At Sea
Wind and current are against us now, as we approach the Canary Islands on the last leg of our epic journey. It is half a millennium since the first Spanish settlers arrived in this archipelago to grow sugar and bananas in the delightful semi-tropical climate. Situated on the trade winds the islands were well placed for Atlantic trade in the days of sail. Columbus provisioned here regularly as he sailed west in search of the Spice Islands There were good profits to be had by absentee landlords but island life remained poor into living memory. For the present generation, there has been a transformation. Today the islands have all the prosperity associated with the vibrant European Community. The Reconquest triumphs of Catholic Spain in 1492 have thus been confirmed by EU membership. The Canary Islands, politically and economically, are emphatically European.
The map hints at a different story. These islands lie off the coast of Africa. Archaeologists working on the deep history of the archipelago are revealing more and more about the Canary Islands’ African origins. When the Spanish “discovered” the islands, the Canaries were already inhabited by the Guanche, a people probably connected to the Berbers of North Africa. Occasionally separatist talk is heard on the archipelago, as is usual in island communities. But any attempt to stress historic cultural links with Africa are quickly suppressed. To take that road would be economic suicide. We end our journey as it began in the Malvinas/ Falkand Islands, with contested histories.
Wind and current are against us now, as we approach the Canary Islands on the last leg of our epic journey. It is half a millennium since the first Spanish settlers arrived in this archipelago to grow sugar and bananas in the delightful semi-tropical climate. Situated on the trade winds the islands were well placed for Atlantic trade in the days of sail. Columbus provisioned here regularly as he sailed west in search of the Spice Islands There were good profits to be had by absentee landlords but island life remained poor into living memory. For the present generation, there has been a transformation. Today the islands have all the prosperity associated with the vibrant European Community. The Reconquest triumphs of Catholic Spain in 1492 have thus been confirmed by EU membership. The Canary Islands, politically and economically, are emphatically European.
The map hints at a different story. These islands lie off the coast of Africa. Archaeologists working on the deep history of the archipelago are revealing more and more about the Canary Islands’ African origins. When the Spanish “discovered” the islands, the Canaries were already inhabited by the Guanche, a people probably connected to the Berbers of North Africa. Occasionally separatist talk is heard on the archipelago, as is usual in island communities. But any attempt to stress historic cultural links with Africa are quickly suppressed. To take that road would be economic suicide. We end our journey as it began in the Malvinas/ Falkand Islands, with contested histories.
