UPSC Prelims 2025 Q80: Mallorca, Normandy, Sardinia — Explained
Consider the following pairs:
(Region : Country)
I. Mallorca : Italy
II. Normandy : Spain
III. Sardinia : France
In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
- Only one
- Only two
- All the three
- None
Answer: (d) None
Statement-wise explanation
- I: incorrect — Mallorca (Majorca) belongs to Spain, not Italy. It is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which form an autonomous community of Spain in the western Mediterranean. Its main city, Palma, is the capital of the Balearic Islands.
- II: incorrect — Normandy is in north-western France, not Spain. The English Channel washes its northern and western shores. In 2016 France merged Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie into one administrative region called Normandy. Allied troops landed on its coast on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
- III: incorrect — Sardinia is an island and an autonomous region of Italy, not France. Its capital is Cagliari. It joined the unified Italian state in 1861 and was given autonomy in 1948. The French island is Corsica, which lies just north of Sardinia across the Strait of Bonifacio, about 11 km wide.
How to eliminate
No word trick helps here. You have to know where each place is. Still, two of the three pairs can be settled with basic knowledge. Normandy is famous for the D-Day landings of 1944 on the French coast, so 'Normandy : Spain' is wrong. Sardinia gave its name to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, which led the unification of Italy, so 'Sardinia : France' is wrong. That leaves two options possible: either only Mallorca is correct, or no pair is. For Mallorca, remember that the Spanish name ending '-orca' (Mallorca, Menorca) points to the Spanish Balearic Islands. The pattern behind the question is that each region was paired with a neighbouring country: Spain's island was given to Italy, France's region to Spain, and Italy's island to France. Fact to remember: Balearics (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza) belong to Spain, Corsica to France, and Sardinia and Sicily to Italy.
Know more
Western Mediterranean islands and well-known European regions
UPSC often tests well-known European regions and islands by pairing them with a neighbouring country. Islands in the western Mediterranean are the easiest to confuse because Spain, France and Italy all hold islands close to one another.
| Island / group | Country | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera) | Spain | Autonomous community; capital Palma, on Mallorca |
| Corsica | France | Separated from Sardinia by the Strait of Bonifacio |
| Sardinia | Italy | Autonomous region since 1948; capital Cagliari |
| Sicily | Italy | Largest island in the Mediterranean; off the toe of Italy |
| Malta | Malta | Island country south of Sicily |
Mainland regions that come up often
| Region | Country | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Normandy | France | English Channel coast; D-Day 1944; Rouen |
| Brittany | France | North-west peninsula |
| Catalonia | Spain | Barcelona; north-east Spain |
| Andalusia | Spain | Southern Spain; Seville |
| Tuscany | Italy | Florence |
History links that help you remember:
- Normandy is named after the Normans (Norsemen). In 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England.
- Sardinia became the centre of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under the House of Savoy. That kingdom led the Risorgimento, and in 1861 Victor Emmanuel II became king of a united Italy.
- Corsica came under France in 1769, the year Napoleon Bonaparte was born there.
A useful habit: when you study a European region in the news, place it on a map and note the countries next to it. Pair-matching questions usually swap a place with one of its neighbours.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Norman Conquest: The Norman Conquest of 1066 was led by the Duke of Normandy, a link that helps you place Normandy in the right country.
- Unification of Italy: The Risorgimento was led by the royal house of Sardinia-Piedmont, a memory hook for which country Sardinia belongs to.