Gran Canaria. It is an island belonging to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands Spain and is made up of 21 municipalities, located in the Atlantic Ocean . Together with the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, it forms the province of Las Palmas , which is also made up of the islets of La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este, Roque del Oeste and Isla de Lobos. The capital of the island is Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the most populated city of the archipelago with 381,847 inhabitants), also capital of the eastern province (Las Palmas) and of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, together with Santa Cruz de Tenerife.Gran Canaria, with 838,397 inhabitants, is the most populated island in its province and the second most populated island in the Canary archipelago.
Summary
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- 1 History
- 1 First Stage
- 2 Second Stage
- 3 Third Stage
- 4 In the footsteps of the Guanches
- 2 Geography
- 1 Climate
- 3 Social Development
- 1 Gastronomy
- 4 Sources
History
First stage
It was a process that lasted for 5 years and in which three stages can be distinguished: Initial stage (from June to December 1478). On June 24, 1478, the expedition commanded by Juan Rejón and Dean Bermúdez, representative of the Bishop of Rubicón Juan de Frías, one of the funders of the conquest, disembarked at La Isleta. That day, next to Guiniguada, the Real de Las Palmas was founded. A few days later, the first confrontation in which the islanders were defeated took place near the Real. This initial victory gave the Castilians control of the northeast corner of the island.
Second stage
Aboriginal resistance and Castilian divisions, (late 1478 to 1481). The aboriginal resistance in the mountainous interior of the island, the lack of men and material means, and the internal disagreements on the conquering side, constitute the main marks of this period. During this stage Juan Rejón was dismissed by order of the Catholic Monarchs. His place was taken by Pedro Fernández de Algaba, who was later executed by order of the dismissed Rejón. The appointment of Pedro de Vera as the new governor of the island and the arrest of Juan Rejón, put an end to the internal conflicts that had lasted until 1481.
Third stage
End of the aboriginal resistance and conquest of the island (from 1481 to 1483). Pedro de Vera, now the undisputed leader of the Castilians, resumed the conquest of the interior of the island and the Guanartemato of Gáldar. For this, it counted on the arrival of new human reinforcements contributed by Diego García de Herrera, who sent a large contingent of gomeros. Castilian victories occur in the Battle of Arucas in which the aboriginal leader Doramas falls. The capture of Tenesor Semidán, Guanarteme de Gáldar, by Alonso Fernández de Lugo, will be a decisive factor for the culmination of the conquest. Tenesor Semidán was sent to Castilla, where he was baptized with the name of Fernando Guanarteme and, after signing with Fernando el Católico the Calatayud Pact, became a faithful and valuable ally of the conquerors, whose performance has undergone various evaluations by historical analysts: traitor to the aboriginal cause for some, a skilled negotiator who managed to save many lives, for others.
Finally, on April 29, 1483, and next to the Ansite Fortress, the disparate action of the surrender of some like Guayarmina Semidán, or the suicide of others by falling as the Canarian leader Bentejuí along with the Faycán de Telde to the cry of Atis Tirma (for my Earth).
In the footsteps of the Guanches
The Guanches (called ancient Canaries on the island of Gran Canaria) were the original settlers of the Canary Islands. The word has its origin in Guan Chenech, which is how the natives of Tenerife called themselves in their own language. With the passage of time, the term Guanche became general, identifying itself with all the natives of the Canary Islands.
In 1496 these ancient Canaries joined the crown of Castile, and from then on they mixed with the Peninsular or other Spaniards (who are still called Goths). This indigenous population presents a very interesting and mysterious history. To know them better or reveal many unknowns about them, various places on the island with archaeological remains are presented such as:
- Galdar, a city built on the side of a mountain where we find, among other vestiges of the original population of the Canary Islands, the Cueva Pintada, with ancient geometric paintings in different colors and a centenary dragon tree next to the town hall, which was considered a sacred tree by the Guanches .
- Telde is a town that offers the traveler all the attractions; the beautiful landscapes of the fertile plantations, monuments, magnificent beaches and Port. But perhaps what is most exceptional are the remains of the Guanche culture; In its surroundings are the caves where they lived, and very close, in Cuatro Puertas, the most interesting Paleolithic monument on the island, the Sacred Mountain of the Guanches.
- San Bartolomé de Tirajana, we find the towns with the Guanche de Artenara Necropolis. Apart from this, this town is mysteriously hidden in the hole of an immense crater. To get there you have to cross winding roads through the mountains that have the highest peaks on the island; Pozo de la Nieves (1,965 m.) And Los Pechos (1,961 m.). From here you will see a beautiful landscape of the Caldera de Tirajana, the valleys of Ayacata and Fataga.
- Gallery of places of interest of Gran Canaria:
Geography
The most characteristic of its physiognomy are the ravines that, with their immense granite rocks, flow from their central peaks at more than 2,000 meters high to the sea. There is no land that presents such a contrast of landscapes as Gran Canaria, which has desert areas next to mountains of tropical foliage; steep cliffs in front of extensive sandy beaches, and steep ravines in front of valleys of banana trees.
Weather
Gran Canaria has a great climatic diversity, due both to the altitudinal gradient and to the effect of the trade winds, which cause marked differences in the landscape between windward and leeward, for this reason, it is called “The Miniature Continent”. The island capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is considered the city with the best climate in the world according to a study by the University of Syracuse (New York). For its part, Mogán, in the south of the island, is the place in the European Union with the most clear days. The Gran Canaria climate makes the ecological diversity remarkable: the island has more than one hundred plant endemisms, as well as another five hundred shared with the rest of the Canaries.
Social development
Gastronomy
Canarian cuisine can be considered the most original and cosmopolitan in Spain, because together with dishes of obvious peninsular inspiration, it presents recipes that could very well be considered Latin American or African, and together with them totally original and native solutions. Due to its privileged climate, the wealth of fruits of its land and the rich coasts with abundant fishing, the Canarian cuisine is succulent and light at the same time.
- Recipes
Among its most famous recipes, for the genius of its simplicity, we find wrinkled potatoes, potatoes cooked with their skin in plenty of very salty water, so their skin acquires the effect to which the name alludes. They are served with mojo picón, a spicy oil-based sauce, garlic, chilli and paprika. Something so simple that it has reached the degree of mastery, and on which many jealously guard some more particular recipes. They are taken with other dishes or alone. Actually, there are many mojos, considered cold sauces, and they are also used in other stews, such as mojo cochino, which is a pork stew that uses this sauce.
One of the most traditional and ancient Canarian recipes is gofio, a pre-Hispanic recipe that was the basis of food for the Guanches or ancient Canaries. It is a flour made of wheat, millet, barley, and other toasted whole grains, with which many Canarian recipes are made as it is very versatile. A typical recipe is the gofio balls that accompany many traditional dishes, such as the Canarian sweet blood sausage, made with pig’s blood, sugar, almonds and raisins.
The island’s fisheries wealth allows it to naturally be possible to taste numerous fish and shellfish in the most varied forms of international cuisine. In this field, the Canaries also offer very tasty native recipes, such as fish stews, to which different names are attributed according to the island of origin, and the Canarian Sancocho, which uses salted fish in a mojo sauce.
The Canarian tradition also has numerous vegetable stews, such as chickpeas and beans, the most famous being the watercress stew. Its delicious cheeses include those from El Hierro, and Fuerteventura or smoked ones from La Palma, along with Flor de Guía, from Gran Canaria.
- Desserts
The exotic fruits that grow on the island naturally become part of many delicious desserts, such as the banana, abundant on the islands, which has an exquisite flavor. Canaries defend that the banana that is consumed in the rest of Europe does not have the flavor of the islands, and they are right, because this fruit, picked ripe and consumed fresher, has such an intense and delicious flavor that it is incomparable. Among these original recipes, those for fried plantains stand out.
- Wine
Canarian wines have an ancient tradition and Shakespeare already mentioned them in his literature. Among them, the artisanal wines of Malvasía, Lanzarote, the reds of Taraconte in Tenerife and the most unknown and no less tasty wines from El Hierro and La Palma stand out. And to complete the list of “bottled pleasures” we should not leave the islands without having tried the original and delicious rum and rum-honey distillates.
