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Cabrera (, , la, Capraria) is an island in 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 ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, located in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
off the southern coast of
Majorca 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 ...
. It is a
National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
. The highest point is Na Picamosques (172 m). Cabrera is the largest island of the small
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
that includes (from south to north) the islands of Estells de Fora, L'Imperial, Illa de ses Bledes, Na Redona, Conillera, L'Esponja, Na Plana, Illot Pla, Na Pobra, and Na Foradada.


History

In December 1530,
Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an Ot ...
, an Ottoman admiral of the fleet, captured the Castle of Cabrera, and started to use the island as a logistic base for his operations in the area. Barbarossa's naval victories secured Ottoman dominance over the Mediterranean during the mid 16th century, from 1530 until the
Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
in 1571. Cabrera was used to house French prisoners following the 1808
Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l' ...
. Of 9,000 sent to Cabrera, only 3,600 survived. The island was to be supplied every two days with food and water, but these ships often did not set sail. As well as dying of starvation, thirst and disease many were driven insane and some became cannibalistic. Inscriptions by the prisoners have been discovered in a cave at Cap Ventos, to the northwest of the island, which is also still littered with buttons from their rotted uniforms. Late in 1916 a malfunctioning
Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
remained at Cabrera for several hours, and the Spanish government subsequently decided to expropriate the island for defense. It is alleged that
Juan March Ordinas Juan Alberto March Ordinas (4 October 1880 – 10 March 1962) was a Spanish business magnate, arms and tobacco smuggler, banker and philanthropist. Closely associated with the Nationalist side during and after the Spanish Civil War, March was ...
, avoiding the
blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
, had been selling supplies, including fuel, to submarine personnel, from the area of Cala Ganduf and S'Olla. There was strong international protest, particularly by the British Admiralty, as Spain was officially neutral during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Cabrera remained a military zone until the 1980s, although from the 1920s some
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 ...
n civilians rented out their Cabrera land for agriculture. In 1936, during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, a
Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
Dornier Wal D-1 airplane crashed near the island. The crew were captured by military nationalist forces, but two Republican submarines (a B2 and B3) sent by order of Pedro Marqués Barber (an old NCO and former military
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
self-proclaimed governor) came immediately and the small Cabreran force surrendered. Facundo Flores Horrach (the chief military officer), Mariano Ferrer Bravo (a retired Spanish officer) and three civilians (males of the Suñer Mas family) were taken to
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
and executed in a harbour place named S'Hort d'en Morillo (Mahón). After the failure of Captain
Alberto Bayo Alberto Bayo y Giroud (27 March 1892 – 4 August 1967) was a Cuban military commander of the Republican faction during the Spanish Civil War. His most significant action during the war was the attempted invasion of the Nationalist-held islands ...
Column landing in Mallorca, from 15 August to 4 September, the Republican troops left Cabrera. Bayo's plan was for the CNT column, stationed in Cabrera, to appear at Dragonera Island just southwest of Mallorca and simulate a false landing. But the anarchist CNT command refused this tactic and later went to Mallorca. A bloody battle destroyed them in Porto Cristo. The rest of this column failed before it arrived and was killed on Sa Cabana, just outside their point of entry at Manacor. Cabrera, which had been a former Santa Catalina, Palma de Mallorca district, was declared a National Park in April 1991. The Cabrera National Park is now administratively grouped with the municipality of
Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...
.


See also

* Cabrera National Park


References


External links


Cabrera Island with zoomable island map (by IslasBaleares)Cabrera (by MallorcaWeb)Cabrera environment (by Mar Cabrera)
{{authority control Islands of the Balearic Islands National parks of Spain Marine reserves of Spain Protected areas of the Balearic Islands Uninhabited islands of Spain Mediterranean islands