On Majorca they were used to grind flour (flour grinding windmills) and to extract water from the subsoil (water extraction windmills).

The former have been documented since the Christian conquest (1229) and the latter have been introduced more recently. The first watermill built in Majorca goes back to the year 1845 and it was used by Dutch engineer Bouvij for the drainage of “Pla de Sant Jordi”.