The
Canary Islands ( ; , ; ) are a Spanish
archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the
Spanish Autonomous
Communities and an
Outermost Region of the European
Union. The archipelago is located just off the
northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the
disputed border between Morocco
and the
Western
Sahara
. The sea currents which depart from Canary's
coasts used to lead ships away to
America.
The islands highest to lowest are:
Tenerife
, Fuerteventura
, Gran
Canaria
, Lanzarote
, La
Palma
, La
Gomera
, El
Hierro
, Alegranza
, La
Graciosa
and Montaña
Clara
.
Canary Islands currently has a population of 2,098,593 inhabitants,
making it the eighth most populous of Spain's
autonomous communities, with a
density of 281.8 inhabitants per km².
Tenerife is its most
populous island with approximately one million inhabitants; the
island of Gran
Canaria is the second most-populous. The total area
of the archipelago is 7447 km².
The status
of capital city is shared by the cities of Santa Cruz de
Tenerife
and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
, which in turn are the capitals of the provinces of Santa Cruz de
Tenerife
and Las Palmas
. Until
1927 Santa Cruz
de Tenerife was the only capital.
The third largest city of the Canary
Islands is San Cristóbal
de La Laguna (City World
Heritage Site) on the island of Tenerife.
Etymology
The name
Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin term
Insula Canaria, meaning "Island of the Dogs", a name
applied originally only to Gran Canaria.It is speculated that the so called dogs
were actually a species of
Monk Seals
("sea dog" in Latin) now extinct.The dense population of seals may
have been the characteristic that most struck the few
ancient Romans who established contact with
these islands by sea. The connection to dogs is retained in their
depiction on the islands' coat-of-arms (shown above).
Geography
Physical geography
Map of the Canary Islands
The islands and their
capitals
are:
Tenerife, with 865,070 inhabitants, is both the Canary
Islands' and Spain's most populous island. The island of
Fuerteventura is the second largest in the archipelago and
located 100 km from the African coast.
The
islands form the Macaronesia
ecoregion with the
Azores, Cape Verde
, Madeira
, and the Savage Isles
. The archipelago consists of seven large and
several smaller islands, all of which are volcanic in origin.
The
Teide
volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in
Spain, and the third largest 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 reached the ocean's surface during the
Miocene. The islands are considered as a distinct
physiographic section of the
Atlas
Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger
African Alpine System
division.
According to the position of the islands with respect to the NE
trade winds, the climate can be mild and
wet or very dry.
Several native species form laurisilva
forests.
Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary
Islands, more than any other autonomous community.
In the early 90's,
there were only five Spanish national parks, four of them being the
Canarian parks, and the other one Doñana
. The
parks are:
Geology
The originally
volcanic islands where –seven
major islands, one minor island, and several small islets– were
formed by the
Canary hotspot. The
Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where
volcanic eruptions have been recorded
during the
Modern Era, with some
volcanoes still active (even though
recently
inactive).
Political geography
The Autonomous Community of the
Canary Islands consists of two provinces, Las
Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose capitals (Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) are capitals of the autonomous
community.Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an
island council named
cabildo insular.
The international boundary of the Canaries is the subject of
dispute between Spain and Morocco. Morocco does not agree that the
laws regarding territorial limits allow Spain to claim for itself
seabed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, because
the Canary Islands are autonomous. In fact, the islands do not
enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish
regions is considered an
autonomous
community. Under the
Law of the
Sea, the only islands not granted territorial waters or an
Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ)
are those that are not fit for human habitation or do not have an
economic life of their own, which is clearly not the case of the
Canary Islands.
The boundary is relevant for possible seabed oil deposits and other
ocean resource exploitation. Morocco therefore does not formally
agree to the territorial boundary; it rejected a 2002 unilateral
Spanish proposal.
The Islands have 13 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats
are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, 1 for
each other island; 2 seats are indirectly elected by the regional
Autonomous Government. The local government is presided over by
Paulino Rivero Baute.
History
Ancient and pre-colonial times (The Guanches)
King
Juba, Augustus's
Roman protege, is credited with discovering the islands for the
Western world, and he dispatched a contingent to re-open the dye
production facility at Mogador
in the early 1st century AD.That same naval force was subsequently
sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as
their mission base. Before the arrival of the
aborigines, the Canaries were inhabited by
prehistoric animals endemic, most extinct for example, the giant
lizard (
Lacerta goliathand
Lacerta maxima), or giant rats (
Canariomys bravoiand
Canariomys tamarani).
When the Europeans began to explore the islands, they encountered
several
indigenous
populationsliving at a
Neolithiclevel
of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary
Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to
indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common
origin with the
Berbersof northern
Africa.
The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be
known collectively as the Guanches,
although Guanches was originally the name for the
indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.
During the
Middle Ages, the islands were
visited by the
Arabsfor
commercial purposes.
Muslim
navigator Ibn Farrukh, from Granada
, is said to have landed in "Gando" (Gran Canaria)
in February 999, visiting a king named
Guanarigato.From the 14th century onward, numerous
visits were made by sailors from Majorca
, Portugal
, and Genoa
.Lancelotto
Malocello settled on the island of Lanzarote in 1312.The Majorcans established a mission
with a bishop in the islands that lasted from 1350 to
1400.
Castilian conquest
There are claims that the
Portuguesehad discovered the Canaries as
early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this.
In 1402,
the Castilian conquest of the islands began, with the expedition of
Jean de Béthencourt and
Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and
vassals of Henry III of Castile, to the island of
Lanzarote.From there, they conquered Fuerteventura and El
Hierro.Béthencourt received the title King of the
Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his
overlord.
Béthencourt also established a base on the
island of La
Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was
truly 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 Béthencourtsold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's
Prince
Henry the Navigator, an
action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians.
A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final
expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised
Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the
Treaty of Alcáçovas.
The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the
topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete
pacification was not achieved until 1495, when Tenerife and La
Palma were finally subdued by
Alonso Fernández de Lugo.
After that, the Canaries were incorporated into the
Kingdom of Castile.
After the conquest
After the conquest, the Castilians imposed a new economic model,
based on single-crop cultivation: first
sugar
cane; then
wine, an important item of trade
with
England. In this era, the
first institutions of colonial government were founded.
Both
Gran
Canaria, a colony of Castile since March 6, 1480 (from 1556, of
Spain), and Tenerife, a Spanish colony since 1495, had separate
governors.
The
cities of Santa
Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors,
traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World.This trade route brought great
prosperity to some of the social sectors of the islands. The
islands became quite wealthy and soon were attracting merchants and
adventurers from all over Europe.
Magnificent palaces and churches were
built on the island of 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.
The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by
piratesand
privateers.
Ottoman Turkish
admiral and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501,
while Murat Reis the Elder
captured Lanzarote in 1585.
The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the
Dutch War of Independence. A
Dutchfleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men,
commanded by
Johan van der Does,
attacked the capital, Las Palmas (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, attempting to burn it down.
The Dutch pillaged
Maspalomas
, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastian on La Gomera, and
Santa
Cruz
on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of
Las Palmas and withdrew.
Another
noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa
Cruz de Tenerife
was attacked by a British fleet under the future Lord Nelson 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 American colonies. Crises in the sugar market in the 19th
century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop,
cochineal(
cochinilla), came into
cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.
By the
end of the 18th century, Canary
Islanders had already emigrated to Spanish American territories,
such as Havana
, Veracruz
, Santo
Domingo
, San Antonio, Texas
and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
These economic difficulties spurred mass
emigration, primarily to the Americas,
during the 19th and first half of the
20th century.From 1840 to 1890, as
many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela
.Also, thousands of Canarians moved to
Puerto Rico; 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
as
well.During the
Spanish-American Warof
1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against
possible American attack, but an attack never came.
The 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. characterized 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:
- the
British citizen Edens
(1715) who
ascends Mount Teide and publishes his story in Philosophical
Transactions.
- Louis Feuillée (1724), who
was sent to measure the meridian of El Hierro and to map the
islands.
- Charles 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:
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
At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new
cash-crop, the
banana, the export of which
was controlled by companies such as
Fyffes.
The rivalry between the elites of 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
archipelagointo two
provincesin 1927. This has not laid to rest the
rivalry between the two cities, which continues to this day.
During the time of the
Second
Spanish Republic,
Marxistand
anarchistworkers' movements began to develop, led
by figures such as
Jose Miguel
Perezand
Guillermo Ascanio.
However, outside of a few municipalities, these organizations were
a minority and fell easily to Nationalist forces during the
Spanish Civil War.
Franco regime
In 1936,
Francisco Francowas
appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the
military revolt of July 17 which began the
Spanish Civil War.
Franco quickly took
control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance
on the island of La
Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, on
La
Gomera.Though there was never a proper war in the
islands, the post-war
repressionon the
Canaries was most severe.
During
the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the
British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar
being invaded from the Spanish
mainland.
Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organize until the
late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the
Communist Party of Spainand
the formation of various
nationalist,
leftist parties.
Parliament of the Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)
Today
After the
death of Franco, there was a pro-independence armed movement based
in Algeria
, the MPAIAC.Now there
are some pro-independence political parties, like the
CNCand the
Popular Front of the
Canary Islands, but none of them calls for an armed struggle.
Their popular support is insignificant, with no presence in either
the autonomous parliament or the
cabildos insulares.
After the establishment of a democratic
constitutional monarchyin Spain,
autonomywas granted to the Canaries
via a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections
were held. The
Spanish
Socialist Workers' Party(PSOE) won. In the most recent
autonomous elections (2007), the PSOE gained a plurality of seats,
but the nationalist
Canarian
Coalitionand the conservative
Partido Popular(PP) formed a ruling
coalition government.
In
Santa Cruz
de Tenerife are the Torres de
Santa Cruz (towers of Santa Cruz).These sky-scrapers are
at a height of 120 meters, without counting the antennas or
lightning rod. They are the highest sky-scrapers in the city and of
the Canary Archipelago, and also residentially are the highest
towers in Spain, they are next to the Tenerife Auditorium, in
downtown. The
Auditorio de
Tenerifeis the best known modern building of Canaries.
Demographics
The Canarian population includes long-tenured and new waves of
Spanish immigrants (including
Galicians,
Castilians,
Catalans,
Basques), and
Portuguese,
Italians,
Flemings. As of
2009, the total Canarian population is 2,098,593. Over 1,547,611
people are native Canarian, and another 178,613 people from the
Spanish mainland, making a total 1,799,373 Spanish population. Most
of the 299,220 foreign residents are Europeans (55%), such as
Germans(39,505),
British(37,937) and
Italians(24,177).
There are 86,287 from the Americas, with
Colombians (21,798), Venezuelans
(11,958), Cubans (11,098) and
Argentines
(10,159) being the most
numerous.There are 28,136 from Africa with 16,240
Moroccans.
Population of islands
Religion
The overwhelming majority of native Canarians are
Roman Catholicwith various smaller foreign
born populations of other
Christianbeliefs
such as
Protestantsfrom northern Europe
and Africans following
Islam. There is also an
important community of
Hindus. The appearance
of the
Virgin of
Candelaria(Patron of Canary Islands) in Tenerife phase starts
in the Canary Islands to
Christianity.
Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each
governed by a bishop:
Pre-Spanish people
The
Guanchesare believed to share common
ancestry with
indigenousBerbersof nearby Morocco. Others have theorized that
additional populations contributed to the native gene pool of the
Canary Islands. The Guanches lived in relative isolation on the
islands until Europeans arrived in greater numbers in the 14th and
15th centuries.
Canary Islanders may descend from the Guanches as much as the
Spanish. Fischer, who studied the modern Canarians, found among
them the following types:
- A true, small Mediterranean type, which may be partly of
Spanish introduction.
- A "Berber" type, with a heavier, broader face, but essentially
Mediterranean.
- An "Oriental" type, with a narrow face, thin, convex nose, dark
hair, and attenuated extremities.
- An Alpine of Bavarian appearance - this is said to be
uncommon.
- The "Crô-Magnon" type; with a low, rectangular face, especially
characterized by bigonial prominence; deep-set eyes under heavy
browridges, with low orbits; a straight nasal profile, but relative
broad nose; thin lips, and heavy jaw. This type has a thick-set
body build, with trunk proportions similar to those of living
Bavarians.
Modern Canarians appear less blond than the
Riffians. Despite the statistical evidence that
most modern Canarians are brunettes, the legend of the blond beauty
of the female inhabitants of Teneriffe is famous in seafaring
quarters, just as the blond looks of the early Guanches struck the
Spaniards.
Population genetics
The most frequent
mtDNA haplogroupin Canary
Islands is
H(37.6%), followed
by North African
U6(14.0%),
T(12.7%),
U(except U6) (10.3%) and
J(7.0%). Two haplogroups, H and U6
alone account for more than 50% of the individuals. Significant
frequencies of sub-Saharan
L
haplogroups(6.6%) is also consistent with the historical
records on introduction of sub-Saharan slave labour in Canary
Islands. However, the presence of Sub-Saharan lineages in North
African populations could mean these lineages were introduced from
North Africa rather than directly from Sub-Saharan Africa. A 2009
study of DNA extracted from the remains of aboriginal inhabitants
found that 7% of lineages were Haplogroup L. This leaves open the
possibility that these L lineages were part of the founding
population of the Canary Islands.
A 2003 genetics research article by Nicole Maca-Meyer et al.
published in the
European Journal of Human
Geneticscompared aboriginal Guanche mtDNA (collected from
Canarian archaeological sites) to that of today's Canarians and
concluded that, "despite the continuous changes suffered by the
population (Spanish colonization, slave trade), aboriginal mtDNA
[direct maternal] lineages constitute a considerable proportion [42
– 73%] of the Canarian gene pool. Although the
Berbersare the most probable ancestors of the
Guanches, it is deduced that important human movements [e.g., the
Islamic-Arabic conquest of the Berbers] have reshaped Northwest
Africa after the migratory wave to the Canary Islands" and the
"results support, from a maternal perspective, the supposition that
since the end of the 16th century, at least, two-thirds of the
Canarian population had an indigenous substrate, as was previously
inferred from historical and anthropological data." mtDNA
haplogroup U subclade
U6b1is
Canarian-specific and is the most common mtDNA haplogroup found in
aboriginal Guanche archaeological burial sites.
Y-DNA, or Y-chromosomal, (direct paternal) lineages were not
analyzed in this study; however, an earlier study giving the
aboriginal y-DNA contribution at 6% was cited by Maca-Meyer et al.,
but the results were criticized as possibly flawed due to the
widespread phylogeography of y-DNA haplogroup
E1b1b1b, which may skew
determination of the aboriginality versus coloniality of
contemporary y-DNA lineages in the Canaries. Regardless, Maca-Meyer
et al. states that historical evidence does support the explanation
of "strong sexual asymmetry… as a result of a strong bias favoring
matings between European males and aboriginal females, and to the
important aboriginal male mortality during the Conquest." The
genetics thus suggests the native men were sharply reduced in
numbers due to the war, large numbers of Spaniard men stayed in the
islands and married the local women, the Canarians adopted Spanish
names, language, and religion.
According
to a 2005 study, in spite of the geographic nearness between the
Canary Islands and Morocco, the genetic
heritage of the Canary islands male lineages, is mainly from
European origin.Indeed, nearly 72% of the haplogroups
resulting from are Euro–Eurasian (
R1a,
R1b,
Iand
G). Unsurprisingly the Spanish conquest
brought the genetic base of the current male population of the
Canary Islands. Nevertheless, the second most important Haplogroup
family is from Africa, Near and Middle East.
E1b1b(12% including 7% of the
typically
berberhaplogroup E-M81),
E1b1a(2%),
J(10%) and
T(3%) Haplogroups are present at a rate
of 27%. Even if a part of these "eastern" haplogroups were
introduced by the Spanish too, we can suppose that a good portion
of this rate was already there at the time of the conquest.
Islands
Tenerife
Tenerife is, with its 2,034 km², the most extensive
island of the Canaries.In addition, the 886,033 inhabitants
make it the most populous island in Spain.
Two of the island
principal cities are located on it: Santa Cruz
de Tenerife and San
Cristóbal de La Laguna (a World
Heritage Site).Santa Cruz is the capital of Tenerife and
seat of the
Parliament of
Canaries. Santa Cruz de Tenerife shares the status of capital
of the Canaries with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The Teide, with its
3,718 m is the highest peak of Spain and also a World Heritage
Site.This island is in the province of
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
.
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the province of Las Palmas' most populated
island, with 829,597 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.In center of the island lie the Roque Nublo (1,813
m) and Pozo de las Nieves ("Peak of Snow") (1,949 m), the two
highest points of the island.
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura, with a surface of 1,659 km², is the
second-most extensive island of the archipelago, as well as the
second most oriental.Is a Biosphere reserve by Unesco
.Being also the most ancient of the islands,
it is the one that is more eroded: its highest point is the Peak of
the Bramble, at a height of 807 m.
Its capital is Puerto del
Rosario
La Palma
La Palma, with 85,933 inhabitants, covering an area of
708.32 km² is in its entirety a biosphere
reserve.It shows no recent signs of volcanic
activity, even though the volcano Teneguía
entered into eruption last in 1971.In
addition, it is the second-highest island of the Canaries, with the
Roque de los Muchachos (2,423 m) as highest point.
Santa Cruz
de La Palma
is its capital.
Lanzarote
Lanzarote, is the easternmost island and one of the most
ancient of the archipelago, and it has shown evidence of recent
volcanic activity.It has a surface of 845.94 km², and a
population of 132,366 inhabitants.
The capital is Arrecife
, with 56,834 inhabitants.
Chinijo Archipelago
The
Chinijo
Archipelago
includes the islands La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and
Roque del
Oeste
.
- La Graciosa, is the smallest inhabited island of the
archipelago, and the major island of the Chinijo
Archipelago. The whole archipelago is administrated by
Lanzarote. It has a surface of 29.05 km², and a population of 658
inhabitants. The capital is Caleta de Sebo
, with 656 inhabitants.
El Hierro
El Hierro, the westernmost island, covers 268.71 km²,
making it the smallest of the major islands, and the least populous
with 10,558 inhabitants.The whole island was declared
Reserve of the Biosphere in 2000. Its capital is
Valverde, Santa Cruz de
Tenerife. Also known as Ferro, it was once believed to be the
westernmost land in the world.
La Gomera
La Gomera, has an area of 369.76 km² and is the third
least populous island with 22,259 inhabitants.Geologically
it is one of the oldest of the archipelago. The insular capital is
San Sebastian de La
Gomera. Garajonay's National Park is here.
Economy
The economy is based primarily on
tourism, which makes up 32% of the
GDP. The Canaries receive about 10
million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the
GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily
bananasand
tobacco, are grown
for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned
that the resources, especially in the more
aridislands, are being overexploited but there are
still many agricultural resources like
tomatoes,
potatoes,
onions,
cochineal,
sugarcane,
grapes,
vines,
date,
oranges,
lemons,
figs,
wheat,
barley,
maize,
apricots,
peachesand
almonds.
The economy is
€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, mostly
to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and
European Funds (near € 11 billion euro 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 5 jobs.
The
combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air
has made the Roque de los Muchachos
peak (on La Palma island) a leading location
for telescopes like the Grantecan
.
The islands are outside the
European
Unioncustoms territory and VAT area, though politically within
the EU. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has
a general rate of 5%, an increased tax rate of 12%, a reduced tax
rate of 2% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and
services (eg telecommunications). The
ISO 3166-1 α-2code
ICis reserved
for representing them in customs affairs. Goods subject to Spanish
customs and excise duties and Value Added Tax (
VAT), such as
tobaccoor
electronicgoods , are therefore significantly
cheaper in the Canaries. Spanish magazines usually have a similar
or higher price than in the peninsula since VAT is substituted with
air transport costs. The islands'
country calling codeis (+34) and the
Internet country codeis the same as Spain's
(.es). The currency is the
euro.
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 British Isles and
Portugal all year round.
Transport
For a road map see multimap. A tram linking Santa Cruz bus station
and La Laguna opened in 2007 and there are tentative plans for a
train linking Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos.
Wildlife
Terrestrial wildlife
With a range of habitats, the Canary Islands exhibit diverse plant
species. The bird life includes European and African species, such
as the
Black-bellied
Sandgrouse; and a rich variety of
endemic(local) species including the:
Terrestrial fauna includes
geckos(such as the
striped
Canary Islands Gecko)
and
wall lizards, and three endemic
species of recently rediscovered and
critically endangeredgiant lizard: the
El Hierro Giant Lizard(or
Roque Chico de Salmor
Giant Lizard),
La Gomera
Giant Lizard, and
La Palma
Giant Lizard. Mammals include the
Canarian Shrew,
Canary Big-Eared Bat, the
Algerian Hedgehog(which may have been
introduced) and the more recently introduced
Mouflon. Some endemic mammals, the
Lava Mouseand
Canary Islands Giant Rat, are
extinct, as are the
Canary Islands
Quail,
Long-legged Bunting,
and the
Eastern Canary
Islands Chiffchaff.
Marine life
The
Marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a
combination of North
Atlantic
, Mediterranean
and endemic
species.In recent years, the increasing popularity of both
scuba divingand
underwater photographyhave provided
biologists with much new information on the marine life of the
islands.
Fishspecies found in the islands include many
species of
shark,
ray,
moray eel,
bream,
jack,
grunt,
scorpionfish,
triggerfish,
grouper,
goby, and
blenny. In
addition, there are many invertebrate species including
sponge,
jellyfish,
anemone,
crab,
mollusc,
sea urchin,
starfish,
sea
cucumberand
coral.
There are a total of 5 different species of
marine turtlethat are sighted periodically in
the islands, the most common of these being the
endangeredLoggerhead
Turtle. The other four are the
Green,
Hawksbill,
Leatherbackand
Kemp's Ridley 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 turtle on beaches
in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.
Marine mammals include the
Short-Finned Pilot Whale,
Commonand
Bottlenosedolphins. The Canary Islands
were also formerly home to a population of the rarest
Pinnipedin the world, the
Mediterranean Monk Seal.
Sports
A unique form of wrestling known as Canarian Wrestling (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" 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.
Another sport is called the Shepard's jump. This involves using a
long stick to vault over an open area. This sport possibly evolved
from the shepard's need to occasionally get over an open area in
the hills as they were tending their sheep.
Notable athletes
One native of the Canary Islands played
Major League Baseball:
Alfredo Cabrera, born there in 1881; he played
shortstopfor the
St. Louis Cardinalsin 1913.
Another native of the Canary Islands plays in the
National Basketball
Associationtoday:
Sergio
Rodríguez, born there in 1986; he plays
point guardfor the
Sacramento Kings.
David Silva, born in Arguineguin
(south of Gran Canaria) plays for Valencia
.Silva is regarded as one of the best
attacking midfielders in the Spanish First Division, also being
credited for his excellent football during the
2008 UEFA European
Football Championship, helping the Spanish football team win
the competition.
See also
History
Geography
Culture
Neighbours
Natural history
See:-Borgesen, F. 1929. Marine algae from the Canary Islands. III
Rhodophyceae. Part II.
Cryptonemiales, Gigartinales, and
Rhodymeniales.
Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs
BiologiskeMeddelelser.
'8
: 1 —
97.
Notes
References
- Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological
Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Cambridge University Press)
ISBN 0-521-45690-8
- Felipe Fernández-Armesto, The Canary Islands after the
Conquest: The Making of a Colonial Society in the Early-Sixteenth
Century, Oxford U. Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0-198-21888-3; ISBN
0-198-21888-5
- Sergio Hanquet, Diving in Canaries, Litografía A.
ROMERO, 2001. ISBN 84-932195-0-9
- 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 pdf
External links
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Demographics of
the Canary Islands (2009) |
|
| Nationality |
| Population |
| Percent |
|
|
|
| Canarian |
1,547,611 |
73.7% |
|
| Mainland Spanish
(Peninsulares) |
178,613 |
12.0% |
|
| Spanish total |
1,799,373 |
85.7% |
|
| Foreign-born nationals |
299,220 |
14.3% |
|
|
|
| Total |
2,098,593 |
100% |
|
|
| Population history |
|
| Year |
| Population |
|
| 1768 |
155,763 |
|
| 1787 |
168,928 |
|
| 1797 |
173,865 |
|
| 1842 |
241,266 |
|
| 1860 |
237,036 |
|
| 1887 |
301,983 |
|
| 1900 |
364,408 |
|
| 1920 |
488,483 |
|
| 1940 |
687,937 |
|
| 1960 |
966,177 |
|
| 1981 |
1,367,646 |
|
| 1990 |
1,589,403 |
|
| 2000 |
1,716,276 |
|
| 2008 |
2,075,968 |
|
| 2009 |
2,098,593 |
|
| Figures between 1768-2008. |
|
|
|
| Tourism in the
Canary Islands |
|
| Year |
| Population |
|
|
|
2009
(Jan-Jun)
|
4,002,013 |
|
| 2008 |
9,210,509 |
|
| 2007 |
9,326,116 |
|
| 2006 |
9,530,039 |
|
| 2005 |
9,276,963 |
|
| 2004 |
9,427,265 |
|
| 2003 |
9,836,785 |
|
| 2002 |
9,778,512 |
|
| 2001 |
10,137,202 |
|
| 2000 |
9,975,977 |
|
| 1993 |
6,545,396 |
|
|
Largest by
Country (2008)
|
| Population |
|
| Germany |
2,498,847 |
|
| Great Britain |
3,355,942 |
; prior to the 9/11
attacks, the deadliest commercial aviation disaster in
history.
(Lanzarote)
, a volcano on La
Palma
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Search
