the other is to the south, between l'Estartit and Palamos. There are other points on the coast of Gerona named salty, but they are not concentrated as in these two zones. This is very important, because although the populations can lose or change their language, the names of the geographical features last for centuries. We can see this in Majorca where names like Porto Petro, Campos or Llucmayor, are from before the Moors, or in California where the cities, mountains or rivers, still retain their Hispanic name, or even Native American.
In this area we can see how these names are concentrated on the coast, while they disappear as we go inland. This is the area where many of the Majorcans and Menorcans who fled the Muslim invasion of the Balearic Islands arrived safely.
I know that no matter how much evidence we provide and appeal to the slightest common sense, so many years of indoctrination and Catalanist conditioning make it impossible for many to accept the obvious.
Let me use a method called "Occam's razor", according to which, simpler solutions are more likely to be correct than complex ones.
On the one hand we have Majorcans and Menorcans who, fleeing the Muslim invasion in the early 10th century, disembarked at different points on the coast of Gerona, mainly in the old County of Empúries, with whom they had political and religious ties, carrying their language to that area. Whose inhabitants had retreated inland for fear of frequent Muslim attacks.
And on the other hand we have repopulators coming from the coast of Gerona, that after the Christian conquest (1229), repopulated all the island, bringing its salty speech to the Balearics, whose populations had been murdered or sold as slaves.
The problem with this last theory is:
- That at that time Catalonia was still being repopulated.
- That in this area of feudal Catalonia there still existed the evil customs, with which the feudal lord prevented or hindered his servants from leaving their lands.
- That these supposed repopulators also came from a specific area of Catalonia.
- That Menorca remained 60 years after the conquest of Majorca being Muslim, and yet its repopulators came , supposedly, of the same place as those of Majorca.
- That 8 years after Majorca, Valencia was also conquered and repopulated, and yet there is no population nucleus of "salty speech" from Catalonia.
Not to mention:
- The density population.
- The total absence of names of Catalan populations in the Balearic Islands
- A peasant dress that is nothing like catalan peasant dress.
- Peasant houses that have nothing to do with Catalonia.
- Or Mallorcan dishes that do not exist in Catalonia.
And other issues that We will address in other points of this work.
Look at the map above, as on the coast of Cadaqués there is "Illa de Majorca" (Majorca Island), here we have a place name that refers to Majorca. The truth is that it is nothing more than an islet attached to the coast. We should think that being majorcans those who arrived, it is very rare that they put the name of their island to this stone in the middle of the sea.
Although if we look closely, this rock seen from above, and with a little imagination, if it has some resemblance to the island of Majorca, with the bay of Palma included.
Also on the coast of Gerona there is "Sa Palomera", which according to the "book of events" of James I, when arriving at Majorca, is where first one tried to disembark but it was not possible because the Muslim troops had already arrived.
On the coast of Gerona there are other place names shared with the Balearic coast such as: Cala Fornells, Cala Torta, Es Jonquet, Cala Bona... Bearing in mind that many of those arriving on the coasts of Gerona would be fishermen, it would be normal for them to put names own of the Balearic coast. But these names are too generic to be able to conclude that they were put by refugees of the Balearic Islands, although it is not ruled out either.
However, reviewing the entire coastline of Majorca, there is not a single reference to Gerona or Barcelona, except in the Pollensa area, which we will explain later. And as we have already said, there are no toponyms in the interior of the island that remind us of Catalonia.
Recall that according to Catalanist historiography, the inhabitants of Majorca were peasants of Empurdà, mainly. Think of some supposed repopulators, that arrive at zones that have been depopulated, that do not know the name of the towns, mountains or torrents, and do not put names that remember to their place of origin, are simply absurd.
Cooking recipe to make, "cim i tomba". In this video we can see, and hear, a lady from Tossa de Mar (Empurdà). Listening to her, she remembers talking about Menorca, evidently so many years of separation, and the contact with the rest of Gerona has made the language of the Balearic refugees have changed. This video will be one of the few memories that remain of the salat of the Ampurdán, the Catalanism is making disappear any differentiation with the catalan laguage standard. As it is unfortunately happening in the Balearics.
I read in an article by a professor at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) that 80% of the Majorcan peasantry came from Catalonia.
Unfortunately, in the same way as in the Franco regime there were Francoist historians who interpreted history to the extent of the Franco regime. Now we have Catalanist historians who interpret history to the measure of Catalanism.
For sample it is enough to see these images. Balearic Islands was part of the Byzantine Empire since the sixteenth century until the arrival of the Moors in the tenth century. Centuries after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire arises in this same territory. The clothing of the Byzantine population in all likelihood was similar to Ottoman. This male clothing could be adopted by the population of Balearic Islands in the time of the Byzantine Empire.
Colonizing new lands is not new in the history of the Balearics . In the seventeenth century, a significant number of Mallorcan people moved to an area of Valencia to repopulate it, where even today, after more than 400 years, the "Majorcan salty speak" and Majorcan gastronomy are preserved. Where is Catalonia in Majorca?
The exeption. A possible explanation.
In the years 1960-1970, when there was a great influx of peninsular immigrants (colloquially "forastés") to Majorca. Zones were created, especially in Palma, where the concentration of immigrants was very high. There were neighborhoods like Son Gotleu or Son Cladera , where you could only hear Castilian speaking (forasté). It was the case of many families who had come from the same region and even from the same town, and who lived on the same farm or very close. This is totally logical, if I have to emigrate I will go near people I know and who can help me, if I need it.
The same happens now in Son Gotleu, where many foreigners have been replaced by Senegalese.
This is what happened also in New York with Little Italy o Chinatown.
This happened 50 years ago and it happens now, here and in different places, so it is very likely that it happened 700 or 800 years ago.
Pollensa, in the north of Majorca, is the only area of the Balearic Islands where the salty article is not used . As we explained in the previous paragraph, it was probably populated mainly by Catalans and perhaps from the same area of Catalonia.
In the bay of Pollensa, there is an area called Manresa. I do not know which is really its origin, perhaps the last name of some important person or maybe it refers to the Catalan population of the same name or maybe it is due to another reason, that as I said, I do not know.
We could look for a link between the lack of salty article of the population, the arrival of immigrants from Catalonia, and the Catalan city of Manresa.
Inquiring into the history archives we discovered something interesting. At the beginning of the 14th century, Manresa was the most important city in Catalonia, after Barcelona, and experienced a large increase in population. But between 1333 and 1339 there were years of terrible drought:
""the situation was truly untenable, on the verge of collective madness, even thought of devouring the corpses, the vultures fluttered on the roofs of country houses and campaigned at ease, feasting on the dead cattle, and the lands decimated and without anyone to cultivate them, the abandonment of the farmhouses was constant and the city lost half of its inhabitants ". www.espaciomisterio.com
In this way we could conclude that an important mass of population could come from Manresa to this area of Mallorca at that time.
Another curious fact of this area of the Balearic Islands.
In the second half of the sixteenth century (1550 - 1580), there were a series of attacks by Turkish pirates on the Balearic coasts.
Celebrations are held in the different affected populations to commemorate the defense of the island by the population.
Moors and Christians, Pollensa. Mallorcanatural According to tradition, the inhabitants of Pollensa
went out to fight with their pajamas.
Is not there a certain similarity between this supposed pajama
and the Catalan peasant costume?
The Majorcan language is a linguistic treasure, which still retains medieval characteristics. Not only should be preserved, but words and expressions that have been disused or forgotten should be recovered, replaced by other expressions in catalan language of Barcelona, "a linguistic aberration that is not more than 100 years old", manufactured in Barcelona by the chemist Pompeu Fabra.
WHAT ARE THEY DOING OUR "DEAR MAJORCANS HICKS CATALANISTS", IS LIKE CHANGING THE CENTENARY FURNITURE THAT GRANDMA HAS LEFT YOU, FOR IKEA SHELVES.
Español
Mallorquí
