Mallorca is Spain's largest island, and a part of the Balearic Islands archipielago (Catalan: Illes Balears, Spanish: Islas Baleares), which is located in the Mediterranean Sea and are part of Spain. Like the other Balearic Islands Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa), Formentera, and Minorca (Catalan/Spanish: Menorca), the island is a popular tourist destination. In Germany and the United Kingdom, where package tourism to the island started in May 1952, Mallorca has remained a popular destination. Since the 1960s, however, it has become a synonym for mass tourism. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica.
Mallorca has been inhabited since antiquity. Burial chambers and traces of habitation from the Paleolithic period, 6000-4000 BC, have been discovered. The island was occupied by the Carthaginians before passing to the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia (Alcúdia), and Palmaria (Palma) were founded. Olive cultivation, viniculture, and salt mining supported the economy.
