Cabrera: A Hidden Gem and Its Ancient Origins

-“Vell professor”, this island of Cabrera is incredible! It was a very good idea to declare it a Maritime and Terrestrial Natural Park, because these landscapes have to constitute an impressive legacy for future generations. Did the human occupation of Cabrera begin with the construction of the castle or is it older?

-Oh… The human occupation of the island of the island of Cabrera is very old. Much more than the late-medieval castle that we see now. The current natural park was, without a doubt, a station or point of shelter and refuge for the numerous ships, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans that crossed the western Mediterranean in antiquity. The island was a particularly important milestone on the Punic route between Ibiza and Majorca. However, the oldest archaeological testimonies of Cabrera, such as graves and ceramics, which define a stable occupation date back to Roman times.

-How is that, -says another student- I have read that there were talayotic villages.

-Wait a minute… this is an unconfirmed hypothesis… it does not mean that Talayotic structures will not appear one day… It turns out that some authors, such as Joan Camps Coll, identify remains of Talayotic settlements in both Cabrera and La Conejera . However, this has not been verified; in fact, the researchers of the prehistoric Cabrera already warn us: “Currently there is no proof of an important occupation of the place in prehistoric times, nor of any structure that can be considered prior to the 5th century AD.” The Roman Pliny the Elder, in the work “Natural History” (Book III, 78), mentions the island: “12,000 paces towards the high seas from the [Balear] Mayor is Capraria insidious because of the shipwrecks…”. Pliny’s opinion coincides perfectly with the archaeological record, since, in Cabrera, there are many sunken ships; two are Carthaginians and the rest, the majority, Romans. The The oldest shipwreck (submarine site) located so far in Cabrera is the so-called Cabrera II, which would date from the end of the 3rd century BC.The Cabrera VII would already be from the 2nd century BC.It seems that both ships correspond to the Punic area of ​​North Africa or from Ibiza. From Cabrera II, located thirty meters deep, it was possible to extract material of interest, such as various types of amphoras and ceramic remains; it seems that it was loaded with wine. The remains of shipwrecks of Roman ships are much more numerous, and according to recent studies, discoveries of new wrecks will continue to be confirmed, which currently exceed ten.

-And that place name Cabrera, what origin does it have?

-Well, it turns out that the Roman inheritance, in addition to the dozen ships sunk in its waters, also leaves us the name of the island: Cabrera, that is, island of goats. I must say that the magnificent book entitled «Atlas of the small islands and islets of the Balearic Islands» tells us about a curious Roman strategy that explains the origin of the name: «For Roman navigators it was a common practice to leave abandoned goats on uninhabited islands and islets that found on their trade routes. This allowed them to have fresh meat on subsequent voyages that passed through there again. Other examples in the Mediterranean such as the Island of Capraria (Tuscany) and the well-known Island of Capri also recall the custom of this practice.

-“What do you think, secretary?”, interesting… and elementary! We could talk about some ancient legend. We know that they say that the oldest illustrious son of Mallorca was born in Sa Conillera.

Aníbal, from Cabrera and the first illustrious son of Mallorca

The oldest illustrious son of Majorca is none other than the Carthaginian leader Hannibal (247-183 BC). His portrait is currently on display in the corridor that also contains the paintings of the members of the Royal House of Mallorca. Tradition says that the great character was born on the island of La Conillera, a neighbor of Cabrera. The historian Joan B. Binimelis explains in 1595 that Aníbal’s parents, Amílcar and his wife, “first went to the island of Tricada or Triqueda, which our people now call Cabrera, 12 miles from the island of Majorca, where There was the temple dedicated to Juno, as Strabo says, that the Gentiles had and venerated as a lawyer of births… While this lady was on this island because of the great devotion they had to the goddess Juno, a son was born to her, to whom They called Hannibal, of whom great feats and companies were followed and told later in the world.» The chronicler Joan Dameto is blunt with this interpretation: »Pliny calls this island full-mouthed [la Conillera]homeland of Hannibal”.

Anníbal, Illustrious son of Majorca. PHOTO: Gaspar Valero

However, in the 19th century the issue ended up in controversy, because, following Joaquim M. Bover and Josep M. Quadrado, the transcription of Pliny’s text was considered wrong, as Binimelis and others read ‘Patria Annibalis’ where it said ‘Parva Annibalis’: «Twelve miles from the largest Balearic Islands Plinio puts that of Cabrera, and in front of the city of Palma the Menarias, the Triquadra and the Parva that others read Hannibal’s homeland, giving rise to endless controversies». Ramon Medel, in 1849, lists the gallery of illustrious sons of Palma, and about Aníbal he tells us that his portrait occupies the first position in the upper row on the canopy side, «placed there because following the opinion of those who commented on Pliny, It should be believed that he was born on the island of Conejera, one of the rocks or islets that are around the Balearic Islands ».

-Wow, professor… that is, a letter has upset the legend for us!

-In someway. Indeed, it seems that Triquadra was Hannibal’s ‘small’ island… but he must have had a lot of relationship with the Carthaginian warlord… who knows?

-“It’s better to believe it than to go looking for it!”

-Professor, is there any other legend from those ancient times in Cabrera?

-More than legend, I will tell you a historical evidence, very important, not without mystery!

-“Whew”… that sounds interesting!

The enigmatic monastery of Cabrera, which made a great pope cry

In Cabrera, between the 5th and 7th centuries, in paleo-Christian times, there was a monastery for monks. According to Mateu Riera’s thesis, Cabrera was a “holy island”, with two types of monastic settlements: on the one hand, a monastery or convent and, on the other, several hermitages that depended on the main monastery. Facilities have also been found for the production of salted fish, purple and wine; The main water supply points and the areas for possible crops and harvesting have been identified. This “holy island” would be occupied exclusively by the monastic community and its eventual servants. It must also be taken into account that, in order to ensure monastic life, contact with the outside world had to be maintained, with commercial and maritime connections.

-Interesting, yes, it is… but, I don’t see the mystery anywhere…

-Well, look at the official letter that Pope Gregory the Great signed in the year 603. He severely denounced some enigmatic inappropriate behaviors that took place in that monastery; «sing papers»… and even more so if they come from the Vatican archives!: According to his «Epistola XII, 48», he sent Cabrera to the ‘defensor ecclesiae’ Juan, with the order to solve the problems caused by the monks of the island. This letter from Gregorio Magno with the task of correcting the bad behavior of the members of the Cabrerense monastery, addressed to his delegate Juan de él, is very strong and forceful.

-“Meem”… that’s encouraged! In a way, this John the Defender is an alter-ego of William of Baskerville in “The Name of the Rose.” He would look like Sean Connery!

-Well, since you insinuate it, they have an air! Attention, the letter reads like this: «Because the news has reached us that the monks of the monastery located on the island of Capria [Cabrera], which is located near Mallorca, which is also an island, act in such a perverse way and have committed these crimes that it seems that more than serving God they fight, and we say it crying, in favor of the ancient enemy. You [Juan], with the authority that these words give you, go to said monastery to find out about the life and customs of those who live in it, doing a detailed investigation. In this way, everything that you believe should be punished, as required by the canonical norm, you must correct, imposing the corresponding penalties. And you have to try to inform the monks of the behavior that they must follow ».

-Wow, wow, what round words! How did the topic end?

-We do not know how the thing ended or what exactly was the reprehensible behavior of that monastic community that made the pope cry; Father Josep Amengual Batle, a great scholar of this period, points to the possibility that it had to do with piratical acts or even with the slave trade. Others see more brown and are inclined towards issues of relaxation of customs or moral degeneration.

Excavations at sa Platgeta-Pla de ses Figueres. PHOTO: Gaspar Valero

The monastery must have survived the serious problems recognized by Pope Gregory, since archaeological remains persist after the year 603. But it seems that it did not last much longer, since from the 8th century, we have no news of the convent. And it is not strange, because the strong push of the new Saracen power made the Muslims conquer Carthage (present-day Tunisia) in 698 and Septa (Ceuta) from the Byzantines in 703. Muslim naval hegemony in the Western Mediterranean was a fact from that year on. Perhaps the monks left Cabrera peacefully on those dates or perhaps they were victims of the raid in 707, when the Muslim Mussa ibn Nussayr, governor of Ifriqiya (Muslim Africa) sent his son Abd-Alah ibn Mussa on a violent expedition across the insular Byzantine territories of Sicily, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. The holy island disappeared from the face of the earth… until today, partly recovered by the interesting and successful excavations of these past years, especially in Pla de ses Figueres. The monastery’s necropolis, a purple manufacturing workshop and a fish-salting factory have been located.

-Well, congratulations to the archaeologists, excavators, scholars and lovers and professionals of the Cabrera park!

-Yes, okay, but we haven’t finished with Cabrera, we have to talk about the pirates or corsairs, the French prisoners and some other things. Everything will go!

2023-08-01 22:31:27
#island #Cabrera #Antiquity #history #legend