page_title: Conquest of Majorca
section_title: Battle of Portopí
hierarchical_section_title: Conquest of Majorca / Conquest / Battle of Portopí
caption_attribution_description: Español: Batalla de Portopí fragmento de las pinturas murales de la conquista de Mallorca, procedentes del Palacio Aguilar de Barcelona y conservadas en el Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña Datadas: 1285-1290Català: Batalla de Portopí, fragment de les pintures murals de la conquesta de Mallorca, procedents del Palau Aguilar de Barcelona i conservades al Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Datades 1285-1290
context_page_description: The Conquest of the island of Majorca on behalf of the Christian kingdoms was carried out by King James I of Aragon between 1229 and 1231. The pact to carry out the invasion, concluded between James I and the ecclesiastical and secular leaders, was ratified in Tarragona on August 28, 1229. It was open and promised conditions of parity for all who wished to participate.
  James I reached an agreement regarding the arrival of the Christian troops with a local chief in the Port de Pollença, but the strong mistral winds forced the king to divert to the southern part of the island. He landed at midnight on September 10, 1229, on the coast where there is now the tourist resort of Santa Ponsa, the population centre of the Calviá municipality. Although the city of Madina Mayurqa fell within the first year of the conquest, the Muslim resistance in the mountains lasted for three years.
  After the conquest, James I divided the land among the nobles who accompanied him on the campaign, per the Llibre del Repartiment. Later, he also conquered Ibiza, whose campaign ended in 1235, while Menorca had already surrendered to him in 1231.
context_section_description: The battle of Portopí was the main armed conflict in open terrain between the Christian troops of James I and the Muslim troops of Abú Yahya in the conquest. It took place on September 12 at various points on the Na Bourgeois mountains (formerly called Portopí highlands), about halfway between Santa Ponsa and the City of Majorca, an area known locally as the "Coll de sa Batalla". Though the Christians were victorious, they suffered significant casualties, including Guillem II de Bearne and his nephew Ramón, whose relation to each other had previously given as brothers, so they were usually referred to as "the Montcada brothers".
  Before the start of the skirmish, the Muslim army had been deployed throughout the Portopí highlands, knowing that the Christians would have to cross these mountains on their way to Medina Mayurqa. On the other hand, hours before the confrontation and aware of the danger that threatened them, Guillem de Montcada and Nuño Sánchez debated who would lead the vanguard of troops; in the end it was Montcada. However, they penetrated the Muslim defense awkwardly, falling into an ambush that left them completely surrounded, until they were killed. James I, who was unaware at the time of their deaths, followed the same route, advancing with the rest of the army, intending to join them and participate in the fray with them, until he came upon the enemy in the mountains. The Montcadas' bodies were found disfigured by multiple injuries and they were interred in rich caskets at the Santes Creus monastery in the present municipality of Aiguamúrcia, in the province of Tarragona.
  According to the chronicles of the historian Desclot Bernat, the Christian forces left much to be desired, as there were several times when the king had to insist that his men enter the battle, even admonishing them on two occasions when he exclaimed the phrase that later passed down into Majorcan folk history: "For shame knights, shame." Finally, the military superiority of the Christians caused the Muslims to withdraw. When James I's knights requested a pause to pay tribute to the nobles who had died, the Muslims were left to flee to the medina where they took refuge. Desclot says in his article that only fourteen men were killed, probably relatives of the Montcadas, among them Hug Desfar and Hug de Mataplana, but only a few commoners died.
  At night, James I's army stopped to rest in the present town of Bendinat. The popular tradition has it that after dinner the king uttered the words in Catalan "bé hem dinat" ("We have eaten well") which could have given that location the name. The news of the death of the Montcadas was given to James I by Berenguer de Palou and two days later, on September 14, they were sent to bury his remains amidst scenes of grief and sadness.
caption: Battle of Portopí. Fragments of the mural paintings of the conquest of Mallorca from the Palacio Aguilar in Barcelona, conserved in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Dated: 1285–1290
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