What you most likely thought when reading the title of the article is who are the roters? And rightly so. In fact, even people from Mallorca did not know them, except for some elderly individuals or history enthusiasts like ourselves. But to present the scenario and these characters we will discuss, we have to place ourselves on the largest Balearic island between the 17th-20th centuries. It was an era when society was divided into different socioeconomic groups, and therefore it was a period where inequality reigned, and practically everyone worked the land (Valero i Martí, 1989, pp. 158-159; Alzina i Mestre, 1993, pp. 81-89). I like to use the image of a social pyramid: at the top we find the noble landowners –els senyors–, the richest minority, and on the lower step and more numerous level, the roters.
We can already see that, at first glance, we might imagine this social group as the most disadvantaged in the population. Precisely, the roters must be understood as the poorest and most marginalized farmers of Mallorca during that time. Furthermore, their main characteristic was cultivating the rotes, hence also the name by which we know this collective (fig. 1). In summary: the senyors had control over the possessions, the large land properties of the island. Given their extensive surface area, these possessions embraced different types of land, fertile zones and wastelands. These parts more barren –typically mountainous areas with a lot of stone and wild bush vegetation– were given to the most needy people, so that when these farmers arrived at these harsh terrains, they had to break up the land in order to start cultivating it for the first time. From this comes the rota, broken-up land (Valero i Martí, 1989, p. 157).
The topographical analysis we have carried out with the archaeological study has allowed us to clarify a very common mistake that tends to be thought about the life of these farmers. One might ask: if the roters, being the poorest people, must have had very small plots of land, right? In reality, no. As we said before, the roter cultivated the rota, a plot that normally measured at least, according to Mallorcan units, one quarterada –quarterada– (which would be equivalent to about 7103 m2) (Vilanova et al., 2001, p. 71). As an anecdote, conflicts sometimes occurred between neighbors when one of them moved the moixeta –the stone that marked the boundary of each plot– intentionally. It was to be expected. Then, why did the rotes have such large areas? The answer is simple: with so much rock and low yield per unit area, there was no other option but to practice an extensive agriculture that was not very productive (Valero i Martí, 1989, p. 157).
With the respective rota assigned, the roters, whether because it was their only land or because they were far from the nearest population center, began to build structures in order to live on the rota. For example, in the case of Artá, where we have focused our research, the rotes that we analyzed are located about 6 km from the town, taking into account the elevation and difficult access areas to reach these lands. In fact, if we were a hiker hiking near the rotes, the first structure that would catch our attention would be the cabinets, where peasant families lived (fig. 2). Understanding the philosophy of the roters, with the optimization of resources offered by the environment, the most abundant material is undoubtedly the limestone –very typical in Mallorca–. Consequently, stone is the main documented material in constructions, organized using the dry stone technique –although it is usually used with cement mortar–.
By carrying out the sections and plans (Mascaró Massanet, 2023a; Mascaró Massanet, 2023b; Mascaró Massanet, 2023d), we noticed that these roter cabins always have a surface area of less than 50 m2, but usually housed between four and five family members. Furthermore, they follow the same construction pattern according to traditional archaeology: homogeneous square plan, one slope, and tendency towards a tiled roof –probably reused– that, like cement mortar, helped provide more impermeability to the interior. Additionally, it was revealing that doors and windows always avoided the north and its cold and damaging tramontana wind. In fact, these characteristics that could go unnoticed such as orientation help us understand that any factor was important for ensuring the survival of the roters in a very hostile environment. Inside the cabin, we can find cisterns for rainwater –since it is a dry land–, cabinets and small niches in the walls, and occasionally chimneys for fire.
Returning to the territorial analysis, the same environment gave us clues about the two main pillars of these farmers: a sustenance economy based on agriculture and livestock with a diversified diet. Being mountainous areas, every rota has terraces –marjades– as the main agricultural system, and the excess of stone indicated that it was not possible to use tools like the plow. Moreover, many fruit trees from the time were fossilized on the territory, such as almond trees, figs, olives, and carobs. As for animals, goats, horses, pigs, and chickens were the most common. For example, piglets were found in a low wall structure, and oral testimonies confirmed that these were always used as feeders for pigs. In other words, it is about seeing beyond simple remnants and interpreting them correctly.
Among other activities, we also found smuggling and, above all, the art of the llatra, palm leaf objects made by women in families that were later sold when they went down to town. Therefore, there were few activities that provided income, some more legitimate than others. In fact, in this superficial exploration we conducted, we particularly located fragments of three types of objects: ceramics, iron, and glass. The most abundant were undoubtedly ceramic elements –plates, cups, bowls, etc.– while those made of glass were very few. You might wonder: why this absence of glass? Again, the answer is simple: glass was an expensive item in that era, a luxury for the roters, so understanding their mindset and situation, they could not afford it.
In the end, archaeology has provided us with pioneering and fundamental help to understand in situ more aspects of the roters and at the same time complete the few historical data that were available about this group until now (Mascaró Massanet, 2023a). Today, these structures are abandoned despite the dry stone technique being declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2018 (Mascaró Massanet, 2023c). If we have managed to rescue from oblivion the figure of the roters, let us also preserve their remnants.
Bibliography:
Alzina i Mestre, J. (1993). Population, land and property in the Llevant region of Mallorca (17th/18th-20th centuries). Town Hall of Artá, Town Hall of Son Servera, Town Hall of Capdepera, and Caixa de Baleares «Sa Nostra».
Mascaró Massanet, B. (2023a). Archaeological study on the rotes and their immediate environment in the Llevant Peninsula Natural Park (Artà, Mallorca) [online] [Bachelor's Thesis in Archaeology, University of Barcelona]. https://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/203689.
Mascaró Massanet, B. (2023b). The roter's petjada [online]. Revista Bellpuig, 1101, 24-25. https://www.revistabellpuig.cat/lestudi-de-les-rotes-de-barbara-mascaro-premiat-per-la-universitat-de-barcelona/.
Mascaró Massanet, B. (2023c). Who does not know it, does not appreciate it [online]. Revista Bellpuig, 1102, 25. https://www.revistabellpuig.cat/lestudi-de-les-rotes-de-barbara-mascaro-premiat-per-la-universitat-de-barcelona/.
Mascaró Massanet, B. (2023d). Roters, the most humble peasant [online]. Revista Bellpuig, 1100, 26-27. https://www.revistabellpuig.cat/lestudi-de-les-rotes-de-barbara-mascaro-premiat-per-la-universitat-de-barcelona/.
Rutes Amagades de Mallorca (1967). Politécnica Printing. <https://ibdigital.uib.es/greenstone/library/collection/rutesAmagadesMallorca/browse/CL2>.
Valero i Martí, G. (1989). Rotes and roters. In Elements of pre-tourist Mallorcan society (pp. 157-173). Balearic Government Culture, Education, and Sports Department.
Vilanova, B., Cerdà, M., Martorell, A. (2001). Life and customs in the Mallorcan possession. El Gall Editor.
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