Canary Islands, Span. Islas
Canarias, group of seven islands (2020 est. pop. 2,161,000),
2,875 sq mi (7,445 sq km), autonomous community of Spain, in the Atlantic
Ocean off Western Sahara. They constitute two provinces of Spain. Santa Cruz
de Tenerife, 1,305 sq mi (3,381 sq km), includes Tenerife, Palma, Gomera,
and Hierro. Las Palmas, 1,569 sq mi (4,064 sq km), includes Grand Canary,
Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura. Fuerteventura is 67 mi (108 km) from the
African coast. The islands, of volcanic origin, are rugged; Mt. Teide
(12,162 ft/3,707 m) is the highest point in Spain.
Wine 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. The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, located on Palma, is the site of the Great Canary Telescope, the world's largest reflecting telescope.
Pliny mentions an expedition to the Canaries c.40 b.c., and they may have been the Fortunate Isles of later classical writers. Settlement, from North Africa, likely began c.a.d. 100. 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 community 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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