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Canary IslandsWine was the main export of the Canaries until the grape blight of 1853; its place was taken by cochineal until aniline dyes came into general use. Today the leading exports are bananas, sugarcane, tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco, which are grown where irrigation is possible. There is fishing on the open seas, and the Canaries, with their subtropical climate and fine beaches, have become a major tourist center. An oil refinery and other large-scale industries are located at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Pliny mentions an expedition to the Canaries c.40 B.C., and they may have been the Fortunate Isles of later classical writers. They were occasionally visited by Arabs and by European travelers in the Middle Ages. Jean de Béthencourt, a Norman, settled at Lanzarote in 1402 and, with the support of the kingdom of Castile, became its king in 1404. The Treaty of Alcácovas (1479) between Portugal and Spain recognized Spanish sovereignty over the Canaries; conquest of the Guanches, the indigenous Berber inhabitants of the islands, was completed in 1496. The islands became an important base for voyages to the Americas. The Canaries were frequently raided by pirates and privateers; Las Palmas beat off Francis Drake in 1595 but was ravaged by the Dutch in 1599. In the French Revolutionary Wars, Horatio Nelson was repulsed (1797) at Santa Cruz. The Canary Islands became an autonomous region in 1982. In the early 21st cent. the islands, as part of Spain and the European Union, became a destination for illegal immigrants traveling by boat from Africa.
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Canary, common name for a familiar cage bird of the family Ploceidae (Old World finch family), descended from either the wild serin finch or from the very similar wild canary, Serinus canarius...
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Spanish Africa, historical name for the Spanish possessions in Africa—Ceuta and Melilla (enclaves in Morocco), the Canary Islands, and Western Sahara. Spain also formerly held Ifni (now part o...
- Laguna, La
Laguna, La, city (1990 pop. 118,548), on Teneriffe island, Canary Islands. The center of a fertile farm area producing cereals, grapes, fruits, and vegetables, it is also a tourist resort. The...
- Palmas, Las
Palmas, Las, city (1990 pop. 373,846), capital of Las Palmas prov., Spain, on Grand Canary. The harbor nearby, at Puerto de la Luz, is the chief port of the Canary Islands and the busiest in S...
- Fortunate Isles
Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, in classical and Celtic legend, islands in the Western Ocean. There the souls of favored mortals were received by the gods and lived happily in a paradis...
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, city (1990 pop. 222,892), capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife prov., Spain, a port on Tenerife island in the Canary Islands. Vegetables, tobacco, and bananas are exported...
- Teneriffe
Teneriffe or Tenerife, island (1990 pop. 770,627), 795 sq mi (2,059 sq km), in the Atlantic off NW Africa, the largest of the Canary Islands, Spain. A scenic island, it is dominated by Mt. Tei...
- Anchieta, José de
Anchieta, José de, 1530–97, Brazilian Jesuit missionary, b. Canary Islands of Spanish parents. A tireless traveler and pioneer, he spread Portuguese control and settlement and was a founder of...
- Iriarte, Tomás de
Iriarte, Tomás de, 1750–91, Spanish poet and dramatist, b. Canary Islands. He spent most of his life in Madrid, where, like many of his contemporaries, he engaged in polemics, criticism, satir...
- Köhler, Wolfgang
Köhler, Wolfgang, 1887–1967, American psychologist, b. Estonia, Ph.D. Univ. of Berlin, 1909. From 1913 to 1920 he was director of a research station on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Later he serve...
