Jaume I disembarked in Santa Ponça on September 10, 1229.
... And we took this decision: to send don Nuno in his own galley, and Ramon of Montcada in Tortosa's galley, and that they would follow the coast, as though heading for Mallorca, and they would land wherever they thought the group could land. And they found a place that bore the name Santa Ponça, and they thought it was a good place to land, because there was a hill close to the sea and, with five-hundred men we could take it, and we would not have to fear losing it before the fleet could arrive. And, so, it was decided that on Sunday they would arrive at the hill of Pantaleu. And after that, on Sunday, towards midday, a Saracen called Alí, from Palomera, came swimming towards us, and explained things about the island, its king and the city.
Llibre dels fets (1244 - 1275)
Translated by Richard Mansell.
(Montpellier, 1208 – Valencia, 1276). Count of Barcelona, King of Aragon, Valencia and Mallorca and Lord of Montpellier, Jaime I was the son of King Pedro II of Aragon and Maria of Montpellier. On his father’s death, he took over the throne at the age of ten. Together with a group of Catalan nobles, he planned the conquest of the Balearic Islands with a view to extending his kingdom overseas. On September 5th, the Catalan navy, led by Jaime I, set sail from Salou, landing in Santa Ponsa on September 10th, where the first battle with the Saracen population took place. Following the conquest of Mallorca in 1229, he went on to conquer Minorca, Valencia, Ibiza and Formentera, and the Crown of Aragon underwent a period of splendour with its Mediterranean expansion. Jaime I has left us a magnificent legacy: the Llibre dels feits or Book of Deeds. This is one of the finest examples of medieval Catalan literature, not only in its capacity as a written historical record but also due to its importance as literature and as an example of the language of the time. In autobiographical style, the chronicle narrates the king’s life and epic deeds. It begins with his birth and was very probably completed just before his death. In addition to the major historical events that it recounts, it also contains more minor details, offering an insight into the monarch’s more human, plausible side. In his will, he left the island to his son, Jaime II.
The Catalan troops of Jaume I dropped anchor off the coast of Santa Ponça and this is where the first battles against the Moors took place. Close to the coast there is Puig de la Morisca, and on the summit of this there are still remains of an Almohad fortification, and surely this was from where the Moors saw the Catalan fleet arrive. The name places in this area commemorate history, and so 'coll de la Batalla' (Battle hill) is where there was the most important confrontation between Catalan and Moorish troops, as the former headed to the city of Madina Mayurqa.
In 1929, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Catalan conquest, several monuments were built. Close to the sea there is the 'creu del desembarc' (landing cross), rebuilt in 1996 after a lightning strike, and on the lower part of this there are scenes relating the first moment of the conquest.
