Information about Balearic Islands, Spain
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The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. They form an autonomous community and a province of Spain, of which the capital city is Palma de Mallorca.
The Balearic Islands are one of the Catalan-speaking territories designated by the cultural term of Catalan Countries. Majorca and Minorca are the Balearic Islands proper, while the other islands are included in the appellation as part of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. The main islands of the autonomous community are Majorca (Mallorca in Spanish), Minorca (Menorca), Ibiza (Eivissa), and Formentera, all of which are popular tourist destinations. Among the minor islands is Cabrera, which is the location of the Parc Nacional de l'Arxipèlag de Cabrera.
There is little history on the earliest inhabitants of the islands, though many legends exist. The story, preserved by Lycophron, that certain shipwrecked Boeotians were cast nude on the islands, was evidently invented to account for the name Gymnesiae. There is also a tradition that the islands were colonized from Rhodes after the Trojan war.
The two largest islands (the Balearic Islands, in their historical sense) had numerous excellent harbours, though rocky at their mouth, and requiring care in entering them (Strabo, Eustath.; Port Mahon is one of the finest harbours in the world). Both were extremely fertile in all produce, except wine and olive oil.
The Balearic Islands are one of the Catalan-speaking territories designated by the cultural term of Catalan Countries. Majorca and Minorca are the Balearic Islands proper, while the other islands are included in the appellation as part of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. The main islands of the autonomous community are Majorca (Mallorca in Spanish), Minorca (Menorca), Ibiza (Eivissa), and Formentera, all of which are popular tourist destinations. Among the minor islands is Cabrera, which is the location of the Parc Nacional de l'Arxipèlag de Cabrera.
There is little history on the earliest inhabitants of the islands, though many legends exist. The story, preserved by Lycophron, that certain shipwrecked Boeotians were cast nude on the islands, was evidently invented to account for the name Gymnesiae. There is also a tradition that the islands were colonized from Rhodes after the Trojan war.
The two largest islands (the Balearic Islands, in their historical sense) had numerous excellent harbours, though rocky at their mouth, and requiring care in entering them (Strabo, Eustath.; Port Mahon is one of the finest harbours in the world). Both were extremely fertile in all produce, except wine and olive oil.
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