Güímar was one of nine menceyatos

guanches The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

(native kingdom) that was divided island of

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

(

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

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

) at the time of the arrival of the Castilian conquerors. Occupied an area significantly greater than the actual municipality of

Güímar Güímar () is the name of a municipality, town and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province). The municipality extends for 102.9 square kilometers from ...

, including part 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

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

, El Rosario, Candelaria, Arafo and

Fasnia Fasnia is a town and a municipality in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The municipality extends for from the mountainous interior to the beaches on ...

, himself and perhaps a small part of the town of Arico. In Güímar saw the appearance of the image of the

Virgin of Candelaria The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candle ( es, Virgen de Candelaria or ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria''), popularly called ''La Morenita'', celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). The cent ...

(patroness of the Canary Islands). Hence, this city played an important role in the

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

of the whole archipelago. Around 1450 a hermitage formed by three friars led by

Alfonso de Bolaños Alfonso de Bolaños (Burgos?, Crown of Castile - 1478, Menceyato de Güímar, island of Tenerife) was a Franciscan friar and missionary of the 15th century. He is nicknamed the ''"Apostle of Tenerife"'' because he initiated an evangelizing process ...

, considered the «Apostle of Tenerife», was founded in the area of the modern city of Candelaria. These religious lived among the Guanches, speaking their language and baptizing many of them. This mission would last until near the beginning of the conquest. It is believed that the first Mencey of Güímar could have been Acaymo, later succeeded by his son Añaterve. The latter who would reign in time of the conquest of Tenerife by

Alonso Fernandez de Lugo Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% of Mexico (1:83 ...

.Conquista y antiguedades de las islas de la Gran Canaria y su descripción, con muchas advertencias de sus privilegios, conquistadores, pobladores, y otras particularidades en la muy poderosa isla de Tenerife
(Trad.Spa :"''La conquista e i reperti delle isole Gran Canaria con la loro descrizione, sui privilegi, i conquistatori, i coloni, e altre caratteristiche della potente isola di Tenerife''")

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menceyato of Guimar Guimar Former kingdoms