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Home - The Canary Islands
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Maps
and boundary data are copyrighted
by FOTW Flags Of The World
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| Canarias
Photo Gallery |
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I
would like to thank both
the Canarias Photo Gallery
and Tullio Gatti for permission
to use his photographs.
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| To
see more photos of the
Canary Islands taken by
the world renown Tullio
Gatti, please click
on the Canarias Photo
Gallery banner and click
on "Banco de Imagenes". |
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| El
Arco de la Fama |
"Antiquity
called them, because of the
fertility of their soil and
sky, Fortunate Islands; And
so friendly towards them was
heaven.
That without any labouring,
the earth yielded wonderful
fruits And the uncultivated
vines offered their tribute.
It was said that olive trees
always flowered, And sweet
honey dripped from the stones,
And with a soft rumour
lively waters hurried down
the steep mountainside; A
summery warmth mellowed the
air, so that pleasure reigned,
And lastly,
because of their temperateness,
Laurels and palms, they were
the Elysium of the souls.
"
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the Canarian poet Cairasco
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I
am fortunate to have been
born in the "Fortunate
Islands." This is
the name that Homer, Horace,
Italicus, Pliny and a
host of other classical
writers gave to the Canary
Islands since earliest
times. Diodorous of Sicily
referred to us as the
Garden of the Hesperides.
Virgil waxes luminous
in his description: "Their
sky is purer and brighter
than ours, so that the
fields are bathed in a
purple light." And
the poet Luciano excites
rapture when he describes
that the "Spring
dwells forever in the
fields of the Fortunate
Islands, and only the
pleasant zephyr blows
there. And in truth, that
land is always green and
flowers grow in thick
clusters, and plants are
neither coarse nor dark."
While
visiting Orotava Valley
on the island of Tenerife,
the famous naturalist
Hurnboldt described with
fascination what he saw:
"In
my visits to tropical
lands, I have encountered
places where nature is
more majestic and richer
in its growth; but after
the banks of the Orinoco,
the mountain ranges of
Peru and the lovely Mexican
valleys, I must admit
that I have never seen
a picture as variegated,
harmonious and attractive
as that offered in the
Orotava Valley by the
striking contrast between
the greenery of vegetation
and masses of rock."
The
Canaries are made up of
7 islands and 6 islets
that form an archipelago
70 miles off the coast
of Western Sahara. Tenerife,
Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria,
Lanzarote, La Palma, La
Gomera and El Hierro are
located at 4 degrees from
the Tropic of Cancer.
This sub-tropical location
is "fortunate"
in that it allows the
climate to caress these
islands with almost perennial
sun and gentle breezes.
The temperature in the
Canaries is always mild,
with the average being
22.3 degrees Celsius.
No
matter what you have heard
from Tweety, the Canaries
were not named after that
much- marketed bird, nor
his ornithological brethren.
Some researchers say that
the Canaries received
their name from the "canarii"
tribe who inhabited the
island of Gran Canaria.
During their historic
defense of their islands
during the 15th Century,
the Spanish began to refer
to the islands as the
"Islands of Canaria."
Another school insists
that the islands got their
name from the fierce dogs
(cams) found on some of
the islands. We'll let
the archaeologists, anthropologists
and historians wrestle
with this issue.
The
origins of the Guanche
people of Tenerife are
still unsettled. Exotic
theories abound, but the
most widely accepted is
that the people of the
Canaries are related to
the Berbers of North Africa.
The Guanche men were described
as being tall, somewhere
between 5 feet 9 inches
to 6 feet 2 inches. Early
explorers also described
the Guanche people as
having "clear, rosy
skins; fair hair . . .
and blue eyes." They
were also powerfully built.
".
. . You will not find
anywhere people more handsome
or graceful than these
islanders, both men and
women . . .'" wrote
Fathers Bontier and Le
Verrier, historians who
accompanied Juan de Bethencourt
on his expeditions.
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In the year of "their"
Castilian Lord 1402, Spain
initiated its attack on
Lanzarote . It ended in
1492 with the conquest
of Tenerife. Ninety years
of attacks against the
islands; ninety years
of frustration for the
Spanish Crown. They had
failed to realize how
bold, sturdy and resilient
the islanders were. The
Guanche were not going
down without a fight.
As one writer has described:
"The Canarians were
of a quite a different
mettle; the mere thought
of slavery repelled these
people, who were infinitely
proud of their rights.
The Mexican thought the
Spaniards were gods, but
the Guanches saw them
as men and, as such, found
much to despise in their
behaviour."
Juan
de Bethencourt was the
first conquerer of the
Canary Islands. On February
27th, 1404, the people
of Lanzarote surrendered.
Fuerteventura fell to
Bethencourt in 1408, with
Hierro falling shortly
after. Bethencourt's attempt
at conquering the Island
of Gomera failed. The
natives of the island
were too strong. Gomera
actually became a part
of Spain, more through
trade and contact than
"armed intervention."
The rest of the archipelago
fell in due time.
The
Guanche enjoyed their
freedom. When the Spanish
invaded, the Guanche fought
for that freedom. Many
are the tales of the Mencey
(Kings) who, rather than
losing their freedom to
the new invaders, committed
suicide instead. Vacaguare!
(I prefer to die!) was
taken literally.
On
August 13, 1993, Tenerife
sculptor Jose Abad unveiled
his great tribute to the
Canarian people: "The
Nine Guanche Menceyes."
Financed by the Island
Government of Tenerife,
these 9 bronze sculptures
overlook the plaza of
the Town of Candelaria
on the Island of Tenerife.
In tribute to my people,
and in honor of the supreme
efforts of the Mencey
to save us from the invaders,
I bow my head in tribute
and list their names: |
Acaymo
(Mencey
of Tacoronte)
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Bencomo
(Mencey of Taoro)
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Pelinor
(Mencey
of Adeje)
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Adjona
(Mencey
of Abona)
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Beneharo
(Mencey
of Anaga) |
Romen
(Mencey
of Daute) |
| Anaterve
(Mencey
of Guimar) |
Pelicar
(Mencey
of Icod) |
Tegueste
(Mencey
of Tequeste)
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| The
Canary Islands Today |
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The Canary Islands has
its own autonomous government
and parliament. One of
our major concerns is
tourism. Referring to
the 1995 Act for Tourism
in the Canary Islands,
Jose Miguel Bravo de Laguna,
1997 President of the
Canarian Parliament elucidates:
"The (Act) expressly
alluded to the protection
of the environment and
the conservation of nature,
landscape and culture
in the Canary Islands
inasmuch as they are objects
of attraction and resources
for tourism." This
is a common sense admission
that tourism is our "daily
bread."
The
Canaries are in a privileged
position. It stands at
the crossroads of three
continents: America, Europe
and Africa. It is a first
class tourist destination
for Europeans, South Americans
and, now. North Americans
and Canadians. De Laguna
recognizes this, but continues:
"We must compulsorily
flee from the identification
of tourism as an insatiable
monster that devours resources
and that conditions our
future as the price to
pay for a placid present."
We
have inherited from the
Guanches our cultural
pride, honor and a zest
for freedom. This pride
is evident in the care
that the Canarian Government
and its people have taken
in attempting to preserve
its heritage.
We
look forward to our future
with much hope.
Katiuska
Hanohano |
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