ver Castle, the churches of St. Francesc and St. Domingo, reformed the Palace of Almudaina and began the construction of the Cathedral of Majorca.
Abraham Cresques was a 14th-century Jewish cartographer of the Majorcan cartographic school from Palma; Cresques is credited with the authorship of the famous Catalan Atlas.
The river that cut through the city gave rise to two distinct areas within the city; "Upper town" and "Lower town"; depending upon which side of the river they were situated.
The city's privileged geographical location allowed it to keep extensive commerce withCatalonia, Valencia, Provence, the Maghreb, the Italian republics and the dominions of theGreat Turk, which heralded a golden age for the city.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Rebellion of the Brotherhoods (a peasant uprising against Charles V's administration) and the frequent attack of Turkish and Berber pirates caused a reduction of commercial activities and a huge inversion in defensive structures. As a consequence, the city entered a period of decadence that would last till the end of the 17th century.
17th to 19th centuries
The 17th century is characterised by the division of the city in two sides or gangs, namedCanamunts and Canavalls (from Majorcan Catalan "the ones from the upper/lower side"), with severe social and economical repercussions. During this period the port became a corsair’s haven. During the last quarter of the century, the Inquisition reinforced its prosecution of the Jews, locally named xuetes.
The fall of Barcelona in 1714 meant the end of the Spanish Succession War and the defeat and destruction of the Crown of Aragon, and this was reflected on the Decretos de Nueva Planta, issued by Phillip V of Spain in 1715. This occupation decree changed the government of the island and separated it from the municipality's government of Palma, which became the official city name
