Balearic Islands in the insular council of Mallorca; the three other insular councils are not subdivided into separate comarques, but are themselves assimilated each one to a comarca covering the same territory as the insular council. These nine comarques are then subdivided into municipalities ("municipis"), with the exception of Formentera, which is at the same time an insular council, a comarca, and a municipality. Note that the maritime and terrestrial natural reserves in the Balearic Islands are not owned by the municipalities, even if they fall within their territory, but are owned and managed by the respective insular councils from which they
Balearic Islands modern Spanish state, albeit a decentralised one wherein the various component territories within the united crowns retained their particular historic laws and privileges. The Balearic Islands were frequently attacked by Barbary pirates from North Africa; Formentera was even temporarily abandoned by its population. In 1514, 1515 and 1521, the coasts of the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland were raided by Turkish privateers under the command of the Ottoman admiral, Hayreddin Barbarossa. The island of Menorca was a British dependency for most of the 18th century as a result of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. This treaty—signed by the Kingdom