James I of Aragon lands on Mallorca

1229

The Aragonese king launched a naval crusade against the Muslim taifa of Mallorca. His knights stormed the island in a brief, violent campaign. The conquest added the Balearics to the Aragonese crown and gave Catalan maritime commerce a new base in the western Mediterranean. Catalan settlers and their language soon dominated the islands, displacing the Arabic-speaking Muslim population through conversion and emigration.