ARRL DXCC ENTITY RE-EVALUATION MEMORANDUM – EA6

EA6 — BALEARIC ISLANDS
Evaluation Under 1947 ARRL DXCC Rules

I. PURPOSE

This memorandum evaluates whether EA6 — Balearic Islands would have qualified as a separate ARRL DXCC Entity under the 1947 ARRL DXCC Rules, the earliest postwar framework governing the reconstruction of the DXCC List.

Evaluation includes:

• The political and territorial status of the Balearic Islands in 1947
• Whether any part of the Balearics had distinct sovereignty
• Applicability of the 1947 Political-Entity rules
• Applicability of the extremely limited 1947 Geographic-Entity rules
• Whether EA6 could qualify under any special-area provisions
• Final determination of DXCC status under 1947 conditions

II. BACKGROUND

Political & Administrative Status (1947)

In 1947 the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera, and islets) were:

• A fully integrated part of the Kingdom of Spain
• Governed directly by the Spanish central government through provincial structures
• Not a colony, dependency, protectorate, or trust territory
• With no separate international legal identity
• With no separate administration recognized by foreign states or international bodies

They were legally and politically identical to any mainland province of Spain.

Telecommunication & Prefix Identity (1947)

• Spain held independent telecommunication authority
• Spain’s ITU prefix block was EA (plus EB/EC later)
• The Balearic Islands did not have a separate prefix in 1947
• EA6 was not yet in official ITU or DXCC administrative use
• All licensing authority was fully national, not regional or insular

Thus no prefix-based claim to DXCC distinctiveness existed.

III. DXCC CONTEXT UNDER THE 1947 RULES

The 1947 ARRL DXCC Rules recognized:

1. Political Entities

• Sovereign nations
• Mandates, protectorates, and colonies (as whole units only)
• Territories under separate sovereignty

2. Geographic Entities

Early DXCC geographic rules were extremely limited.
A separated island only qualified if it was:

Separated and under a different country’s sovereignty, OR
An occupied zone, mandate, or trust territory under the UN or another power

Distance alone was NOT a DXCC criterion in 1947.
Dependent-island separation rules (100 miles / 350 miles) did NOT exist.

Thus, the Balearic Islands—as Spanish territory—could not qualify.

IV. ANALYSIS UNDER THE 1947 DXCC RULES

1. POLITICAL ENTITY CRITERIA (1947) — FAIL

To qualify as a Political Entity, an area needed:

Sovereignty, OR
Distinct colonial or protectorate status, OR
Internationally recognized separate administration.

In 1947:

• Balearic Islands were not sovereign
• Not a colony or protectorate
• Not under foreign administration
• Had no separate diplomatic identity
• Fully subject to Spanish law and government

Conclusion:
The Balearics do not qualify politically.

2. GEOGRAPHIC ENTITY CRITERIA (1947) — FAIL

Under 1947 rules, a geographic entity required:

2(a) Island reliability — ✔ PASS

The islands are permanently above high tide, but this is insufficient alone.

2(b) Separation + different sovereignty — ❌ FAIL

The Balearic Islands:

• Are separated from mainland Spain by ~200–350 km
• But remain under the same sovereign authority (Spain)

The 1947 rule required separate sovereignty, not distance.

2(c) No dependent-island rules in 1947 — ❌ FAIL

The rule allowing subdivisions of a country’s island groups (350-mile rule) was introduced much later (1955–1959).
It does not apply here.

Conclusion:
No geographic rule of 1947 permits EA6 to qualify.

3. SPECIAL-AREA RULES (1947) — NOT APPLICABLE

Balearic Islands are not:

• A UN Trust Territory
• A League/UN mandate
• A protectorate
• An occupied zone
• An Antarctic region

Thus §III special-area provisions cannot be invoked.

4. 1947 DELETION RULES — NOT TRIGGERED

The Balearic Islands were never qualified as a separate entity under 1947 rules, and thus cannot be assessed for deletion.

V. FINAL DETERMINATION

❌ EA6 — BALEARIC ISLANDS do NOT qualify as a separate ARRL DXCC Entity under the 1947 DXCC Rules.

Reasons:

✘ No sovereignty
✘ No distinct colonial or protectorate status
✘ No separate international administration
✘ No separate prefix or telecommunication system
✘ 350-mile island rule does not exist yet
✘ 100-mile rule requires different sovereign control
✘ Balearics are integral Spanish territory

Conclusion:
Under the 1947 ARRL DXCC Rules, the Balearic Islands must be included within the single DXCC Entity EA — Spain.
They could not qualify independently until much later rulesets permitted dependent-island subdivisions (late 1950s–1970s).

VI. SUMMARY TABLE

Rule (1947)	Pass/Fail	Notes
Sovereign Nation	❌ FAIL	Integral Spanish territory
Separate Colony/Protectorate	❌ FAIL	Not separate from Spain
1947 Geographic Rule	❌ FAIL	Requires different sovereignty
350-mile rule	N/A	Did not exist in 1947
Above High Tide	✔ PASS	Geographically valid island group
Special-Area Rules	N/A	Not applicable
Deletion Criteria	N/A	Never eligible
Final Status	NOT AN ENTITY (1947)	Belongs to EA Spain

References

ARRL DXCC Rules, Post–World War II Edition (1947)
Clinton B. DeSoto, W1CBD, “How to Count Countries Worked, A New DX Scoring System,” QST, October 1935
ARRL DXCC Country Lists, late-1930s through late-1940s editions
Nautical and geographic charting of the Balearic Islands (pre-1950)
Early DXCC precedent involving Mediterranean and European offshore island territories administered by a parent state