History of the Jews in the Balearic Islands History of the Jews in the Balearic Islands The history of the Jews in the Balearic Islands goes back more than a thousand years. Jews have lived in the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, belonging to Spain. These are situated to the east of Valencia, the three principal of which are named Majorca (Spanish, Mallorca), Minorca (Menorca), and Eivissa or Ibiza. The group first formed the Kingdom of Majorca; later it became a Spanish province under the domination of Aragon. According to the chroniclers, there were Jewish inhabitants in the Balearic Isles as early as the 2nd century. In the
History of the Jews in the Balearic Islands the prisons. If the slave of a Jew or Moor adopted Judaism or Mohammedanism, he had to be set free and was required to leave the island. Jaime II (1291–1327) confirmed the Jews in all the privileges conferred on them by his predecessor: he also allowed them to build a synagogue in the new "Calle" (Jews' quarter), and to own a cemetery. Unlike the Jews of Aragon, the Jews from the Balearic Isles were exempt from the duty of furnishing beds and bread to the royal family or to the governor. Moreover, they were not forced to pay the special