The Battle of Llucmajor ( ca, Batalla de Llucmajor; ) occurred in 1349 when

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

's forces defeated and killed his cousin

James III of Majorca James III ( – ), known as James the Rash (or the Unfortunate), was King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabella of Sabran. Life James was born in Catania, Sicily. Margaret of Villehardouin, James's ...

in the town of

Llucmajor Llucmajor (; es, Lluchmayor) is the largest municipality (in terms of surface area) of the Balearic Island of Mallorca. There are sixteen urban settlements in the municipality, including the town of Llucmajor and the coastal areas of s'Aren ...

on the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

, resulting in the end of the independent

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca ( ca, Regne de Mallorca, ; es, Reino de Mallorca; la, Regnum Maioricae; french: Royaume de Majorque) was a realm on the east coast of Spain, which included certain Mediterranean islands, and which was founded by James I o ...

Background

In 1343, Peter IV of Aragon sought to expand his kingdom of Aragon towards

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. However, his ships were unable to pass through Majorcan waters. To rectify this, Peter IV launched a war against the Majorcans, landing an army in

Santa Ponsa Santa Ponsa ( Catalan and officially: ''Santa Ponça'') is a small town in the southwest of Mallorca. Located in the municipality of Calvià, it is 18 kilometres from the capital Palma. History It was believed that Santa Ponsa derived from a ...

, while also attacking northward into Majorcan-controlled

Cerdanya Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...

and

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

, conquering them by 1345.

Expedition

Peter IV created a force of 16 ships: Eight

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...

, six

ushers An usher is a person who welcomes and shows people where to sit, especially at a church, theatre or when attending a wedding. History The word comes from the Latin ''ostiarius'' ("porter", "doorman") through Norman French, and is a cognate of ...

, a

carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...

and a

log Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathe ...

. He disembarked at

Cap de Formentor Cap de Formentor () is the northernmost point of Majorca, on the Formentor peninsula. Location Cap de Formentor is located on the northernmost point of the Balearic Island Majorca in Spain. Its highest point, ''Fumart'', is 384m above sea le ...

on 11 October 1349. The remainder of the fleet sailed to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

. In all, there were 3,000 infantry and 400 men on horseback.

Battle

King James III of Majorca led the defense against the Aragonese assault. The forces encountered each other at Llucmajor. The battle lasted all night long and ended in a tremendous loss, and saw the destruction of the Majorcan army, leading to Peter IV taking over Majorca. King James III died in the battle, while his son

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

was taken prisoner. Violante of Vilaragut was taken prisoner in the fighting.

References

* Gabriel Ensenyat i Pujol, ''La reintegració de la Corona de Mallorca a la Corona d'Aragó'' (1343-1349), Mallorca, 1997.

External links

History of MajorcaHistory of Majorca site
14th century in Aragon

History of Mallorca

Llucmajor 1349 in Europe Kingdom of Majorca {{Balearics-stub