The Second Battle of Acentejo was a battle that took place on 25 December 1494 between the invading

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

forces and the natives of the island of

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

, known as

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 ...

. The battle had been preceded by the

Battle of Aguere The Battle of Aguere, or Battle of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, was fought between forces of the Crown of Castile, led by the Adelantado (military governor) Alonso Fernández de Lugo, and the natives of Tenerife, called Guanches. The battle took pl ...

, fought on 14-15 November that year, which had been a Castilian victory. Advancing along the northern shores of the island, the Spaniards pursued the remaining Guanche forces and faced them once again at Valley of Taoro, near Acentejo, the site of the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

battle, called by the Spaniards La Matanza ("The Slaughter").

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17th cen ...

("military governor")

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

divided his forces into two, with the Castilians bearing firearms taking the advantag

After three hours of fighting, the Guanches were defeated. Those who were not made prisoners of the Spaniards fled to the mountains. With shouts of "Victory! Victory!" the Spanish forces celebrated their triumph, and Alonso Fernández de Lugo erected a hermitage in honor of Our Lady of Victory on the site of the battle. A town grew up around it, called

La Victoria de Acentejo La Victoria de Acentejo is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located near the north coast, 2 km southwest of La Matanza de Acentejo, 7 km northeast of La Orotava and 22&nbs ...

. An old

Canary Island pine ''Pinus canariensis'', the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Description ''Pinus canariensis'' is a ...

, a witness to the battle, still stands in La Victoria de Acentejo. In its shadow the first mass was celebrated on the day of the battle. From its branches a bell was later hung, since the hermitage that Fernández de Lugo built in the same spot lacked a bell tower. The ''mencey'' Bentor is said to have thrown himself from the heights of Tigaiga after learning of the outcome of the battle. The Second Battle of Acentejo was certainly not the last battle on Tenerife between the Spaniards and the Guanches, but was certainly the most decisive, resulting in the ultimate incorporation of the island into the Kingdom of Castile and the final subjugation of the aborigines.

Sources

* José Juan Acosta; Félix Rodríguez Lorenzo; Carmelo L. Quintero Padrón, ''Conquista y Colonización'' (Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, 1988), p. 51-2. {{Culture of Canary Islands Acentejo 1494 Spanish conquest of the Canary Islands Tenerife Guanche 1490s in Spain Acentejo Acentejo