Canarian People - History

History

The original inhabitants of the Canary Islands are Guanche Berbers.

The islands were conquered by mostly Andalusians and some Castilians at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1402, they began to subdue and suppress the native Guanche population. The Guanches were initially enslaved and gradually absorbed by the Spanish colonizers.

After subsequent settlement by Spaniards and other European peoples, mainly Portuguese, the remaining Guanches were gradually diluted by the settlers and their culture largely vanished. Alonso Fernández de Lugo, conqueror of Tenerife and La Palma, oversaw extensive immigration to these islands during a short period from the late 1490s to the 1520s from mainland Europe, and immigrants included Galicians, Castilians, Portuguese, Italians, Catalans, Basques, and Flemings. At subsequent judicial enquiries, Fernández de Lugo was accused of favoring Genoese and Portuguese immigrants over Castilians.

Today some of the traditional sports such as Lucha Canaria, Juego del Palo or Salto del Pastor, among others, have their roots in Guanche culture. Additionally, other traditions include Canarian pottery, words of Guanche origin in the habla canaria and the rural consumption of guarapo gomero and gofio.

Modern day Canarian culture is Spanish with some Guanche roots. The strong influence of Latin America is due to the constant emigration and return over the centuries of Canarians to that continent, chiefly to Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Nuevo León in Northeastern Mexico.