Mallorca plague outbreak of 1820 was likely not bubonic, study finds

A study announced in Barcelona on 18 August 2026 concludes that the Mallorca, Spain, plague outbreak that began in May 1820 was unlikely to have been bubonic plague. The outbreak in the east of the island, described as Europe’s last, may instead have been driven chiefly by pneumonic and septicaemic forms of the disease.

The research, published in the scientific journal PNAS, was conducted by Joana Pujadas-Mora of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and Pere Puig of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. It draws on surviving historical evidence alongside modern understanding of how disease spreads, as the epidemic predated bacteriology.

Researchers cited mortality of 78% and the rapid deterioration of patients as evidence for their assessment. They found that rodents were not the source of infection; fleas or lice may have transmitted the disease after a vessel from Tangier arrived in Son Servera, Mallorca, with infected passengers aboard.

Authorities imposed lockdowns on Artà, Son Servera, Capdepera and Manacor. Trade and travel between the towns fell, but 2,400 of the area’s 7,500 residents died.

Topics: Son Servera · Artà · Capdepera · Manacor

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com