Imagining an uninhabited Formentera, although often visited from Ibiza by watchmen, shepherds and woodcutters, is not easy. However, that is how it was from the 14th century until the early 18th century. There are records from the 17th century of shepherds staying on the island only seasonally. When the king gave Marc Ferrer a good stretch of land in the middle of the island and permission to populate it, there were only a few huts, corrals and a chapel. All this was in the same place where, years later, in 1730, the church dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier was built. In the shelter of the new fortified church, new homes were built: 19 in 1797. The Formenterans called this village (as many do today) "sa Raval" ('the outskirts'). This is the origin of the current capital of Formentera.