The seven main islands are from largest to smallest in area,Tenerife,Fuerteventura,Gran Canaria,Lanzarote,La Palma,La Gomera, andEl Hierro. The only other populated island isLa Graciosa, which administratively is dependent on Lanzarote. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, includingAlegranza,Isla de Lobos,Montaña Clara,Roque del Oeste, andRoque del Este. It includes a number of rocks, includingGarachico andAnaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles".[8] The Canary Islands are the southernmost region ofSpain, and the largest and most populous archipelago ofMacaronesia.[9] It is also the largest and most populated archipelago in Spain. Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link betweenAfrica,Europe, and theAmericas.[10]
In 2024, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,247,927,[11] with a density of 302 inhabitants per km2, making it the seventh most populous autonomous community of Spain. The population is mostly concentrated in the two capital islands: around 43% on the island of Tenerife and 40% on the island of Gran Canaria.
The Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, are a major tourist destination, with over 14.1 million visitors in 2023.[12] This is due to their beaches,subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especiallyMaspalomas inGran Canaria and MountTeide, aWorld Heritage Site inTenerife. Mount Teide is thehighest peak in Spain and the3rd tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor.[13] The islands have warm summers and winters warm enough for the climate to be technically tropical at sea level.[14] The amount of precipitation and the level of maritime moderation vary depending on location and elevation. The archipelago includes green areas as well as semi-desert. The islands' high mountains are ideal for astronomical observation, because they lie above thetemperature inversion layer. As a result, the archipelago has two professional astronomical observatories: theTeide Observatory on Tenerife, andRoque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.[15]
The nameIslas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin nameCanariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", perhaps because monk seals or sea dogs were abundant, a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands,Canaria – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historianPliny the Elder, the islandCanaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size".[26] The connection to dogs is retained in their depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms.
Other theories speculate that the name comes from theNukkari Berber tribe living in the Moroccan Atlas, named in Roman sources asCanarii, though Pliny again mentions the relation of this term with dogs.[27]
The name of the islands is not derived from thecanary bird; rather, the birds are named after the islands.
El Hierro, the westernmost island, covers 268.71 km2 (103.75 sq mi). It is the second smallest of the major islands, and the least populous with 10,798 inhabitants. The whole island was declared a Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital isValverde. Also known as Ferro, it was once the westernmost known land in the world. Ancient European geographers such as Ptolemy recognised the island as theprime meridian of longitude. That remained so until the 19th century, when it was displaced by the onepassing through Greenwich.[28][29]
Fuerteventura, with a surface of 1,660 km2 (640 sq mi), is the second largest island of the archipelago. It has been declared abiosphere reserve byUNESCO. It is the oldest of the islands being more eroded. Its highest point is the Pico de la Zarza, at a height of 807 metres (2,648 feet). Its capital isPuerto del Rosario.
Gran Canaria has 846,717 inhabitants. The capital,Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with 377,203 inhabitants, is the most populous city and shares the status of capital of the Canaries with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Gran Canaria's surface area is 1,560 km2 (600 sq mi). Roque Nublo 1,813 metres (5,948 feet) and Pico de las Nieves ("Peak of Snow") 1,949 metres (6,394 feet) are located in the center of the island. On the south of the island are the Maspalomas Dunes (Gran Canaria).
La Gomera (informally known as 'Isla Colombina') has an area of 369.76 km2 (142.77 sq mi) and is the second least populous island with 21,136 inhabitants. It has been declared abiosphere reserve byUNESCO. Geologically it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital isSan Sebastian de La Gomera.Garajonay National Park is located on the island.
Lanzarote is the easternmost island and one of the oldest of the archipelago, and it has shown evidence of recent volcanic activity. It has a surface of 845.94 km2 (326.62 sq mi), and a population of 149,183 inhabitants, including the adjacent islets of the Chinijo Archipelago. The capital isArrecife, with 56,834 inhabitants.
The Chinijo Archipelago includes the islandsLa Graciosa,Alegranza,Montaña Clara,Roque del Este andRoque del Oeste. It has a surface of 40.8 km2 (15.8 sq mi), and only La Graciosa is populated, with 658 inhabitants. With 29 km2 (11 sq mi), La Graciosa is the largest island of the Chinijo Archipelago and the smallest inhabited island of the Canaries.
Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa is a volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the island of Lanzarote across the Strait of El Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago and the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park (Parque Natural del Archipiélago Chinijo). It is administered by the municipality of Teguise. In 2018, La Graciosa was declared asthe eighth Canary Island by theSpanish Senate,[30][31][32] though it is not recognized as such by the Canarian administration. It is administratively dependent on the island of Lanzarote. It is the smallest and least populated of the main islands, with about 700 people.
La Palma, with 81,863 inhabitants covering an area of 708.32 km2 (273.48 sq mi), is in its entirety a biosphere reserve. For long it showed no signs of volcanic activity, even though the volcanoTeneguía entered into eruption last in 1971. On 19 September 2021, the volcanicCumbre Vieja on the islanderupted.[33] It is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the Roque de los Muchachos at 2,423 metres (7,949 feet) as its highest point.Santa Cruz de La Palma, known to those on the island as simply "Santa Cruz", is its capital.
Tenerife is, with its area of 2,034 km2 (785 sq mi), the most extensive island of the Canary Islands. With 904,713 inhabitants, it is the most populated island of the archipelago and Spain. Two of the islands' principal cities are located on it: the capital,Santa Cruz de Tenerife andSan Cristóbal de La Laguna, a World Heritage Site.San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the second city of the island, is home to the oldest university in the Canary Islands, theUniversity of La Laguna.Teide, with its 3,715 metres (12,188 feet) is the highest peak ofSpain and aWorld Heritage Site.Tenerife is the site of theworst air disaster in the history of aviation, in which 583 people were killed in the collision of twoBoeing 747s on 27 March 1977.
A map of the Canary IslandsHacha Grande, a mountain in the south of Lanzarote, viewed from the road to the Playa de PapagayoA panoramic view of Gran Canaria, withRoque Nublo at the left andRoque Bentayga at the center
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the archipelago.Gran Canaria, with 865,070 inhabitants, is both the Canary Islands' second most populous island, and the third most populous one in Spain after Tenerife (966,354 inhabitants) andMajorca (896,038 inhabitants).[citation needed] The island ofFuerteventura is the second largest in the archipelago and located 100 km (62 mi) from the African coast.
The islands form theMacaronesiaecoregion with theAzores,Cape Verde,Madeira, and theSavage Isles.[34] The Canary Islands is the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region.[9] The archipelago has seven large and several smaller islands, all of which are volcanic in origin.[35]
According to the position of the islands with respect to the north-easttrade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species formlaurisilva forests.
The individual islands in the Canary archipelago tend to have distinctmicroclimates. Those islands such asEl Hierro,La Palma andLa Gomera lying to the west of the archipelago have a climate which is influenced by the moistCanary Current. They are well vegetated even at low levels and have extensive tracts of sub-tropical laurisilva forest. Travelling east toward the African coast, the influence of the current diminishes, and the islands become increasingly arid.Fuerteventura andLanzarote, the islands which are closest to the African mainland, are effectively desert or semi-desert.
Gran Canaria is known as a "continent in miniature" for its diverse landscapes likeMaspalomas andRoque Nublo. The north ofTenerife lies under the influence of the moist Atlantic winds and is well vegetated. The south of the island around the tourist resorts ofPlaya de las Américas andLos Cristianos is arid. The island rises to almost 4,000 m (13,000 ft) above sea level. At altitude, in the cool relatively wet climate, forests of the endemic pinePinus canariensis thrive. Many of the plant species in the Canary Islands, like the Canary Island pine and thedragon tree,Dracaena draco are endemic, as noted bySabin Berthelot andPhilip Barker Webb in their work,L'Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries (1835–50).[36]
The seven major islands, one minor island, and several small islets were originally volcanic islands, formed by theCanary hotspot.[45] The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain wherevolcanic eruptions have been recorded during theModern Era, with some volcanoes still active (El Hierro, 2011).[46]Volcanic islands such as those in the Canary chain often have steep ocean cliffs caused by catastrophic debris avalanches andlandslides.[47] The island chain's most recent eruption occurred atCumbre Vieja, a volcanic ridge on La Palma,in 2021.[48]
TheTeidevolcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third tallest volcano on Earth on a volcanic ocean island.[49] All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years. Four of them, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro, have historical records of eruptions since European discovery.[50] The islands rise fromJurassicoceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwatermagmatism began during theCretaceous, and has continued to the present day. The islands were once considered as a distinct physiographic section of theAtlas Mountains province, which is part of the larger African Alpine System division, but are now recognized as being related to a magmatichot spot.[51]
In the summer of 2011, a series of low-magnitude earthquakes occurred beneath El Hierro. These had a linear trend of northeast–southwest. In October a submarine eruption occurred about 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) south of Restinga. This eruption produced gases and pumice, but no explosive activity was reported.[52]
The following table shows the highest mountains in each of the islands:
MountTeide, the highest mountain in Spain at 3,715 metres (12,188 feet), is one of the most visitedNational Parks in the world.[53][54][55][56]
Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. Two of these have been declaredUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites and the other two are part ofBiosphere Reserves. The parks are:[58]
Part of the Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve since 1993
Teide National Park is the oldest and largest national park in the Canary Islands and one of the oldest in Spain. Located in the geographic centre of the island of Tenerife, it is the most visited national park in Spain. In 2010, it became the most visited national park in Europe and second worldwide.[53][54] The park's highlight is theTeide volcano. Standing at an altitude of 3,715 metres (12,188 ft),[59] it is the highest elevation in Spain and the third largest volcano on Earth from its base. In 2007, the Teide National Park was declared one of the12 Treasures of Spain.
The islands have 14 seats in theSpanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, and 1 each for Lanzarote (including La Graciosa), Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The other 3 are appointed by the regional legislature.[60]
The international boundary of the Canaries is disputed inMorocco-Spain relations. In 2022 the UN declared the Canary Island's territorial waters as being Moroccan coast and Morocco has authorisedgas and oil exploration in what the Canary Islands states to be Canarian territorial waters andWestern Sahara waters.[62] Morocco's official position is that international laws regarding territorial limits do not authorise Spain to claim seabed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, since the Canary Islands enjoy a large degree of autonomy. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy, as each one of the Spanish regions is considered anautonomous community, with equal status to the European ones. Under theLaw of the Sea, the only islands not granted territorial waters or anexclusive economic zone (EEZ) are those that are not fit for human habitation, or do not have an economic life of their own, which is not the case of the Canary Islands.[63]
There are some pro-independence political parties, like theNational Congress of the Canaries (CNC) and thePopular Front of the Canary Islands. Their popular support is almost insignificant, with no presence in either the autonomous parliament or thecabildos insulares.[citation needed] In a 2012 study by theCentro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, when asked about national identity, the majority of respondents from the Canary Islands (53.8%) considered themselves Spanish and Canarian in equal measures, followed by 24% who consider themselves more Canarian than Spanish. 6.1% of the respondents considered themselves only Canarian, and 7% considered themselves only Spanish.[64]
Although the original settlement of what are now called the Canary Islands is not entirely clear, linguistic, genetic, and archaeological analyses indicate thatindigenous peoples were living on the Canary Islands at least 2,000 years ago, possibly 3,000, and that they shared a common origin with theBerbers on the nearby North African coast.[66][67][68] Reaching the islands may have taken place using several small boats, landing on the easternmost islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. These groups came to be known collectively as theGuanches, althoughGuanches had been the name for only the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.[69]
According to a 2024 study by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, there is archaeological evidence that the Romans were the first to colonise the islands, during the period from the 1st centuryBCE to the 1st century CE. There was no overlap with the occupation by the people who were inhabiting the islands at the time of the Spanish conquest, who had first arrived sometime between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE.[70][71]
A selection of artefacts unearthed from the Lomo de los Gatos site on Gran Canaria
As José Farrujia describes, 'The indigenous Canarians lived mainly in natural caves, usually near the coast, 300 to 500 metres (1,000 to 1,600 ft) above sea level. These caves were sometimes isolated but more commonly formed settlements, with burial caves nearby'.[72] Archaeological work has uncovered a rich culture visible through artefacts ofceramics, human figures, fishing, hunting and farming tools, plant fibre clothing and vessels, as well as cave paintings. At Lomo de los Gatos on Gran Canaria, a site occupied from 1,600 years ago up until the 1960s, round stone houses, complex burial sites, and associated artefacts have been found.[73] Across the islands are thousands ofLibyco-Berber alphabet inscriptions scattered and they have been extensively documented by many linguists.[74][75]
The social structure of indigenous Canarians encompassed "a system ofmatrilineal descent in most of the islands, in which inheritance was passed on via the female line. Social status and wealth were hereditary and determined the individual's position in the social pyramid, which consisted of the king, the relatives of the king, the lower nobility, villeins, plebeians, and finally executioners, butchers, embalmers, and prisoners". Their religion wasanimist, centring on the sun and moon, as well as natural features such as mountains.[72]
The islands may have been visited by thePhoenicians, theGreeks, and theCarthaginians. KingJuba II, CaesarAugustus'sNumidian protégé, is credited with discovering the islands for the Western world. According toPliny the Elder, Juba found the islands uninhabited, but found "a small temple of stone" and "some traces of buildings".[76] Juba dispatched a naval contingent to re-open the dye production facility atMogador in what is now western Morocco in the early first century AD.[77] That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.[citation needed]
The names given by Romans to the individual islands wereNinguaria orNivaria (Tenerife),Canaria (Gran Canaria),Pluvialia orInvale (Lanzarote),Ombrion (La Palma),Planasia (Fuerteventura),Iunonia orJunonia (El Hierro) andCapraria (La Gomera).[78]
From the 14th century onward, numerous visits were made by sailors fromMajorca,Portugal, andGenoa.Lancelotto Malocello settled on Lanzarote in 1312. The Majorcans established amission with a bishop in the islands that lasted from 1350 to 1400.
In 1402, the Castilian colonisation of the islands began with the expedition of the French explorersJean de Béthencourt andGadifer de la Salle, nobles andvassals ofHenry III of Castile, to Lanzarote. From there, they went on to conquer Fuerteventura (1405) and El Hierro. These invasions were "brutal cultural and military clashes between the indigenous population and the Castilians" lasting over a century due to formidable resistance by indigenous Canarians.[67] ProfessorMohamed Adhikari has defined the conquest of the islands as agenocide of theGuanches.[79][80]
Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognised King Henry III as his overlord. It was not a simple military enterprise, given the aboriginal resistance on some islands. Neither was it politically, since the particular interests of the nobility (determined to strengthen their economic and political power through the acquisition of the islands) conflicted with those of the states, particularly Castile, which were in the midst of territorial expansion and in a process of strengthening of the crown against the nobility.[81][page needed]
Historians distinguish two periods in the conquest of the Canary Islands:
Aristocratic conquest (conquista señorial): This refers to the early conquests carried out by the nobility, for their own benefit and without the direct participation of the Crown of Castile, which merely granted rights of conquest in exchange for pacts of vassalage between the noble conqueror and the Crown. One can identify within this period an early phase known as the Betancurian or Norman conquest, carried out byJean de Bethencourt (who was originally from Normandy) andGadifer de la Salle between 1402 and 1405, which involved the islands ofLanzarote,El Hierro, andFuerteventura. The subsequent phase is known as the Castilian conquest, carried out by Castilian nobles who acquired, through purchases, assignments and marriages, the previously conquered islands and also incorporated the island ofLa Gomera around 1450.
Royal conquest (conquista realenga): This defines the conquest between 1478 and 1496, carried out directly by the Crown of Castile, during the reign of theCatholic Monarchs, who armed and partly financed the conquest of those islands which were still unconquered:Gran Canaria,La Palma andTenerife. This phase of the conquest came to an end in the year 1496, with the dominion of the island of Tenerife, bringing the entire Canarian Archipelago under the control of the Crown of Castile.
Casa de Colón (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), which Christopher Columbus visited during his first trip
Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was fully conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, resisted the Castilian invaders for almost a century. In 1448, Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's PrinceHenry the Navigator, an action that was accepted by neither the natives nor the Castilians. DespitePope Nicholas V ruling that the Canary Islands were under Portuguese control, the crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. In 1479, Portugal and Castile signed theTreaty of Alcáçovas, which settled disputes between Castile and Portugal over the control of the Atlantic. This treaty recognized Castilian control of the Canary Islands but also confirmed Portuguese possession of theAzores,Madeira, and theCape Verde islands, and gave the Portuguese rights to any further islands or lands in the Atlantic that might be discovered.
The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, they did not achieve complete control until 1496, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued byAlonso Fernández de Lugo. As a result of this "the native pre-Hispanic population declined quickly due to war, epidemics, and slavery".[82] The Canaries were incorporated into theKingdom of Castile.
After the conquest and the introduction of slavery
Maps of the Canary Islands drawn byWilliam Dampier during his voyage toNew Holland in 1699Coat of arms of the Castilian and Spanish Realm of Canary Islands
After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: firstsugarcane; then wine, an important item of trade withEngland. Gran Canaria was conquered by theCrown of Castile on 6 March 1480, and Tenerife was conquered in 1496, and each had its own governor. There has been speculation that the abundance ofRoccella tinctoria on the Canary Islands offered a profit motive forJean de Béthencourt during his conquest of the islands. Lichen has been used for centuries to make dyes. This includes royal purple colors derived fromR. tinctoria, also known as orseille.[83]
The objective of the Spanish Crown to convert the islands into a powerhouse of cultivation required a much larger labour force.[84] This was attained through a brutal practice of enslavement, not only of indigenous Canarians but large numbers of Africans who were forcibly taken from North and Sub-Saharan Africa.[85] Whilst the first slave plantations in the Atlantic region were acrossMadeira,Cape Verde, and the Canary Islands, it was only the Canary Islands which had an indigenous population and were therefore invaded rather than newly occupied.[86]
This agriculture industry was largely based on sugarcane and the Castilians converted large swaths of the landscape for sugarcane production, and the processing and manufacturing of sugar, facilitated by enslaved labourers.[87] The cities ofSanta Cruz de Tenerife andLas Palmas de Gran Canaria became a stopping point for the Spanish traders, as well asconquistadors, and missionaries on their way to theNew World. This trade route brought great wealth to the Castilian social sectors of the islands and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. As the wealth grew, enslaved African workers were also forced into demeaning domestic roles for the rich Castilians on the islands such as servants in their houses.[88]
Research on the skeletons of some of these enslaved workers from the burial site of Finca Clavijo on Gran Canaria have shown that "all of the adults buried in Finca Clavijo undertook extensive physical activity that involved significant stress on the spine and appendicular skeleton" that result from relentless hard labour, akin to the physical abnormalities found with enslaved peoples from other sugarcane plantations around the world.[82] These findings of the physical strain that the enslaved at Finca Clavijo were subjected to in order to provide wealth for the Spanish elite has inspired a poem by British writerRalph Hoyte, entitledClose to the Bone.[89]
As a result of the huge wealth generated, magnificent palaces and churches were built on La Palma during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 16th century. Civilian architecture survives in forms such asCasas de los Sánchez-Ochando orCasa Quintana.
The most severe attack took place in 1599, during theDutch Revolt. ADutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded byPieter van der Does, attacked the capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants). The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city.
The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. Three hundred Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillagedMaspalomas, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria,San Sebastián on La Gomera, andSanta Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew.
Christian prisoners aresold as slaves in a square in Algiers.Barbary pirates captured almost 2,000 Canarians during four invasions between 1569 and 1618.[84]
In 1618 theBarbary pirates from North Africa attacked Lanzarote and La Gomera taking 1000 captives to be sold asslaves.[90] Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, whenSanta Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet underHoratio Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.
Apart from the passage ofChristopher Columbus, the Canary Islands were the site of some of the most important fleets in Western history. Such as the fleet of theVirginia Company in 1606, which marked the foundation ofFort Jamestown -the first permanent English settlement in what is now theUnited States-[91][92] and the passage of theFirst Fleet through Tenerife, which marked the first European settlement inAustralia inBotany Bay.[93]
The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain'sCaribbean colonies. Low sugar prices in the 19th century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop,cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, reinvigorating the islands' economy. During this time the Canarian-American trade was developed, in which Canarian products such as cochineal, sugarcane and rum were sold in American ports such asVeracruz,Campeche,La Guaira andHavana, among others.[94]
By the end of the 18th century, Canary Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories, such asHavana,Veracruz, andSanto Domingo,[95]San Antonio, Texas[96] andSt. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.[97][98] These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration during the 19th and first half of the 20th century, primarily to the Americas. Between 1840 and 1890 as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated toVenezuela. Also, thousands of Canarians moved toPuerto Rico where the Spanish monarchy felt that Canarians would adapt to island life better than other immigrants from the mainland of Spain. Deeply entrenched traditions, such as the Mascaras Festival in the town ofHatillo, Puerto Rico, are an example of Canarian culture still preserved in Puerto Rico. Similarly, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores ofCuba.[99] During theSpanish–American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against a possible American attack, but no such event took place.
Square in the village ofLos Silos, Tenerife, byAlfred Diston, 1827Coast El Golfo, El Hierro
Sirera and Renn (2004)[100] distinguish two different types of expeditions, or voyages, during the period 1770–1830, which they term "the Romantic period":
First are "expeditions financed by the States, closely related with the official scientific Institutions. characterised by having strict scientific objectives (and inspired by) the spirit of Illustration and progress". In this type of expedition, Sirera and Renn include the following travellers:
J. Edens, whose 1715 ascent and observations of Mt. Teide influenced many subsequent expeditions.
Louis Feuillée (1724), who was sent to measure the meridian of El Hierro and to map the islands.
Jean-Charles de Borda (1771, 1776) who more accurately measured the longitudes of the islands and the height of Mount Teide
theBaudin-Ledru expedition (1796) which aimed to recover a valuable collection of natural history objects.
The second type of expedition identified by Sirera and Renn is one that took place starting from more or less private initiatives. Among these, the key exponents were the following:
Sirera and Renn identify the period 1770–1830 as one in which "In a panorama dominated until that moment by France and England enters with strength and brio Germany of the Romantic period whose presence in the islands will increase".
At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a newcash-crop, thebanana, the export of which was controlled by companies such asFyffes.
30 November 1833 theProvince of Canary Islands had been created with the capital being declared as Santa Cruz de Tenerife.[101] The rivalry between the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of thearchipelago into two provinces on 23 September 1927.[102]
During the time of theSecond Spanish Republic,Marxist andanarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez andGuillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organisations were a minority and fell easily to Nationalist forces during theSpanish Civil War.
In 1936,Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of 17 July which began theSpanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on La Palma and in the town ofVallehermoso, on La Gomera. Though there was never a war in the islands, the post-war suppression of political dissent on the Canaries was most severe.[103]
Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organise until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as theCommunist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties.
During theIfni War, the Franco regime set upconcentration camps on the islands toextrajudicially imprison those in Western Sahara suspected of disloyalty to Spain, many of whom were colonial troops recruited on the spot but were later deemed to be potentialfifth columnists and deported to the Canary Islands. These camps were characterised by the use of forced labour for infrastructure projects and highly unsanitary conditions resulting in the widespread occurrence oftuberculosis.[106]
This sectionis missing information about the ruling junta in the periode 1978–1982. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(July 2023)
After the establishment of a democraticconstitutional monarchy in Spain,autonomy was granted to the Canaries via a law passed in 1982, with a newly established autonomous devolved government and parliament. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held. TheSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won.[108]
The political capital of the archipelago did not exist as such until the nineteenth century. The first cities founded by theEuropeans at the time of the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century were:Telde (inGran Canaria),San Marcial del Rubicón (inLanzarote) andBetancuria (inFuerteventura). These cities boasted the first European institutions present in the archipelago, includingCatholicbishoprics.[109] Although, because the period of splendor of these cities developed before the total conquest of the archipelago and its incorporation into theCrown of Castile never had a political and real control of the entire Canary archipelago.
Overview of Las Palmas de Gran CanariaView of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The function of a Canarian city with full jurisdiction for the entire archipelago only exists after the conquest of the Canary Islands, although originallyde facto, that is, without legal and real meaning and linked to the headquarters of theCanary Islands General Captaincy.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was the first city that exercised this function. This is because the residence of the Captain General of the Canary Islands was in this city during part of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[110] In May 1661, the Captain General of the Canary Islands,Jerónimo de Benavente y Quiñones, moved the headquarters of the captaincy to the city ofSan Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island ofTenerife.[111] This was due to the fact that this island since the conquest was the most populated, productive and with the highest economic expectations.[112] La Laguna would be considered thede facto capital of the archipelago[113] until the official status of the capital of Canary Islands in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was confirmed in the 19th century, due in part to the constant controversies and rivalries between the bourgeoisies of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the economic, political and institutional hegemony of the archipelago.[114]
Already in 1723, the Captain General of the Canary IslandsLorenzo Fernandez de Villavicencio had moved the headquarters of the General Captaincy of the Canary Islands from San Cristóbal de La Laguna to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This decision continued without pleasing the society of the island of Gran Canaria.[115] It would be after the creation of theProvince of Canary Islands in November 1833 in which Santa Cruz would become the first fully official capital of the Canary Islands (De jure and not ofde facto as happened previously).[17][20] Santa Cruz de Tenerife would be the capital of the Canary archipelago until during the Government of GeneralPrimo de Rivera in 1927 the Province of Canary Islands was split in two provinces:Las Palmas with capital in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, andSanta Cruz de Tenerife with capital in the homonymous city.
Finally, with the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands in 1982 and the creation of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the capital of the archipelago between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is fixed, which is how it remains today.
The Canary Islands have a population of 2,153,389 inhabitants (2019), making it the eighth most populous of Spain'sautonomous communities.[5] The total area of the archipelago is 7,493 km2 (2,893 sq mi),[118] resulting in a population density of 287.4 inhabitants per square kilometre.
The population of the islands according to the 2019 data are:[5]
The Canary Islands have become home to many European residents, mainly coming from Italy, Germany and the UK. Because of the vast immigration to Venezuela and Cuba during the second half of the 20th century and the later return to the Canary Islands of these people along with their families, there are many residents whose country of origin wasVenezuela (66,593) orCuba (41,807). Since the 1990s, manyillegal migrants have reached the Canary Islands,Melilla andCeuta, using them as entry points to the EU.[119][120][121] A record number of 46,843 migrants, mostly fromSenegal,Mali andMorocco, arrived illegally in the Canary Islands in 2024, up from 39,910 in 2023.[122]
TheCatholic Church has been the majority religion in the archipelago for more than five centuries, ever since theConquest of the Canary Islands. There are also several other religious communities.
The overwhelming majority of native Canarians areRoman Catholic (76.7%)[124] with various smaller foreign-born populations of other Christian beliefs such asProtestants.
The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each governed by a bishop:
Diócesis Canariense: Includes the islands of theEastern Province: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Its capital was San Marcial El Rubicón (1404) andLas Palmas de Gran Canaria (1483–present). There was a previous bishopric which was based inTelde, but it was later abolished.
The native inhabitants of the Canary Islands hold a gene pool that is predominantly European and native Guanche. It was found that Guanche males contributed less to the gene pool of modern Canary Islanders than Guanche females. Haplogroups typical among the Guanche have been found at high frequencies inLatin America, suggesting that descendants of the Guanche played an active role in theSpanish colonization of the Americas.[130]
In 2017, the first genome-wide data from the Guanches confirmed a North African origin and that they were genetically most similar toancient North African Berber peoples of the nearby North African mainland. It also showed that modern inhabitants of Gran Canaria carry an estimated 16%–31% Guanche autosomal ancestry.[131] A 2018 genetic study found that the Canarian population is, on average at an autosomal level, 75% European, 22% North African and 3% Sub-saharan.[132]
The economy is based primarilyon tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 12 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily bananas and tobacco, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the morearid islands, are beingoverexploited but there are still many agricultural resources liketomatoes,potatoes,onions,cochineal,sugarcane,grapes,vines,dates,oranges,lemons,figs,wheat,barley,maize,apricots,peaches andalmonds.
Water resources are also being overexploited, due to the high water usage by tourists.[134] Also, some islands (such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife)overexploit the ground water. This is done in such degree that, according to European and Spanish legal regulations, the current situation is not acceptable. To address the problems, good governance and a change in the water use paradigm have been proposed. These solutions depend largely oncontrolling water use and on demand management. As this is administratively difficult and politically unpalatable, most action is currently directed at increasing the public offer of water through import from outside; a decision which is economically, politically and environmentally questionable.[135]
To bring in revenue for environmental protection, innovation, training and water sanitation atourist tax was considered in 2018, along with a doubling of theecotax and restrictions on holiday rents in the zones with the greatest pressure of demand.[136]
The economy is€ 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20-year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts offoreign direct investment, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near €11 billion in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds).[137][138] Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Islands Government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than five jobs.[139][140]
Spain gave permission in August 2014 forRepsol and its partners to exploreoil andnatural gas prospects off the Canary Islands, involving an investment of €7.5 billion over four years, to commence at the end of 2016. Repsol at the time said the area could ultimately produce 100,000 barrels of oil a day, which would meet 10 percent of Spain's energy needs.[141] However, the analysis of samples obtained did not show the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction, and the project was scrapped.[142]
Despite currently having very high dependence on fossil fuels, research on the renewable energy potential concluded that a high potential for renewable energy technologies exists on the archipelago. This, in such extent even that a scenario pathway to 100% renewable energy supply by 2050 has been put forward.[143]
The Canary Islands have great natural attractions, climate andbeaches make the islands a major tourist destination, being visited each year by about 12 million people (11,986,059 in 2007, noting 29% ofBritons, 22% of Spanish (from outside the Canaries), and 21% ofGermans). Among the islands, Tenerife has the largest number of tourists received annually, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.[13] The archipelago's principal tourist attraction is theTeide National Park (in Tenerife) where the highest mountain in Spain and third largestvolcano in the world (MountTeide), receives over 2.8 million visitors annually.[144]
The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made theRoque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location fortelescopes like theGrantecan.
The islands, as an autonomous region of Spain, are in theEuropean Union and theSchengen Area. They are in theEuropean Union Customs Union but outside theVAT area.[145] Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 7%, an increased tax rate of 13.5%, a reduced tax rate of 3% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services. Consequently, some products are subject to additional VAT if being exported from the islands into mainland Spain or the rest of the EU.
Canarian time isWestern European Time (WET), orGMT. In summer, one hour ahead of GMT. Canarian time is one hour behind mainland Spain, and the same time as the UK, Ireland and mainland Portugal all year round.
ABinter CanariasEmbraer 195 E2 at the Galician airport ofVigo. Binter is the biggest airline of the Canary Islands and labels itself as the flag carrier of the Autonomous Community (Líneas Aéreas de Canarias).Bus Station—Estación de Guaguas also known asEl Hoyo (The hole), on the left, out of the image—at San Telmo Park,Las Palmas de Gran CanariaTenerife Tram
The Canary Islands have eight airports altogether, two of the main ports of Spain, and an extensive network ofautopistas (highways) and other roads. For a road map see multimap.[148]Traffic congestion is sometimes a problem in Tenerife and on Grand Canaria.[149][150][151]
Largeferry boats and fast ferries link most of the islands. Both types can transport large numbers of passengers, cargo, and vehicles. Fast ferries are made of aluminium and powered by modern and efficient diesel engines, while conventional ferries have a steel hull and are powered by heavy oil. Fast ferries travel in excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph); conventional ferries travel in excess of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph), but are slower than fast ferries.[citation needed] A typical ferry ride between La Palma and Tenerife may take up to eight hours or more while a fast ferry takes about two and a half hours and between Tenerife and Gran Canaria can be about one hour.[152]
The largest airport is theGran Canaria Airport. Tenerife has two airports,Tenerife North Airport andTenerife South Airport.[153] The island of Tenerife gathers the highest passenger movement of all the Canary Islands through its two airports.[154] The two main islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) receive the greatest number of passengers.[155] Tenerife 6,204,499 passengers and Gran Canaria 5,011,176 passengers.[156]
Theport of Las Palmas is first in freight traffic in the islands,[157] while theport of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the first fishing port with approximately 7,500 tons of fish caught, according to the Spanish government publication Statistical Yearbook of State Ports. Similarly, it is the second port in Spain as regards ship traffic, only surpassed by thePort of Algeciras Bay.[158] The port's facilities include a border inspection post (BIP) approved by the European Union, which is responsible for inspecting all types of imports from third countries or exports to countries outside the European Economic Area. The port ofLos Cristianos (Tenerife) has the greatest number of passengers recorded in the Canary Islands, followed by the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.[159] The Port of Las Palmas is the third port in the islands in passengers and first in number of vehicles transported.[159]
TheSS America was beached at the Canary islands on 18 January 1994. However, the ocean liner broke apart after the course of several years and eventually sank beneath the surface.
TheServicio Canario de Salud is an autonomous body of administrative nature attached to the Ministry responsible for Health of the Government of the Canary Islands.[163]
There are five species ofmarine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being theendangeredloggerhead sea turtle.[167] The other four are thegreen,hawksbill,leatherback andKemp's ridley sea turtles. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usuallymigrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback sea turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.
The Dance of the Dwarves is one of the most important acts of the Lustral Festivities of theBajada de la Virgen de las Nieves inSanta Cruz de La Palma.Dancers with typical costume in El Tamaduste (El Hierro)Band ofAgaete in theTraída del Agua (Gran Canaria)
Some holidays of those celebrated in the Canary Islands are international and national, others are regional holidays and others are of insular character. The official day of the autonomous community isCanary Islands Day on 30 May. The anniversary of the first session of theParliament of the Canary Islands, based in the city ofSanta Cruz de Tenerife, held on 30 May 1983, is commemorated with this day.
The common festive calendar throughout the Canary Islands is as follows:[169]
Catholic festival. This day is festive in the archipelago as in all of Spain. Popularly, in the Canary Islands it is known as the day on which theVirgin of Candelaria (Saint Patron of Canary Islands) is celebrated.[170][171]
In addition, each of the islands has an island festival, in which it is a holiday only on that specific island. These are the festivities of island patrons saints of each island. Organized chronologically are:[172]
The most famous festivals of the Canary Islands is the carnival. It is the most famous and international festival of the archipelago. The carnival is celebrated in all the islands and all its municipalities, perhaps the two busiest are those of the two Canarian capitals; theCarnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tourist Festival of International Interest) and theCarnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It is celebrated on the streets between the months of February and March. But the rest of the islands of the archipelago have their carnivals with their own traditions among which stand out: The Festival of the Carneros ofEl Hierro, the Festival of the Diabletes ofTeguise inLanzarote, Los Indianos deLa Palma, the Carnival ofSan Sebastián de La Gomera and the Carnival ofPuerto del Rosario inFuerteventura.
In the 1960s, Gran Canaria was selected as the location for one of the 14ground stations in theManned Space Flight Network (MSFN) to support theNASA space program.Maspalomas Station, located in the south of the island, took part in a number of space missions including theApollo 11 Moon landings andSkylab. Today it continues to support satellite communications as part of theESA network.[173]
Tenerife is the home of theInstituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Astrophysical Institute of the Canaries). There is also an Instituto de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González (Antonio González Bio-Organic Institute) at theUniversity of La Laguna. Also at that university are the Instituto de Lingüística Andrés Bello (Andrés Bello Institute of Linguistics), the Centro de Estudios Medievales y Renacentistas (Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies), the Instituto Universitario de la Empresa (University Institute of Business), the Instituto de Derecho Regional (Regional Institute of Law), the Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (University Institute of Political and Social Sciences) and the Instituto de Enfermedades Tropicales (Institute of Tropical Diseases). The latter is one of the seven institutions of the Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET, "Network of Research of Centers of Tropical Diseases"), located in various parts of Spain. The Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands) is based in Tenerife.[citation needed]
A unique form of wrestling known asCanarian wrestling (lucha canaria) has opponents stand in a special area called a "terrero" and try to throw each other to the ground using strength and quick movements.[177]
Another sport is the "game of the sticks" (palo canario) where opponents fence with long sticks. This may have come about from the shepherds of the islands who would challenge each other using their long walking sticks.[177]
Furthermore, there is theshepherd's jump (salto del pastor). This involves using a long stick to vault over an open area. This sport possibly evolved from the shepherd's need to occasionally get over an open area in the hills as they were tending their sheep.[177]
The two mainfootball teams in the archipelago are: theCD Tenerife (founded in 1912) andUD Las Palmas (founded in 1949). As of the 2023/2024 season, UD Las Palmas plays in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. CD Tenerife however plays in The Segunda División. When in the same division, the clubs contest theCanary Islands derby. There are smaller clubs also playing in the mainlandSpanish football league system, most notablyUD Lanzarote andCD Laguna, although no other Canarian clubs have played in the top flight.
Paco Campos, (1916–1995); a footballer who played as a forward. With 127 goals, 120 of which were forAtlético Madrid, he is the highest scoring player from the Canary Islands inLa Liga.
Paola Tirados, born inLas Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1980, synchronized swimmer, who participated in the Olympic Games of 2000, 2004 and 2008. She won the silver medal in Beijing in 2008 in the team competition category.
^"So great was the danger that for nearly two years we kept constantly at a few days' notice an expedition of over five thousand men and their ships, ready to seize the Canary Islands, by which we could maintain air and sea control over the U-boats, and contact with Australasia round the Cape, if ever the harbour of Gibraltar were denied to us by the Spaniards."
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^"2.2.6. Diagnóstico"(PDF).Plan Territorial Especial De Ordenación Del Sistema Viario Del Área Metropolitana De Tenerife (in Spanish).Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved21 January 2010.
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^"History | portal".www.elhierro.es.Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved13 November 2023.
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^Carracedo, J. C. (Juan Carlos); Troll, V. R. (26 May 2016).The geology of the Canary Islands. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.ISBN978-0-12-809664-2.OCLC951031503.
^Pararas-Carayannis, G. (2002). "Evaluation of the Threat of Mega Tsunami Generation from Postulated Massive Slope Failure of Island Stratovolcanoes on La Palma, Canary Islands, and on The Island of Hawaii, George". Science of Tsunami Hazards 20 (5): 251–277.
^Hogan, C. Michael. Burnham, Andy (ed.)."Chellah".Megalithic.co.uk. The Megalithic Portal.Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved26 April 2010.
^Ronquillo, M (2008). Viña, A (ed.).Ingenios azucareros en la colonización canaria, 1487–1526. Localización espacial y organización del espacio en Gran Canaria. Organismo de Museos y Centros. pp. 133–153.
^La Junta Suprema de Canarias. Volumen I. Buenaventura Bonnet y Riveron. Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Tenerife, Editorial: Editorial Interinsular Canaria SA, publicado en Santa Cruz de Tenerife en 1980 (reedición de 1948) Páginas 104–106
^"Su Origen".Gran Enciclopedia Virtual Islas Canarias (in Spanish). Archived fromthe original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved7 January 2019 – via www.gevic.net.
Alfred Crosby,Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900 (Cambridge University Press)ISBN0-521-45690-8
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Sergio Hanquet,Diving in Canaries, Litografía A. ROMERO, 2001.ISBN84-932195-0-9
Børgesen, Frederik; Frémy, Pierre (1925).Marine algae from the Canary Islands, especially from Teneriffe and Gran Canaria. Høst in Komm.OCLC1070942615.
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