The Castle of Capdepera is a walled fortress located in the Spanish municipality of

Capdepera Capdepera is a small municipality on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain. Capdepera is a historical village just 8 km from Artà. Originally there had been a watchtower where the Castle of Capdepera stands today which was used to guar ...

, on the island 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 one of the largest castles on the island. Its construction began in 310, but in the fourteenth century it was rebuilt on the remains of a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

village.

History

The Castle of Capdepera is important to the island as it was from here that the surrender of

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 ...

, the island neighbouring Majorca in the Balearic archipelago, was accomplished. King

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

, having conquered Majorca, decided he needed his troops for the future conquest of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. He devised a ploy to deceive the Muslims residing on

and cause them to surrender. To do this, he ordered a large number of bonfires lit in Capdepera so that they were visible from the neighbouring island. This was to make the Saracen Menorcans believe that a large army had camped there and were preparing to invade Menorca. The ruse worked. So finally, at this very castle, James I signed the

Treaty of Capdepera The Treaty of Capdepera was an agreement signed between King James I of Aragon and Abu'Abd Allah Muhammad, the Muslim qadi on the island of Menorca, on June 17, 1231, in the current Majorcan town of Capdepera. The treaty was signed at the Castle of ...

, through which the Menorcan Muslims were allowed to remain there in submission to the

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

under tribute. Capdepera - Castell de Capdepera 07 ies

The first construction of a fortress on this site was by Romans. It was later enlarged by the Moors. It was destroyed during Christian invasions but they later constructed another structure in the same location in the fourteenth century. King James II (1285-1295) having already founded the town of Capdepera in 1300 ordered the population of the area, which had been scattered, to build the walled enclosure surrounding one of its watchtowers now known as Miquel Nunis. Its strategic location on a hill allowed them to view the adjacent lands and sea channel separating the two islands. The castle was occupied by military troops up to 1854 when it was abandoned. From then until 1983 it was under private ownership. At that time the owners donated it to the Capdepera Town Council. In 2000 the council organized a celebration of the 700th year since the founding of the castle. It remains open for tourist viewing throughout the year.

References

External links

Spanish castles (CastillosNet)Spanish castles
{{Architecture of Spain Castles in the Balearic Islands Military history of Spain Tourist attractions in Mallorca