The islands, which were probably known to the Carthaginians and Greeks, were for a time occupied by king Juba II. (p. [244]) with a view to the manufacture of purple dye from the juice of the Orchilla (see above). At that period the population consisted chiefly of the so-called Guanches (from guan, son, and Chenerfe, Teneriffe), whose culture down to the middle ages was still that of the flint age, while their inscriptions are Libyan in character. In 1402–96 the islands were conquered, first by the Normans, under Jean de Betancourt, at the instance of the kings of Castile, and later by the Spaniards, with the result that the Guanches, in spite of their heroic resistance, were largely exterminated or sold into slavery. A few survivors still lingered in their cave-dwellings, as at Atalaya (p. [46]) and Artenara (p. [46]), but others intermarried with Moorish immigrants (1405), and, in the Spanish period, with Norman, S. Spanish, and Irish settlers. Their language has been extinct since the 17th century. A few peculiarities of the present population, which somewhat resembles that of S. Spain and of the W. Indies, survive in the costume of the peasants, consisting of a white blanket (matta) wrapped round the body like a shepherd’s cloak, in their quaint old pottery, in the whistling language of Gomera, and in the national gofio, a kind of porridge of maize and wheat. The Grand Canary contains also several villages of negroes, descendants of the slaves on the sugar-plantations. Among the foreigners there are 2100 English, 600 French, and 600 Germans.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Luz near Las Palmas, the chief ports of the Canaries, as also Puerto Orotava (p. [39]), Santa Cruz de la Palma, and others, all declared free harbours in 1852, are rising places and compete with Madeira in provisioning the ocean steamers. The trade is in British, Spanish, and German hands. The chief exports are bananas, tomatoes, early potatoes and other vegetables, and wine. The only industry of any importance is the embroidery and lace-making of Teneriffe (‘calado’ embroidery after Mexican patterns, rosette-work introduced from Paraguay, the rich Vilaflor lace, and embroidery in relief from Venetian and Irish models). The cochineal insect (living on the prickly-pear plant) was introduced from Honduras in 1826, and for many years its culture yielded large profits to the islanders, but the discovery of aniline dyes has well-nigh ruined this industry.
The best Season for a tour in the Canaries is from the beginning of March to the end of May. The best winter-quarters for invalids are to be found at Puerto Orotava or the more remote Güimar in Teneriffe, and at the Monte in the Grand Canary. Good quarters are obtainable also at Santa Cruz and Laguna in Teneriffe, and at Las Palmas in the Grand Canary, where most of the best hotels are in the English style, and English money circulates freely. The Spanish ‘fondas’, where the national currency is in vogue, fall short of modern requirements, while the country inns are mostly wretched taverns.
The chief public conveyances in the islands are, in Teneriffe, the electric tramway from Santa Cruz to Tacoronte, and in the Grand Canary the harbour tramway at Las Palmas; the only others are the dirty and often crowded coches públicos, the very expensive four-seated vehicles, and the tartanas or gigs. For mountain excursions horses or mules are used, the arriero or attendant serving as a guide.
Among numerous Books on the Canary Islands are Samler Brown’s guide (see p. [20]); Whitford’s The Canary Islands as a Winter Resort (London, 1890; 7s. 6d.); Ward’s Vale of Orotava (London, 1903); C. Piazzi Smyth’s Teneriffe, an Astronomer’s Experiment (London, 1858); and Olivia Stone’s Tenerife and its Six Satellites (London, 1889).
Teneriffe, Span. Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the islands, 51½ M. long, 31 M. in breadth, and 781 sq. M. in area, contains about 140,000 inhab., mostly living on the N. coast. The island is composed of three mountain-ranges, chiefly of eruptive rock of a basaltic character, which have been welded together, probably since the miocene period, by great phonolithic and trachytic eruptions. These are the Anaga Mts. on the N.E., the Teno Mts. on the N.W., and the Adeje Mts. in the Bandas del Sur. Beyond the lofty plain of Laguna the Anaga range is prolonged to the Llano de la Maja by the massive Cumbre. In the centre of the island, from the enormous crater-ring of Las Cañadas, and high above the trade-wind clouds, towers the mighty Peak of Teneriffe, or Pico de Teide (12,175 ft.), visible for 100 M. around.
Approaching the island from the N., we first sight the sombre and wildly fissured Anaga Mts. (3406 ft.). We steer past the lighthouse (Faro; 811 ft.) a little to the N.W. of the Punta del Drago, whose light is visible for 40 M., then skirt the rocky E. coast, with the Punta de Anaga and Punta Antequera, and at length cast anchor in the open roads of the bay of Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife.—Arrival. Passengers are conveyed in steam-launches (falúas) or in rowing-boats to the pier (Muelle; Pl. C, 2; landing or embarkation 1 peseta, each trunk 75 c.). The hotels, which send their porters on board, charge 3–5 shillings for the landing and conveyance to the hotel of each passenger and his luggage.