WELCOME TO THE CANARY ISLANDS

WELCOME TO THE 2ND ANNUAL CARBOOCEAN MEETING

The origins of the history of the Canary Islands are intertwined with myths and legends and several different theories exist.

Photo: M. González, 2005

In any case we must go back to classical times in order to find the first historical references to Gran Canaria.

Research into the Island's earliest population points to a link with North

Africa and the Berber cultural heritage. It would seem that the island

was colonised at around 500 B.C. Most of the many people and cultures

that arrived in the archipelago during the pre-Hispanic period settled in

Gran Canaria and Tenerife

The name derives probably from Berber North African tribes (the Canarii), in

Berber language the islands are called Tkanaren, or possibly the Latin term

Insularia Canaria meaning Island of the Dogs, a name applied originally only to

the island of Gran Canaria.

When Europeans began to explore

the islands, they found indigenous

populations living at a relatively

Neolithic level of technology.

Cenobio del Valerón, Gran Canaria

The original inhabitants of Tenerife

were known as Guanches, which

gave name to the different aboriginal

peoples of the Canary Islands

The islands were known to the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and are

mentioned in a number of classical sources. Pliny the Elder describes a

Carthaginian expedition to the Canaries, and they may have been the

Fortunate Isles of other classical writers. Although largely forgotten in the

Western world until their rediscovery, they may have been visited

occasionally by Arab and Mediterranean travelers in the Middle Ages

In 1402, the Spanish conquest of the islands started. The people of La

Gomera, as well as the Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma people,

resisted the Spanish invaders for almost a century. Due to the

topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, the conquest was

not completed until 1495, when the conquest of Tenerife and La Palma

was completed by Alonso Fernández de Lugo, after which the Canaries

were incorporated into the Castilian kingdom.

Alonso Fernández de Lugo presenting the captured native kings of Tenerife to Ferdinand and Isabella

Because of their isolation from

Ancient Times until the Conquest, the

Canary Islands remained in almost

prehistoric conditions until the end of

the Middle Ages in Europe. But this

changed when they became a

compulsory port of call for ships on

their way to the New World.

The active participation of Canary Islanders in founding nations and cities,

(Montevideo, Buenos Aires and San Antonio, Texas for instance); and trade

based on their agricultural wealth (Malmsey wines were the most famous and

highly appreciated in the world) attracted a cosmopolitan mix of Spanish,

Portuguese, Dutch and English who brought their own customs and

traditions, which influenced the present identity of the Islands.

Because of their isolation from

Ancient Times until the Conquest, the

Canary Islands remained in almost

prehistoric conditions until the end of

the Middle Ages in Europe. But this

changed when they became a

compulsory port of call for ships on

their way to the New World.

The result is a rich and complex culture that has emerged from diverse

influences of history, and moulded by geography

Endeavour voyage

August 1768

Captain Cook

Challenger Expedition between 1872 and 1876.

CANARY WATERS HAVE BEEN VISITED FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT VOYAGES OF EXPLORATIONS AND SCIENCE

Beagle Expedition

January 1832

Darwin

The carbonic acid apparatus. In: "The Voyage of the CHALLENGER - The Atlantic" Vol I, by Sir C. Wyville Thomson, 1878. P. 40. Library Call Number Q 115.C59 1878. v. 1.

Modern oceanography began with the Challenger Expedition

It was the first expedition organized specifically to gather data on a wide range of ocean features, including ocean temperatures, seawater chemistry, currents, marine life, and the geology of the seafloor.

1872

2006

The ships, the measurement systems and the science have evolved from then

but

also CO2 concentration

CARBOOCEAN

The local organizing commettee would like to thanks the CARBOOCEAN project office for its human and economic support, but also to:

The Canary Islands Institutions

Local private companies

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SOCIAL EVENTS INCLUDING COMPANION PEOPLE

MONDAY at 19:00 WELCOME DRINK AT THE DRAGON TERRACE

TUESDAY at 20:30 ESPECIAL DINNER AT THE BLACK AND RED CASINO RESTAURANT WITH SPANISH SHOW

(Meeting place: Outside in the main entrance)