Captives at the Conquest of Mallorca: September 1229-July 1232

The present article re-examines the chronicles on the conquest of Mallorca (1229-1232) in order to evaluate the role played by the taking of prisoners during military operations. The possibility of taking captive the population of the island, who had no means of escape, was an important incentive for
the military forces involved in the campaign, as well as for the nobles who arrived on the island after the disbanding of the army that took the madīna. The sources demonstrate that all military operations revolved around the management of captive populations. Pacts which spared the local population, such as that signed with Xuaip, were exceptional and, ultimately, violated. The outcome of this process was the extinction of the local population.