Inca's history goes back to the year 23 B.C., with the arrival in Mallorca of Quintus Cecilius Metelus. During the Islamic domination, Inca was one of the twelve markets into which the island was divided. Inkan was its name. In the Chronicles of the Conquering King (in Mallorcan: the "Llibre dels feits"), we can read how the population of Inca is cited as "the largest of all the farmsteads of Mallorcas".

Inca's location, between the bays of Palma and Alcudia, makes it a place to meet, and place to live, for people from outside the island. 1391 saw the onset in Inca of a big "rural revolt" which became widespread in 1450, as a consequence of the loss of money and honours and the lack of a suitable level of stability. Even so, Inca grew; tradesmen's guilds were founded and, little by little, it expanded noticeably in every area.

Following the bubonic plague of 1652 Inca's population dropped from five thousand to just under two thousand inhabitants, and it was a several centuries before the previous population level was regained. In the 18th century the tradesmen's guilds recovered their former strength and restoration works were carried out on the churches of St. Mary the Elder, St. Dominic, St. Francis and St. Bartholomew. The latter church belongs to the enclosed convent of the Hieronymite nuns, known in Inca as "the enclosed nuns". All this can be deduced from the badges of the guilds (blacksmiths, cobblers, weavers, carpenters, potters, wool carders, etc.) situated above the altarpiece of St. Peter in the parish church of St. Mary the Elder.

In 1833, Inca already had a Court of First Instance and a Property Registry which, combined with the arrival of the railway and the growing strength of the footwear industry, gave its economy a powerful stimulus. In 1900 the Queen Regent bestowed the title of City on the town of Inca in recognition of its growth as an industrial, trading and farming centre.

In the early 20th century, Inca was open and receptive to social change, and new trends took on there quickly. During the first third of the century, there was a strong movement towards the forming of associations in the political, social, cultural and sporting fields.

At present, Inca has some 29,000 inhabitants. It's the most industrialized town in the rural part and as capital of the "Mancomunitat de Es Raiguer" (an association of municipalities) it is also a centre for administrative, services and trading activities