El Cotillo is a coastal town in the municipality of

la Oliva La Oliva () is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island of Fuerteventura in the Province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. The population is 25,083 (2013),Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...

in the Province of Las Palmas,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It has a population of 1.680 residents (2022).

History

The history of el Cotillo dates back to the 17th century, when it was known as a fishing settlement based in the disembarkation area called “Puerto del Roque”. The Island Council of Fuerteventura established in that same area the so-called “Casa del Puerto del Tostón”, which became one of the ports of arrival of the trade route between

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and Fuerteventura. It wasn't until mid-20th century before it was generally known as “el Cotillo”. The village's port lost its commercial importance over time, and the sparsely populated town relied completely on

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

for their primary income. During the eighties,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

became an economic alternative to fishery, and the population grew considerably.

Places of interest

El Cotillo is surrounded by some of Europe's best beaches, including a range of bays with crystal clear waters and fine sand beaches, known as “la Concha” and “los Lagos”. In 2016, local newspaper La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas reported that el Cotillo's beaches ranked among the ten best ones in Europe, as voted for by users of the online travel site TripAdvisor.

Torre del Tostón Defense tower “Torre del Tostón” (or "Castillo de El Cotillo") is located in the coastal town of el Cotillo, which forms part of the municipality of la Oliva, Fuerteventura, Spain. This defense tower was recognized as historic-artistic monu ...

is the village's most prominent monument. It was built in 1700 to defend the coast against pirates who operated from France, England and North Africa (

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

). Torre del Tostón was recognized as “Bien de Interés Cultural” in 1949.

References

Spanish Statistical Office

Guía de Fuerteventura

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