Figure 1.--The 'Lucha Canaria (Canarian Wrestling) is a wrestling of Canary Islands is one of the few cultural artifacts of the the Guanches, the native inhabitants. The goal is to make their opponent touch the soil with any part of their body, except the feet. The wrestlers are barefoot. The competitions take place in special sand circles, but the wrestling can be practised everywhere. The photo was taken in 1967 in the Colejio Ajei, a primary school in San Bartolomé, on the island of Lanzarote.
The Canary Islands are located off the northwestern coast of Africa, very close to southern Morocco. The Canaries archipelago includes seven major islands (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote). They are all volcanic in nature, the cones remnaining from extinct volcanoes. The semi-tropical Weather and beautiful beaches have made the islands a modern tourist attraction, especially for northern Europeans seeking a vacation escape from cold, rainy weather. The Canary Islands were known to the ancient world. They were presumably known to the Phoencians, Greeks, and Carthiginians, all people who engaged in commerce into the Atlantic. The first written reference is Roman. They referred to them as the Fortunate Islands. As a linguistic quirk, the islands were not named for birds (canaries), but large dogs (Canes) found there. Pliny the Elder, the archipelago was found to be uninhabited when visited by the Carthaginians under Hanno the Navigator who noted the ruins of great buildings. This suggest that the islands were inhabited by other peoples prior to the Guanches, a general term for the neolithic people encountered by the Europeans. They are believed to be related to the Berbers before Islaminization. The Arabs and Portuguese are known to have visited the islands, but did not attempt to colonize them. The Portuguese did seize the Azores and Maderia to the north. The islands were seized by Castille (beginning 1402). Castille by this time had emerged as the most important Iberian nation and was in the process of creating a unified Spain. Until this time, however, Castille unlike Aragon, was a land power. Castill had a very small navy and no overseas possessions. As with the case of Clumbus, foreigners were used by Castille. French explorers Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle launched the conquest for Castilian King Henry III, the grandfather of Isabella. Spanish administration would provide the template for the Spanish conquest and administration of the Indies. The islands later became important as stopovers for Spanishs ships headed for the Americas. The first of course were Columbus' fleet. This brought a degree of prosperity to the islands. Over time as ships developeda greater capability and the sugar industry had trouble competing with that of the Indies, the Canaries became a backwater, among poorest regions of Spain. This only changed after World War II and the advent of cheap air fares which resulted in the development of an important tourist industry. A major problem has arisen in recent years with African migrants fleeing the poverty of their countries and trying to reach the islands as a way of gaining entry to the European Union.
Geography
The Canary Islands are located off the northwestern coast of Africa, very close to southern Morocco. The Canaries archipelago includes seven major islands (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote). They are all volcanic in nature, the cones remnaining from extinct volcanoes. The semi-tropical Weather and beautiful beaches have made the islands a modern tourist attraction, especially for northern Europeans seeking a vacation escape from cold, rainy weather.
The Canary Islands were known to the ancient world. They were presumably known to the Phoencians, Greeks, and Carthiginians, all people who engaged in commerce into the Atlantic. The first written reference is Roman. They referred to them as the Fortunate Islands. As a linguistic quirk, the islands were not named for birds (canaries), but large dogs (Canes) found there. Pliny the Elder, the archipelago was found to be uninhabited when visited by the Carthaginians under Hanno the Navigator who noted the ruins of great buildings. This suggest that the islands were inhabited by other peoples prior to the Guanches, a general term for the neolithic people encountered by the Europeans. They are believed to be related to the Berbers before Islaminization. The Arabs and Portuguese are known to have visited the islands, but did not attempt to colonize them. The Portuguese did seize the Azores and Maderia to the north. The islands were seized by Castille (beginning 1402). Castille by this time had emerged as the most important Iberian nation and was in the process of creating a unified Spain. Until this time, however, Castille unlike Aragon, was a land power. Castill had a very small navy and no overseas possessions. As with the case of Columbus, foreigners were used by Castille. French explorers Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle launched the conquest for Castilian King Henry III, the grandfather of Isabella. It would take some tome to complete the conquest. The Castilians imposed a new economy, a ingle aricultural crop--at first sugar and then wine. England became a major market. The Canaries were Castille's first colony and as Isabelle and Ferdinand formed Spain around Castille and aragon, Spanish administration would provide the template for the Spanish conquest and Subsequenht administration of the Indies. The Dutch and British attempted to seize the islands. It was here Nelson lost his right arm. The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Low prices in the sugar market in the 19th century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, the cochineal beattle--used to produce a bright red die. The economy did nor support the population and large numbers of Canarians emigrated, mostly to the Caribbean and to aesser extent the United States.
Economy
The Canaries later became important as stopovers for Spanish ships headed for the Americas. The first of course were Columbus' fleet. This brought a degree of prosperity to the islands. Over time as ships developeda greater capability and the sugar industry had trouble competing with that of the Indies, the Canaries became a backwater, among poorest regions of Spain. This only changed after World War II and the advent of cheap air fares which resulted in the development of an important tourist industry. A major problem has arisen in recent years with African migrants fleeing the poverty of their countries and trying to reach the islands as a way of gaining entry to the European Union.
