WELCOME TO THE CANARY ISLANDS

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WELCOME TO THE CANARY ISLANDS WELCOME TO THE 2ND
ANNUAL CARBOOCEAN MEETING
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The origins of the history of the Canary Islands
are intertwined with myths and legends and
several different theories exist.
In any case we must go back to classical times in
order to find the first historical references to
Gran Canaria.
Photo M. González, 2005
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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.
The result is a rich and complex culture that has
emerged from diverse influences of history, and
moulded by geography
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CANARY WATERS HAVE BEEN VISITED FOR THE MOST
IMPORTANT VOYAGES OF EXPLORATIONS AND SCIENCE
Endeavour voyage August 1768 Captain Cook
Challenger Expedition between 1872 and 1876.
Beagle Expedition January 1832 Darwin
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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.
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.
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The ships, the measurement systems and the
science have evolved from then
but
also CO2 concentration
1872
2006
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CARBOOCEAN
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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
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ANNOUNCEMENTS SOCIAL EVENTS INCLUDING COMPANION
PEOPLE MONDAY at 1900 WELCOME DRINK AT THE
DRAGON TERRACE TUESDAY at 2030 ESPECIAL DINNER
AT THE BLACK AND RED CASINO RESTAURANT
WITH SPANISH SHOW (Meeting place
Outside in the main entrance)