Tanausu (also Tanausú and Atanausu) (died 1493) was the

Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language Guanche is an extinct language that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It died out after the conquest ...

ruler of Aceró, on the island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

(known to the original population as

Benahoare Benahoare was the native Guanche name for the Spanish island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. Prior to its conquest by the Castilians, completed in 1493, the island had been divided into 12 cantons or lordships. The last Guanche lord to ...

), whose defeat by the

Castilians Castilians (Spanish: ''castellanos'') are those people who live in certain former areas of the historical Kingdom of Castile, but the region's exact limits are disputed. A broader definition is to consider as Castilians the population belonging ...

marked the final conquest of that island. The island of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, conquered in 1495, was the last of the

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 ...

to fall under European control. His name has been translated as "The obstinate" or "He who has kidneys

''Aceró'', whose name is said to mean "strong place" in Guanche language, Guanche, has been identified with the area now known as ''La Caldera de Taburiente'', which indeed lends itself to a strong defense. He was the last king of La Palma to submit himself to the Castilian forces led by

Alonso Fernández de Lugo Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish military man, conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma (1492–1493) and Tenerife (1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the C ...

. The Castilians had failed twice in their attempts to penetrate the region known as La Caldera. A truce, with a promise of gifts and good treatment, was arranged by Fernández de Lugo through Juan de Palma, a relative of Tanausu who had converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The truce, to which Tanausu had agreed, led to the king's capture in an ambush. He was convinced to come out on the pass known as Adamacansis, and was ambushed on the spot now known as El Riachuelo, near present-day La Cumbrecita. Tanausu was taken away to be presented to

Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...

. In defiance, Tanausu is said to have refused to eat during the voyage to

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 ...

, and he died without seeing land again. The scholar Harald Braem wrote a book called ''Tanausu, König der Guanchen'' ("Tanausu, King of the Guanches", available in German and Spanish, editorial Verena Zech, Tenerife 2005).

References

*{{in lang, es}
Personajes: Tanausu
1493 deaths People from La Palma Guanche Guanche people Year of birth unknown