The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union. The seven main islands are (from largest to smallest in area) Tenerife,

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 ...

, Gran Canaria,

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos,

Montaña Clara Montaña Clara () (Spanish meaning "light-colored mountain") is a small uninhabited islet belonging to the Chinijo Archipelago, in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands, only a short distance (about ) northwest of La Graciosa. The islet area ...

Roque del Oeste Roque del Oeste (; Spanish for "rock of the west"), also referred to as ''Roque del Infierno'', is an uninhabited islet located 0.6 km northeast of the island of Montaña Clara, in the northeasternmost part of the Canary Islands, the Chinijo ...

, and Roque del Este. It also includes a number of rocks, including Garachico and

Anaga Macizo de Anaga is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The highest point is 1,024 m (Cruz de Taborno). It stretches from the Punta de Anaga in the northeast to Cruz del Carmen in the sou ...

. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and the largest and most populous archipelago of Macaronesia. Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between the four continents of Africa,

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, South America, and Europe. In 2019, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,153,389, with a density of 287.39 inhabitants per km², making it the eighth 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 12 million visitors per year. This is due to their beaches,

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

, and important natural attractions, especially

Maspalomas Maspalomas () is a tourist resort in the south of the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, stretching from Bahía Feliz in the east to Meloneras in the west, including the resort towns of San Agustín and Playa del Inglés and San Fernando. ...

in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide (a World Heritage Site) in Tenerife. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the third tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor.Página web
del ISTAC sobre entrada de turistas en Canarias. one#'Menú Principal'!A1 Estadísticas de Turismo de Tenerife The islands have warm summers and winters warm enough for the climate to be technically tropical at sea level. The amount of precipitation and the level of maritime moderation vary depending on location and elevation. The archipelago includes green areas as well as desert. The islands' high mountains are ideal for astronomical observation, because they lie above the temperature inversion layer. As a result, the archipelago boasts two professional observatories: the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma. In 1927, the

Province of Canary Islands The Province of Canary Islands (in Spanish: ''Provincia de Canarias'') is the name of the former province formed by the Canary Islands. This province had its capital in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. After the provincial division in 1927 th ...

was split into two provinces. In 1982, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands was established. The cities of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are, jointly, the capitals of the islands.''Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833''
en el sitio web oficial del Gobierno de Canarias Those cities are also, respectively, the capitals of the provinces of

and Las Palmas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, except for a brief period in the 1910s. Between the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).''Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833''
at the official website of the Canary Islands Government The third largest city in the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna (another World Heritage Site) on Tenerife. During the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval ...

, the islands were the main stopover for Spanish galleons during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, which sailed that far south in order to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds.

Etymology

The name ''Islas Canarias'' is likely derived from the Latin name ''Canariae Insulae'', meaning "Islands of the Dogs", a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, ''Canaria'' – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the island ''Canaria'' contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". Other theories speculate that the name comes from the Nukkari Berber tribe living in the Moroccan Atlas, named in Roman sources as ''Canarii'', though Pliny again mentions the relation of this term with dogs. The connection to dogs is retained in their depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms. It is thought that the aborigines of Gran Canaria called themselves "Canarios". It is possible that after being conquered, this name was used in plural in Spanish, i.e., as to refer to all of the islands as the Canarii-as. The name of the islands is not derived from the canary bird; rather, the birds are named after the islands.

Physical geography

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) and

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

(896,038 inhabitants). The island of

is the second largest in the archipelago and located from the African coast. The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion with the Azores,

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, and the

Savage Isles The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands.

. The Canary Islands is the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region. The archipelago consists of seven large and several smaller islands, all of which are volcanic in origin. According to the position of the islands with respect to the north-east trade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species form laurisilva forests. As a consequence, the individual islands in the Canary archipelago tend to have distinct microclimates. Those islands such as El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera lying to the west of the archipelago have a climate which is influenced by the moist Canary Current. They are well vegetated even at low levels and have extensive tracts of sub-tropical laurisilva forest. As one travels east toward the African coast, the influence of the current diminishes, and the islands become increasingly arid.

and

, 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 like

and

Roque Nublo Roque Nublo (''Clouded Rock'', ''Rock in the Clouds'') is a volcanic rock on the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. It is tall, and its top is above sea level. The Roque Nublo is the third altitude of the island of Gran Canaria, aft ...

. In terms of its climate Tenerife is particularly interesting. The north of the island lies under the influence of the moist Atlantic winds and is well vegetated, while the south of the island around the tourist resorts of Playa de las Américas and

Los Cristianos Los Cristianos is a town in Spain with a population of 21,235 (2017), situated on the south coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife. Located in the municipality of Arona, Tenerife, Arona between the cone of the mountain Chayofita and the greater mou ...

is arid. The island rises to almost above sea level, and at altitude, in the cool relatively wet climate, forests of the endemic pine '' Pinus canariensis'' thrive. Many of the plant species in the Canary Islands, like the Canary Island pine and the

dragon tree ''Dracaena'' () is a genus of about 120 species of trees and succulent shrubs. The formerly accepted genera ''Pleomele'' and ''Sansevieria'' are now included in ''Dracaena''. In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asp ...

, '' Dracaena draco'' are endemic, as noted by Sabin Berthelot and Philip Barker Webb in their work, ''L'Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries'' (1835–50).

Climate

The climate is warm

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

and generally semidesertic, moderated by the sea and in summer by the trade winds. There are a number of microclimates and the classifications range mainly from semi-arid to

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

. According to Köppen, the majority of the Canary Islands have a hot desert climate (''BWh'') and a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(''BSh''), caused partly due to the cool Canary Current. There also exists a subtropical humid climate which is very influenced by the ocean in the middle of the islands of La Gomera, Tenerife and La Palma, where laurisilva cloud forests grow.

Geology

Parque nacional de Garajonay - bosque de laurel

The seven major islands, one minor island, and several small islets were originally volcanic islands, formed by the Canary hotspot. The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where volcanic eruptions have been recorded during the

Modern Era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

, with some volcanoes still active (El Hierro, 2011). Volcanic islands such as those in the Canary chain often have steep ocean cliffs caused by catastrophic debris avalanches and

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s. The island chain's most recent eruption occurred at Cumbre Vieja, a volcanic ridge on La Palma, in 2021. The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third tallest volcano on Earth on a volcanic ocean island. 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. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and continued to the present day. The current islands reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene. The islands were once considered as a distinct physiographic section of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division, but are nowadays recognized as being related to a magmatic hot spot. 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 south of Restinga. This eruption produced gases and pumice, but no explosive activity was reported. The following table shows the highest mountains in each of the islands:

Natural symbols

The official natural symbols associated with Canary Islands are the bird '' Serinus canaria'' (canary) and the ''

Phoenix canariensis ''Phoenix canariensis'', the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. It is a relative of ''Phoenix dactylifera'', the true dat ...

'' palm. File:Serinus canaria LC0210.jpg, '' Serinus canaria'' File:Phoenix canariensis ag.JPG, ''

National parks

Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. Two of these have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the other two are part of Biosphere Reserves. The parks are: 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. The park's highlight is the Teide volcano; standing at an altitude of , it is the highest elevation of the country and the third largest volcano on Earth from its base. In 2007, the Teide National Park was declared one of the

12 Treasures of Spain The 12 Treasures of Spain ( es, 12 Tesoros de España) was a project that selected the purported "Twelve Treasures of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain". The contest was conducted by broadcasters Antena 3 (Spain), Antena 3 and Cadena COPE, COPE. The fin ...

Politics

Spain Canary Islands location map Province of Las Palmas

Spain Canary Islands location map Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Governance

The regional executive body, the Parliament of the Canary Islands, is presided over by

Ángel Víctor Torres Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez (: born 30 March 1966) is a Spanish politician who serves as the president of the Canary Islands. He is the secretary-general of the Socialist Party of the Canaries (PSC–PSOE). Early life and education Born on 30 ...

(

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

), the current

President of the Canary Islands The president of the Canary Islands is the head of government of the Canary Islands, one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, while the monarch Felipe VI remains the head of state as king of Spain (and therefore of the Canary Islands). Lis ...

. The latter is invested by the members of the regional legislature, the Parliament of the Canary Islands, that consists of 70 elected legislators. The last regional election took place in May 2019. The islands have 14 seats in the

Spanish Senate The Senate ( es, Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. Th ...

. 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) while the other 3 are appointed by the regional legislature.

Political geography

The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces (''provincias''), Las Palmas and

, whose capitals ( Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and

) are capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named ''Cabildo Insular''. Each island is subdivided into smaller municipalities (''municipios''); Las Palmas is divided into 34 municipalities, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is divided into 54 municipalities. The international boundary of the Canaries is one subject of dispute in the Morocco-Spain relations. Moreover, in 2022 the UN has declared the Canary Island's territorial waters as Moroccan coast and Morocco has authorised gas and oil exploration in what the Canary Islands states to be Canarian territorial waters and Western Sahara waters. 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 an autonomous community with equal status to the European ones.

Canarian nationalism

There are some pro-independence political parties, like the

National Congress of the Canaries The National Congress of the Canaries ( es, Congreso Nacional de las Canarias; CNC) is a separatist political party in the Canary Islands, Spain. Ideology and goals CNC supports independence for the Canary Islands. The CNC was founded in 1986 by A ...

(CNC) and the

Popular Front of the Canary Islands The Popular Front of the Canary Islands ( es, Frente Popular de las Islas Canarias) or FREPIC-AWAÑAK is a marginal leftist political party seeking independence from Spain for the Canary Islands. FREPIC-AWAÑAK was formed by merging minority C ...

, but their popular support is almost insignificant, with no presence in either the autonomous parliament or the ''cabildos insulares''. According to a 2012 study by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, when asked about national identity, the majority of respondents from the Canary Islands (53.8%) consider themselves Spanish and Canarian in equal measures, followed by 24% who consider themselves more Canarian than Spanish. Only 6.1% of the respondents consider themselves only Canarian while 7% consider themselves only Spanish.

Defence

The defence of the territory is the responsibility of the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...

. As such, various components of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

are based in the territory.

History

Ancient and pre-Hispanic times

Before the arrival of humans, the Canaries were inhabited by prehistoric animals; for example, the giant lizard (''

Gallotia goliath ''Gallotia goliath'' (the Tenerife giant lizard or goliath Tenerife lizard) is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans and is believed to have g ...

''), the Tenerife and

Gran Canaria giant rat The Gran Canaria giant rat (''Canariomys tamarani'') is an extinct species of rat endemic to the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). This rodent is known from Holocene to pre-Hispanic fossil remains found at several places on the isl ...

s, and giant prehistoric tortoises, '' Geochelone burchardi'' and '' Geochelone vulcanica''. Although the original settlement of what are now called the Canary Islands is not entirely clear, linguistic, genetic, and archaeological analyses indicate that indigenous peoples were living on the Canary Islands at least 2000 years ago but possibly one thousand years or more before, and that they shared a common origin with the

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

on the nearby North African coast. 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 the Guanches, although ''Guanches'' had been the name for only the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife. LomodelosGatos

As José Farrujia describes, 'The indigenous Canarians lived mainly in natural caves, usually near the coast, 300-500m above sea level. These caves were sometimes isolated but more commonly formed settlements, with burial caves nearby'. Archaeological work has uncovered a rich culture visible through artefacts of ceramics, 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. Across the islands are thousands of Libyco-Berber alphabet inscriptions scattered and they have been extensively documented by many linguists. The social structure of indigenous Canarians encompassed 'a system of matrilineal 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 was

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

, centring on the sun and moon, as well as natural features such as mountains.

Exploration

The islands may have been visited by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Carthaginians. King Juba II, Caesar Augustus's

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

n protégé, is credited with discovering the islands for the Western world. According to Pliny the Elder, Juba found the islands uninhabited, but found "a small temple of stone" and "some traces of buildings". Juba dispatched a naval contingent to re-open the dye production facility at

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Morocco, Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, Marakesh-Safi, on the ...

in what is now western Morocco in the early first century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base. The names given by Romans to the individual islands were ''Ninguaria'' or ''Nivaria'' (Tenerife), ''Canaria'' (Gran Canaria), ''Pluvialia'' or ''Invale'' (Lanzarote), ''Ombrion'' (La Palma), ''Planasia'' (Fuerteventura), ''Iunonia'' or ''Junonia'' (El Hierro) and ''Capraria'' (La Gomera). From the 14th century onward, numerous visits were made by sailors from

, Portugal and Genoa. Lancelotto Malocello settled on Lanzarote in 1312. The Majorcans established a mission with a bishop in the islands that lasted from 1350 to 1400. Pueblochico guanches A

Castilian conquest

In 1402, the Castilian colonisation of the islands began with the expedition of the French explorers Jean de Béthencourt and

Gadifer de la Salle Gadifer de La Salle (Sainte-Radegonde, 1340 –1415) was a French knight and crusader of Poitevine origin who, with Jean de Béthencourt, conquered and explored the Canary Islands for the Kingdom of Castile. Life Gadifer de La Salle was born ...

, nobles and vassals of

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was born ...

, 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. Professor

Mohamed Adhikari Mohamed Adhikari is a professor of history and author of several books on both Coloured identity and politics in South Africa as well as on settler colonialism and genocide. He is a professor at the University of Cape Town. He was born in Cape To ...

has defined the conquest of the islands as a genocide of the Guanches. 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. AlonsoFernandezdeLugo2

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 by

Jean de Bethencourt Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

(who was originally from Normandy) and

between 1402 and 1405, which involved the islands of

, El Hierro and

. 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 of La 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 the Catholic Monarchs, who armed and partly financed the conquest of those islands which were still unconquered: Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife. 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. Columbus House-Vegueta-Las Palmas Gran Canaria

Columbus House-Vegueta-Las Palmas Gran Canaria

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 Prince

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

, an action that was accepted by neither the natives nor the Castilians. Despite Pope 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 the Treaty 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 the Azores,

, and the Cape 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 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. As a result of this 'the native pre-Hispanic population declined quickly due to war, epidemics, and slavery'. The Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.

After the conquest and the introduction of slavery

Canary Islands map by William Dampier 1699 - Project Gutenberg eText 15675

Coat of Arms of the Realm of Canary Islands

After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

; then wine, an important item of trade with England. Gran Canaria was conquered by the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

on 6 March 1480, and Tenerife was conquered in 1496, and each had its own governor. There has been speculation that the abundance of '' Roccella tinctoria'' on the Canary Islands offered a profit motive for Jean de Béthencourt during his conquest of the islands. Lichen has been used for centuries to make dyes. This includes royal purple colors derived from roccella tinctoria, also known as orseille. Slave-driving (Africa, 1878, p

The objective of the Spanish Crown to convert the islands into a powerhouse of cultivation required a much larger labour force. 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. Whilst the first slave plantations in the Atlantic region were across

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, and the Canary Islands, it was only the Canary Islands which had an indigenous population and were therefore invaded rather than newly occupied. 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. The cities of

and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became a stopping point for the Spanish traders, as well as

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s, and missionaries on their way to the New 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. Research on the skeletons of some of these enslaved workers from the burial site of Finca Clavijo on Gran Canaria have showed 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. 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 write
Ralph Hoyte
entitled ''Close to the Bone''. The method of forcibly relocating Africans to the Canary Islands in order to provide intensive labour, the first time this had been attempted, was looked at favourably by other European powers and was the inspiration behind the Transatlantic Slave Trade whereby around 12 million Africans were taken from their homelands in order to enter forced labour as plantation workers and domestic servants in the Americas over a period of 400 years. As a result of the huge wealth generated by enslaved labour, 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 as

Casas de los Sánchez-Ochando Casas de los Sánchez-Ochando ''(''English'':'' Sánchez-Ochando's houses) are a group of houses in the municipality of Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria. They exemplify vernacular architecture, the traditional domestic architectural style of ...

Casa Quintana The Quintana House is an example of the ancient architecture of the municipality of Guia de Gran Canaria in the Canarian island of Gran Canaria, located in the Plaza Mayor de Guía; its buildings date from the 16th century. The Canarian balcon ...

. The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateers. Ottoman

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while

Murat Reis the Elder Murat Reis the Elder ( tr, Koca Murat Reis; sq, Murat Reis Plaku 1534 – 1609) was an Ottoman privateer and admiral, who served in the Ottoman Navy. He is regarded as one of the most important Barbary corsairs. Early career Born into a ...

captured Lanzarote in 1585. The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

. A Dutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by

Pieter van der Does Pieter van der Does (1562 – 24 October 1599) was a Dutch admiral. He was the son of Jacob van der Does (c.1500-1577), schepen of Leiden during its siege. Life Pieter van der Does was born in Leiden. In 1586 he became superintendent of the ...

, 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. 300 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 pillaged

, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria,

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew. In 1618 the

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 ...

from North Africa attacked Lanzarote and La Gomera taking 1000 captives to be sold as

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when

was attacked by a British fleet under

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.

18th to 19th century

The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

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 as Veracruz,

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

, La Guaira and Havana, among others. By the end of the 18th century, Canary Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories, such as Havana, Veracruz, and Santo Domingo, San Antonio, Texas and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. 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 to Venezuela. Also, thousands of Canarians moved to Puerto 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 of Hatillo, Puerto Rico, are an example of Canarian culture still preserved in Puerto Rico. Similarly, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba. During the Spanish–American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against a possible American attack, but no such event took place.

Romantic period and scientific expeditions

Sirera and Renn (2004) 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 Louis Éconches Feuillée (sometimes spelled Feuillet) (1660, Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence – 18 April 1732) was a French member of the Order of the Minims, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist. Biography Feuillée was educated at th ...

(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 * the Baudin-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: * Alexander von Humboldt (1799) * Buch and Smith (1815) *

Broussonet Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet (28 February 1761 – 17 January 1807) was a French naturalist who contributed primarily to botany. He was born in Montpellier, where he was educated, and travelled to Morocco, Spain, the Canary Islands, and Souther ...

* Webb * Sabin Berthelot. 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".

Early 20th century

Bahia luz las palmas 1912 jordao da luz perestello

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes. 30 November 1833 the

had been created with the capital being declared as Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 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 the archipelago into two provinces on 23 September 1927. During the time of the Second Spanish Republic,

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and

Guillermo Ascanio Guillermo Ascanio (1907–1941) was a Communist Party of Spain politician. He fought on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and tried to prevent Casado's coup of March 1939. After the victory of the Nationalists, h ...

. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organisations were a minority and fell easily to Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Franco regime

In 1936,

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of 17 July which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on La Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, 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. During the Second World War,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

being invaded from the Spanish mainland. The planned operation was known as

Operation Pilgrim Operation Pilgrim was a planned British operation to invade and occupy the Canary Islands during World War II. The invasion was a contingency plan to be executed in the event of a known plan whereby Germany would support Spain in occupying Gibra ...

. Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organise until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties. During the Ifni War, the Franco regime set up concentration camps on the islands to extrajudicially 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 potential

fifth columnists A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

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 of tuberculosis.

Self-governance

After the death of Franco, there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria, the Movement for the Independence and Self-determination of the Canaries Archipelago (MAIAC). In 1968, the Organisation of African Unity recognized the MAIAC as a legitimate

African independence movement The African independence movements took place in the 20th century, when a wave of struggles for independence in European-ruled African territories were witnessed. Notable independence movements took place: *Algeria (former French Algeria), see ...

, and declared the Canary Islands as an African territory still under foreign rule. After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain,

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

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. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won. In the 2007 elections, the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) formed a ruling coalition government.

Capitals

At present, the Canary Islands is the only autonomous community in Spain that has two capitals:

and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, since the was created in 1982. The political capital of the archipelago did not exist as such until the nineteenth century. The first cities founded by the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

at the time of the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century were: Telde (in Gran Canaria), San Marcial del Rubicón (in

) and

Betancuria Betancuria is a small town and a municipality in the western part of the island of Fuerteventura in the Province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. The population is 811 (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 ...

). These cities boasted the first European institutions present in the archipelago, including Catholic bishoprics. Although, because the period of splendor of these cities developed before the total conquest of the archipelago and its incorporation into the

never had a political and real control of the entire Canary archipelago. Las Palmas panorama

The function of a Canarian city with full jurisdiction for the entire archipelago only exists after the conquest of the Canary Islands, although originally '' de facto'', that is, without legal and real meaning and linked to the headquarters of the

Canary Islands General Captaincy Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and '' Crithagra'' ...

. 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.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 In May 1661, the Captain General of the Canary Islands,

Jerónimo de Benavente y Quiñones Jerónimo (European Portuguese and Spanish) or Jerônimo (Brazilian Portuguese) may refer to: * Jerónimo (name), a given or surname, Jerome in English ** Jeronimo (singer) (born 1990), Dutch pop singer and actor * Jeronimo (band), German band of ...

, moved the headquarters of the captaincy to the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife. This was due to the fact that this island since the conquest was the most populated, productive and with the highest economic expectations. La Laguna would be considered the ''de facto'' capital of the archipelago 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. Already in 1723, the Captain General of the Canary Islands Lorenzo 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. It would be after the creation of the

in November 1833 in which Santa Cruz would become the first fully official capital of the Canary Islands ('' De jure'' and not of ''de facto'' as happened previously). Santa Cruz de Tenerife would be the capital of the Canary archipelago until during the Government of General Primo de Rivera in 1927 the Province of Canary Islands was split in two provinces: Las Palmas with capital in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and

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.

Demographics

The Canary Islands have a population of 2,153,389 inhabitants (2019), making it the eighth most populous of Spain's autonomous communities. The total area of the archipelago is , resulting in a population density of 287.4 inhabitants per square kilometre. The population of the islands according to the 2019 data are: * Tenerife – 917,841 * Gran Canaria – 851,231 *

– 152,289 (including the population of La Graciosa) *

– 116,886 * La Palma – 82,671 * La Gomera – 21,503 * El Hierro – 10,968 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 was Venezuela (66,593) or Cuba (41,807). Since the 1990s, many

illegal migrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

have reached the Canary Islands,

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

and Ceuta, using them as entry points to the EU.

Religion

The Catholic Church has been the majority religion in the archipelago for more than five centuries, ever since the Conquest of the Canary Islands. There are also several other religious communities.

Roman Catholic Church

The overwhelming majority of native Canarians are Roman Catholic (76.7%) with various smaller foreign-born populations of other Christian beliefs such as

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. The appearance of the Virgin of Candelaria (Patron of Canary Islands) was credited with moving the Canary Islands toward Christianity. Two Catholic saints were born in the Canary Islands: Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur and José de Anchieta. Both born on the island of Tenerife, they were respectively missionaries in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and Brazil. The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each governed by a bishop: * Diócesis Canariense: Includes the islands of the Eastern Province: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Its capital was San Marcial El Rubicón (1404) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1483–present). There was a previous bishopric which was based in Telde, but it was later abolished. * Diócesis Nivariense: Includes the islands of the western province: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Its capital is San Cristóbal de La Laguna (1819–present).

Other religions

Separate from the overwhelming Christian majority are a minority of Muslims. Among the followers of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, the

Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands The Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands (in Spanish: ''Federación Islámica de Canarias'') is a Muslim religious organization that brings together associations and Islamic religious communities around the Canary Islands. Its headquarters is ...

exists to represent the Islamic community in the Canary Islands as well as to provide practical support to members of the Islamic community. For its part, there is also the

Evangelical Council of the Canary Islands Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual exper ...

in the archipelago. Other religious faiths represented include

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as Hinduism. Minority religions are also present such as the Church of the Guanche People which is classified as a

neo-pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

native religion. Also present are Buddhism, Judaism, Baháʼí, African religion, and Chinese religions. According to Statista in 2019, there are 75,662 Muslims in Canary Islands.

Statistics

The distribution of beliefs in 2012 according to the CIS Barometer Autonomy was as follows: * Catholic 84.9% * Atheist/Agnostic/Unbeliever 12.3% * Other religions 1.7%

Population genetics

Islands

Ordered from west to east, the Canary Islands are El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria,

, and

. In addition, north of Lanzarote are the islets of La Graciosa,

, Alegranza, Roque del Este and

, belonging to the

Chinijo Archipelago The Chinijo Archipelago () is a small archipelago located in the northeastern part of the Canary Islands, north of the island of Lanzarote. The archipelago includes the islets of Montaña Clara, Alegranza, La Graciosa, Roque del Este and Roque del ...

, and northeast of Fuerteventura is the islet of

Lobos Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located 100 km from Buenos Aires, Lobos is currently a fertile agricultural area known ma ...

. There are also a series of small adjacent rocks in the Canary Islands: the

Roques de Anaga The Roques de Anaga are two monolithic rocks forming some of the most emblematic natural monuments of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Roque de Tierra stands 179 meters above sea level and is closer to the main island while Roque de Fuera, at 66 ...

, Garachico and Fasnia in Tenerife, and those of Salmor and Bonanza in El Hierro. File:Spain Canary Islands location map El Hierro.svg, El Hierro File:Spain Canary Islands location map La Palma.svg, La Palma File:Spain Canary Islands location map La Gomera.svg, La Gomera File:Spain Canary Islands location map Tenerife.svg, Tenerife File:Spain Canary Islands location map Gran Canaria.svg, Gran Canaria File:Spain Canary Islands location map Fuerteventura.svg,

File:Spain Canary Islands location map Lanzarote.svg,

El Hierro

El Hierro, the westernmost island, covers , making it the second smallest of the major islands, and the least populous with 10,798 inhabitants. The whole island was declared Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital is Valverde. Also known as Ferro, it was once believed to be the westernmost land in the world.

Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, with a surface of , is the second largest island of the archipelago. It has been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. It has a population of 113,275. The oldest of the islands, it is more eroded. Its highest point is the Peak of the Bramble, at a height of . Its capital is Puerto del Rosario.

Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria has 846,717 inhabitants. The capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (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 . Roque Nublo and Pico de las Nieves ("Peak of Snow") are located in the center of the island. On the south of the island are the Maspalomas Dunes (Gran Canaria).

La Gomera

La Gomera has an area of and is the second least populous island with 21,136 inhabitants. Geologically it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital is San Sebastian de La Gomera. Garajonay National Park is located on the island.

Lanzarote

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 , and a population of 149,183 inhabitants, including the adjacent islets of the Chinijo Archipelago. The capital is

Arrecife Arrecife (; ; ) is the capital city and a municipality of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It was made the island's capital in 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef ("arrecife" being Spanish for "reef") which covers its local beach. It als ...

, with 56,834 inhabitants.

Chinijo Archipelago

The Chinijo Archipelago includes the islands La Graciosa, Alegranza,

, Roque del Este and

. It has a surface of , and only La Graciosa is populated, with 658 inhabitants. With , La Graciosa, is the largest island of the Chinijo Archipelago but also the smallest inhabited island of the Canaries.

La Palma

La Palma, with 81,863 inhabitants covering an area of , is in its entirety a biosphere reserve. For long it showed no signs of volcanic activity, even though the volcano

Teneguía Teneguía () is a monogenetic cinder cone – a volcanic vent which has been active once (in 1971) and has had further seismic activity. It is situated on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, and is located at the southern end o ...

entered into eruption last in 1971. On September 19, 2021, the volcanic Cumbre Vieja on the island erupted. It is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the Roque de los Muchachos at as its highest point.

Santa Cruz de La Palma Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for ''Holy Cross of La Palma'') is a city and a municipality on the east coast of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second-largest ...

(known to those on the island as simply "Santa Cruz") is its capital.

Tenerife

Tenerife is, with its area of , the most extensive island of the Canary Islands. In addition, 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,

and San 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, the University of La Laguna. Teide, with its is the highest peak of Spain and also a World Heritage Site. Tenerife is the site of the worst air disaster in the history of aviation, in which 583 people were killed in the collision of two Boeing 747s on 27 March 1977.

La Graciosa

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 administrated by the municipality of Teguise. In 2018 La Graciosa officially became the eighth Canary Island. Before then, La Graciosa had the status of an islet, administratively dependent on the island of Lanzarote. It is the smallest and least populated of the main islands, with a population of about 700 people.

Data

Economy and environment

The economy is based primarily on 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 more arid islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cochineal,

, grapes, vines, dates, oranges, lemons,

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

s, wheat, barley, maize,

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

s, peaches and

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s. Water resources are also being overexploited, due to the high water usage by tourists. 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 on controlling 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. To bring in revenue for environmental protection, innovation, training and water sanitation a

tourist tax A tourist tax is any revenue-generating measure targeted at tourists. It is a means of combating overtourism and a form of tax exporting (partial shifting of tax burden to non-citizens or non-residents). The tourist industry typically campaigns aga ...

was considered in 2018, along with a doubling of the ecotax and restrictions on holiday rents in the zones with the greatest pressure of demand. The economy is

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

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 of

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...

, 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). 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. Spain gave permission in August 2014 for Repsol and its partners to explore oil and natural 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. However, the analysis of samples obtained did not show the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction, and the project was scrapped. 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. The Canary Islands have great natural attractions, climate and beaches make the islands a major tourist destination, being visited each year by about 12 million people (11,986,059 in 2007, noting 29% of Britons, 22% of Spanish (from outside the Canaries), and 21% of Germans). Among the islands, Tenerife has the largest number of tourists received annually, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The archipelago's principal tourist attraction is the Teide National Park (in Tenerife) where the highest mountain in Spain and third largest volcano in the world (Mount Teide), receives over 2.8 million visitors annually. The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the

Roque de los Muchachos Roque de los Muchachos (English: "Rock of the Boys") is a rocky mound at the highest point on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The rocks are found at an elevation of above sea level, not far from the Observatorio del Roque d ...

peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the

Grantecan The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GranTeCan or GTC) is a reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, in the Canaries, Spain. It is the world's largest single-aperture optical telescope. Constr ...

. The islands, as an autonomous region of Spain, are in the European Union and the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

. They are in the European Union Customs Union but outside the

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

area. 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 is Western European Time (WET) (or GMT; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the UK, Ireland and mainland Portugal all year round.

Tourism statistics

The number of tourists who visited the Canary Islands had been in 2018 16,150,054 and in the year 2019 15,589,290.

GDP statistics

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Canary Islands in 2015 was , per capita. The figures by island are as follows:

Transport

Current fleet

The Canary Islands have eight airports altogether, two of the main ports of Spain, and an extensive network of autopistas (highways) and other roads. For a road map see multimap.

Traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

is sometimes a problem in Tenerife and on Grand Canaria. Large

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

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 ; conventional ferries travel in excess of , but are slower than fast ferries. 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. The largest airport is the Gran Canaria Airport. Tenerife has two airports, Tenerife North Airport and Tenerife South Airport. The island of Tenerife gathers the highest passenger movement of all the Canary Islands through its two airports. The two main islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) receive the greatest number of passengers. Tenerife 6,204,499 passengers and Gran Canaria 5,011,176 passengers. The

port of Las Palmas Port of Las Palmas (also called La Luz Port) ( es, Puerto de Las Palmas Puerto de La Luz) is port for fishing, commercial, passenger and sports boats in the city of Las Palmas in the north-east of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. For five cen ...

is first in freight traffic in the islands, while the port 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 the Port of Algeciras Bay. 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 of

(Tenerife) has the greatest number of passengers recorded in the Canary Islands, followed by the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Port of Las Palmas is the third port in the islands in passengers and first in number of vehicles transported. The

SS America SS ''America'' may refer to: * , a passenger steamer for North German Lloyd, 1863–1894 * , a passenger steamer for Pacific Mail Steamship Company * , a cargo ship that was in Chilean service in 1928, formerly known as the ''George W. Elder''. * ...

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.

Rail transport

The

Tenerife Tram Tenerife Tram ( es, Tranvía de Tenerife) is a light rail or tram service located on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands in Spain. It is operated by Metropolitano de Tenerife, a limited company now 100% owned by Cabildo de Tenerife. ...

opened in 2007 and is currently the only one in the Canary Islands, travelling between the cities of

and San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Three more railway lines are being planned for the Canary Islands:

Airports

* Tenerife South Airport – Tenerife * Tenerife North Airport – Tenerife * César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport – Lanzarote * Fuerteventura Airport – Fuerteventura * Gran Canaria Airport – Gran Canaria * La Palma Airport – La Palma *

La Gomera Airport La Gomera Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto de La Gomera) is an airport located near the town of Playa Santiago on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, southwest by road from the island's capital city, San Sebastián de la Gomera. A ...

– La Gomera *

El Hierro Airport El Hierro Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto de El Hierro, also known as ) is an airport located northeast of Valverde. It is the only existing airport on the Island of El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain. It was inaugurated in December 1972. Howe ...

– El Hierro

Ports

* Port of Puerto del Rosario – Fuerteventura * Port of Arrecife – Lanzarote * Port of Playa Blanca—Lanzarote * Port of Santa Cruz de La Palma – La Palma * Port of San Sebastián de La Gomera – La Gomera * Port of La Estaca – El Hierro *

Port of Las Palmas Port of Las Palmas (also called La Luz Port) ( es, Puerto de Las Palmas Puerto de La Luz) is port for fishing, commercial, passenger and sports boats in the city of Las Palmas in the north-east of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. For five cen ...

– Gran Canaria *

Port of Arinaga The port of Arinaga is a small seaport off the eastern coast of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, themselves located in the Mid-Atlantic. It was not until the later part of the 19th century when the construction of a sma ...

– Gran Canaria * Port of Agaete – Gran Canaria *

Port of Los Cristianos The Port of Los Cristianos is a port of the Atlantic Ocean located in the town of Los Cristianos, in the municipality of Arona on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). It is administered by the ''Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife' ...

– Tenerife * Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Tenerife *

Port of Garachico The Port of Garachico is a port located in the municipality of Garachico in the north of Tenerife, administered by the ''Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife''. History The old Port of Garachico was the most important on the island of Tener ...

– Tenerife *

Port of Granadilla The Puerto Industrial de Granadilla is a port located in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona in the southeast of the island of Tenerife (Spain). It is a complementary work of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and intended to provide necessary ...

– Tenerife

Health

The ''Servicio Canario de Salud'' is an autonomous body of administrative nature attached to the Ministry responsible for Health of the Government of the Canary Islands. The majority of the archipelago's hospitals belong to this organization: * Hospital Nuestra Señora de los Reyes – El Hierro * Hospital General de La Palma – La Palma * Hospital Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe – La Gomera * Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria – Tenerife *

Hospital Universitario de Canarias Hospital Universitario de Canarias or University Hospital of the Canary Islands it is a teaching hospital of general scope in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Affiliated with the education and r ...

– Tenerife *

Hospital del Sur de Tenerife The Hospital del Sur de Tenerife (in English: ''Hospital of the South of Tenerife'') is located in the municipality of Arona, in the south of the island of Tenerife ( Canary Islands, Spain). It was opened in 2015. The Hospital del Sur de Tenerif ...

– Tenerife *

Hospital del Norte de Tenerife The Hospital del Norte de Tenerife (in English: ''Hospital of the North of Tenerife'') is located in the municipality of Icod de los Vinos, in the north of the island of Tenerife ( Canary Islands, Spain). It was opened in 2012. The Hospital del N ...

– Tenerife * Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín – Gran Canaria *

Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria The Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria (''Insular University Hospital of Gran Canaria'') is a teaching hospital of general scope in Gran Canaria ( Canary Islands, Spain). Located in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, it was founde ...

– Gran Canaria * Hospital General de Lanzarote Doctor José Molina Orosa – Lanzarote * Hospital General de Fuerteventura – Fuerteventura

Wildlife

2012-01-10 14-53-40 Spain Canarias Cofete

Extinct fauna

The Canary Islands were previously inhabited by a variety of endemic animals, such as extinct giant lizards (''

''), giant tortoises ('' Centrochelys burchardi'' and '' C. vulcanica''), and Tenerife and Gran Canaria giant rats (''Canariomys bravoi'' and ''C. tamarani''), among others. Extinct birds known only from Pleistocene and Holocene age bones include the

Canary Islands quail The Canary Islands quail (''Coturnix gomerae'') is an extinct quail species that once occurred on the islands of El Hierro, La Palma, Tenerife and Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain). Extinction This quail was most likely still present in th ...

(''Coturnix gomerae''),

Dune shearwater The dune shearwater (''Puffinus holeae''), also known as the Canarian shearwater or Hole's shearwater, was a relatively large shearwater which bred in the Canary Islands archipelago of the North Atlantic Ocean. Fossils have also been found ...

(''Puffinus holeae''), Lava shearwater (''P. olsoni''),

Trias greenfinch The Trias greenfinch (''Chloris triasi'') is an extinct passerine from the family of finches (Fringillidae). The fossil remains were unearthed in the Cuevas de los Murciélagos near San Andrés y Sauces in the north of La Palma, Canary Islands ...

(''Chloris triasi''),

Slender-billed greenfinch The slender-billed greenfinch ''("Carduelis" aurelioi)'' is an extinct songbird in the finch family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the island Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and became extinct after human settlement of the islands. Taxonomy T ...

(''C. aurelioi'') and the

Long-legged bunting The long-legged bunting (''Emberiza alcoveri'') is an extinct flightless species of bunting. It was distinguishable by its long legs and short wings, and it inhabited Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It is one of the few flightless passeri ...

(''Emberiza alcoveri'').

Current fauna

The bird life includes European and African species, such as the

black-bellied sandgrouse The black-bellied sandgrouse (''Pterocles orientalis'') is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family. The nominate race breeds in Iberia, northwest Africa, the Canary Islands, Turkey, Iran, Cyprus and Israel. The eastern form ''P. o. arenar ...

Canary Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' i ...

, Graja, a subspecies of red-billed chough endemic to La Palma, Gran Canaria blue chaffinch,

Tenerife blue chaffinch The Tenerife blue chaffinch (''Fringilla teydea'') is a species of passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is endemic to Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. This bird is the natural symbol of this island, together with the Canary Is ...

Canary Islands chiffchaff The Canary Islands chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus canariensis'') is a species of leaf warbler endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain. Sometimes the English name is spelled Canary Island chiffchaff. Taxonomy Previously the Canary Island chiffchaff was ...

Fuerteventura chat The Canary Islands stonechat (''Saxicola dacotiae''), also known as the Fuerteventura stonechat or Fuerteventura chat, and formerly known as the Canary Islands chat due to its once widespread distribution on the Canary Islands, is a sedentary re ...

Tenerife goldcrest The Tenerife goldcrest, ''Regulus regulus teneriffae'', (sometimes considered a separate species, ''R. teneriffae'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family, closely resembling the goldcrest but with a broader black band across the f ...

La Palma chaffinch The La Palma chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs palmae''), also known as the Palman chaffinch or, locally in Spanish as the pinzón palmero or pinzón hembra, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is a subspecies of the com ...

Canarian Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...

Bolle's pigeon Bolle's pigeon (''Columba bollii'') is a species of the genus Columba of family Columbidae, doves and pigeons, endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain. This bird is named after the German naturalist Carl Bolle, who was the first to distinguish it ...

Laurel pigeon The laurel pigeon or white-tailed laurel pigeon (''Columba junoniae'') is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). It is endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain, and resides in laurel forest habitat. I ...

Plain swift The plain swift (''Apus unicolor'') is a medium-sized swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a barn swallow or house martin, it is not related to those passerine species. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent ev ...

, and

Houbara bustard The houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata''), also known as African houbara, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. ...

. Terrestrial fauna includes the El Hierro giant lizard,

La Gomera giant lizard The La Gomera giant lizard (''Gallotia bravoana'') is a lacertid (wall lizard) species that can be found on the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands. It is easily distinguishable from any other member of ''Gallotia'' by the intense ...

, and the

La Palma giant lizard The La Palma giant lizard (''Gallotia auaritae'') is a giant lacertid historically living on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain); its habitat ranged from sea level up to altitudes of 800 m. It probably lives in xerophytic vegetation ...

. Mammals include the

Canarian shrew The Canarian shrew (''Crocidura canariensis'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the Canary Islands, specifically the eastern islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Lobos, and Mount Clara. It used to be found on Grac ...

, Canary big-eared bat, the

Algerian hedgehog The North African hedgehog (''Atelerix algirus'') or Algerian hedgehog, is a mammal species in the family Erinaceidae native to Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia. Little is known about this hedgehog, even though the most common b ...

, and the more recently introduced mouflon.

Marine life

The

marine life Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. M ...

found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands. Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark,

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

, moray eel, bream, jack,

grunt Grunt, grunts or grunting may refer to: Sound and music * Grunting (tennis), in tennis refers to the loud noise, sometimes described as "shrieking" or "screaming", made by some players during their strokes * Death grunt, the death metal singin ...

, scorpionfish,

triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacific. ...

, grouper, goby, and

blenny Blenny (from the Greek and , mucus, slime) is a common name for many types of fish, including several families of percomorph marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish sharing similar morphology and behaviour. Six families are considered "true ...

. In addition, there are many invertebrate species, including sponge, jellyfish, anemone,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

and coral. There are a total of five different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered loggerhead sea turtle. The other four are the

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

hawksbill sea turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is largel ...

, leatherback sea turtle and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. 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. Marine mammals include the large varieties of

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s including rare and not well-known species (see more details in the ''

Marine life of the Canary Islands The marine life found in the Canary Islands is interesting, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularity of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologist ...

'').

Hooded seals The hooded seal (''Cystophora cristata'') is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic, ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west. The seals are typically silver-grey or white in color, ...

have also been known to be vagrant in the Canary Islands every now and then. The Canary Islands were also formerly home to a population of the rarest pinniped in the world, the Mediterranean monk seal.

Native flora gallery

File:Arbutus canariensis2.jpg, ''

Arbutus canariensis ''Arbutus canariensis'', known in Spanish as ''madroño canario'', is a species of shrub or tree in the Ericaceae, heath family. It is Endemism, endemic to the Canary Islands of Spain, specifically Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, an ...

'' File:Argyranthemum frutescens cv Vera 2.jpg, ''

Argyranthemum frutescens ''Argyranthemum frutescens'', known as Paris daisy, marguerite or marguerite daisy, is a perennial plant known for its flowers. It is native to the Canary Islands (part of Spain). Hybrids derived from this species (garden marguerites) are widely ...

'' File:Bosea yervamora berries.JPG, '' Bosea yervamora'' File:Canarina canariensis Tenerife (02).jpg, ''

Canarina canariensis ''Canarina canariensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, commonly known as the Canary Island bellflower, and known locally as bicácaro. Description It is a scrambling herbaceous perennial with glabrous (s ...

'' File:Digitalis (Isoplexis) canariensis by Scott zona - 004.jpg, ''

Digitalis canariensis ''Digitalis canariensis'' is a member of the genus ''Digitalis''. Taxonomy This species is part of section ''Isoplexis'', which was temporarily accepted as an own genus. The synonym ''Isoplexis canariensis'' also continues to be used. In genera ...

'' File:Tajinaste rojo.jpg, ''

Echium wildpretii ''Echium wildpretii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is an herbaceous biennial plant that grows up to in height. The species is endemic to the Canary Islands, and is found mainly on Mount Teide in Tenerife. T ...

'' File:Euphorbia canariensis2.jpg, ''

Euphorbia canariensis ''Euphorbia canariensis'', commonly known as the Canary Island spurge, Hercules club or in Spanish ''cardón'', is a succulent member of the genus ''Euphorbia'' and family Euphorbiaceae endemic to the Canary Islands. It is the plant symbol of t ...

'' File:Gonospermum elegans.jpg, ''Gonospermum elegans'' File:Lavatera acerifolia var. acerifolia (Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo).jpg, '' Lavatera acerifolia var. acerifolia'' File:Lavatera phoenicea1.jpg, ''

Lavatera phoenicea ''Malva phoenicea'', often still known under the synonyms ''Lavatera phoenicea'' and ''Navaea phoenicea'', is a large shrub of the family Malvaceae and tribe Malveae, endemic to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Taxonomy In 1805 this ...

'' File:Lotus berthelotii1.jpg, '' Lotus berthelotii'' File:Pericallis webbii.jpg, ''Pericallis webbii'' File:Persea indica.jpg, '' Persea indica'' File:Phoenix canariensis (Puntallana) 01.jpg, ''

'' File:Sonchus palmensis (Barlovento) 04.jpg, ''

Sonchus palmensis ''Sonchus palmenis'', the La Palma sow-thistle, is a plant endemic to the Canary Island of La Palma. Description Tall shrub up to 2 m. Leaves pinnatisect with 10-15 pairs of equally spaced lobes, the lobes 6–40 mm wide. Inflorescence very ...

'' File:Spartocytisus supranubius.jpg, ''

Spartocytisus supranubius ''Cytisus supranubius'' (also known as white-flowered broom or retama del Teide) is a species of broom endemic to the Canary Islands. This species is found at about 2000m altitude on Tenerife in Las Cañadas del Teide and on mountain tops on La P ...

Holidays

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 is Canary Islands Day on 30 May. The anniversary of the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, based in the city of

, held on 30 May 1983, is commemorated with this day. The common festive calendar throughout the Canary Islands is as follows: 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: Desfile del Sábado de Carnaval, en Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Desfile del Sábado de Carnaval, en Santa Cruz de Tenerife

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; the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (''Tourist Festival of International Interest'') and the

Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is one of the most famous carnivals of Spain. The event is celebrated every year in the month of February in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Events The events include the Gala of the Queen and the Gala ...

. 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 of El Hierro, the Festival of the Diabletes of Teguise in

, Los Indianos de La Palma, the Carnival of San Sebastián de La Gomera and the Carnival of Puerto del Rosario in

Science and technology

In the 1960s, Gran Canaria was selected as the location for one of the 14

ground stations A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

in the Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) to support the NASA space program.

Maspalomas Station Maspalomas Station is an INTA-operated, ESTRACK radio antenna ground station for communication with spacecraft located at the southern area of Gran Canaria island, on the INTA campus. It is situated on the Montaña Blanca hill and is visible fro ...

, located in the south of the island, took part in a number of space missions including the Apollo 11 Moon landings and Skylab. Today it continues to support satellite communications as part of the ESA network. Because of the remote location, a number of astronomical observatories are located in the archipelago, including the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, and the

Temisas Astronomical Observatory The Temisas Astronomical Observatory ( es, Observatorio Astronomico del Temisas) is an astronomical observatory on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is located on Montaña de Arriba, Temisas, in the Agüimes municipality ...

on Gran Canaria. Tenerife is the home of the

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is an astrophysical research institute located in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was founded in 1975 at the University of La Laguna. It operates two astronomical observatories in the Canary Islands: ...

(Astrophysical Institute of the Canaries). There is also an Instituto de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González (Antonio González Bio-Organic Institute) at the University 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.

Sports

A unique form of wrestling known as

Canarian wrestling Canarian Wrestling is a form of folk wrestling, originally from the Canary Islands, where it is known as . Description Wrestlers start in the middle of a sand circle, called . The aim is to make their opponent touch the sand with any part of th ...

(''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. 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. Furthermore, there is the shepherd'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. The two main

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams in the archipelago are: the CD Tenerife (founded in 1912) and UD Las Palmas (founded in 1949). As of the 2018/2019 season, both Tenerife and Las Palmas play in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

. When in the same division, the clubs contest the

Canary Islands derby The Canary Islands derby is any football match contested between Spanish sides UD Las Palmas and CD Tenerife, who are regarded as the top two sides in the Canary Islands. World Soccer Magazine rated it as one of the 50 greatest rivalries in the w ...

. There are smaller clubs also playing in the mainland Spanish football league system, most notably

UD Lanzarote Unión Deportiva Lanzarote is a Spanish football team based in Arrecife, Lanzarote, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded in 1970 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 12, holding home games at the ''Ciudad Deportiva de La ...

and

CD Laguna Club Deportivo Laguna, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1984 it plays in ''Interinsular Preferente'' – Group 1, holding home games at ''Estadio Francisco Peraza'', with a ...

, although no other Canarian clubs have played in the top flight. The mountainous terrain of the Canary Islands also caters to the growing popularity of

ultra running An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

and ultramarathons as host of annual competitive long-distance events including

CajaMar Tenerife Bluetrail Fred. Olsen Tenerife Bluetrail, better known simply as Tenerife Bluetrail (formerly CajaMar Tenerife Bluetrail), is an ultramarathon by mountain that offers five modalities of different characteristics for people with or without disabilities. It is ...

on Tenerife,

Transvulcania Transvulcania is a long distance race that is held annually on La Palma, one of the western Canary Islands. It is considered one of the hardest mountain-ultramarathons in the world and one of the most important in Spain. The total route has a leng ...

on La Palma, Transgrancanaria on Gran Canaria, and the Half Marathon des Sables on

. A yearly

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

has been taking place on

since 1992.

Notable athletes

* Paco Campos, (1916–1995); a footballer who played as a forward. With 127 goals, 120 of which were for

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, he is the highest scoring player from the Canary Islands in La Liga. * Nicolás García Hemme, born 20 June 1988 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands,

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Taekwondo Silver Medalist in Men's Welterweight category (−80 kg). *

Alfredo Cabrera Alfredo A. Cabrera (May 11, 18811964) was a professional baseball shortstop who played many years in the Cuban League. His nickname was ''Pájaro,'' which is Spanish for "Bird." Cabrera's career is particularly noteworthy because he became the fi ...

, (1881–1964); shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913 *

Sergio Rodríguez Sergio Rodríguez Gómez (; born 12 June 1986) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. Rodriguez, nicknamed "El Chacho", won ...

, born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1986, played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

for the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. * David Silva, born in

Arguineguín Arguineguín (Guanche for "quiet water") is one of the most populated towns along the south coast of Gran Canaria, Spain. A typical Canarian fishing village, it is home to many locals rather than being a tourist resort. In 2015 it had 2517 inha ...

in 1986, plays association football for

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

, member of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

champion Spain national football team *

Juan Carlos Valerón Juan Carlos Valerón Santana (born 17 June 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager. Over 15 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 390 matches and 29 goals in representation of Mallorca, ...

, born in

in 1975, played association football for

Deportivo la Coruna ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

and Las Palmas. * Pedro, born in

in 1987, plays association football for Lazio, member of the

champion Spain national football team * Carla Suárez Navarro, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1988, professional tennis player * Paola Tirados, born in Las 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. *

Jesé Jesé Rodríguez Ruiz (; born 26 February 1993), known as Jesé, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Ankaragücü. An academy graduate of La Liga side Real Madrid, Jesé debuted for the senior te ...

, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1993, plays association football for Las Palmas. *

Christo Bezuidenhout Christo Johannes Bezuidenhout (born 14 May 1970) is a Spanish-born former South African international rugby union, that usually played as a prop. Biography Born on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain), where his father worked a ...

, born in Tenerife in 1970, played rugby union for Gloucester and South Africa. *

Pedri Pedro González López (born 25 November 2002), known as Pedri, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Early life Born in Bajamar, Tenerife, Canary Islan ...

, born in

Tegueste Tegueste is a town and a municipality of the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, on the Canary Islands, Spain. It is surrounded by the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. The town Tegueste ...

in 2002, plays association football for Barcelona.

References

Notes

Citations

References

* Alfred Crosby, ''Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900'' (Cambridge University Press) * Felipe Fernández-Armesto, ''The Canary Islands after the Conquest: The Making of a Colonial Society in the Early-Sixteenth Century'', Oxford U. Press, 1982. ; * Sergio Hanquet, ''Diving in Canaries'', Litografía A. ROMERO, 2001. * Martin Wiemers:
The butterflies of the Canary Islands. – A survey on their distribution, biology and ecology (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea)
' – Linneana Belgica 15 (1995): 63–84 & 87–118

External links

Canary Islands Government

{{Authority control Archipelagoes of Spain Autonomous communities of Spain Archipelagoes of Africa North Africa NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Outermost regions of the European Union Physiographic sections

Etymology

Physical geography

Climate

Geology

Natural symbols

National parks

Politics

Governance

Political geography

Canarian nationalism

Defence

History

Ancient and pre-Hispanic times

Exploration

Castilian conquest

After the conquest and the introduction of slavery

18th to 19th century

Romantic period and scientific expeditions

Early 20th century

Franco regime

Self-governance

Capitals

Demographics

Religion

Roman Catholic Church

Other religions

Statistics

Population genetics

Islands

El Hierro

Fuerteventura

Gran Canaria

La Gomera

Lanzarote

Chinijo Archipelago

La Palma

Tenerife

La Graciosa

Data

Economy and environment

Tourism statistics

GDP statistics

Transport

Current fleet

Rail transport

Airports

Ports

Health

Wildlife

Extinct fauna

Current fauna

Marine life

Native flora gallery

Holidays

Science and technology

Sports

Notable athletes

See also

History

Geography

Culture

References

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

External links