Who are the original inhabitants of Tenerife?
Strictly speaking, the Guanches were the indigenous peoples of Tenerife. The population seems to have lived in relative isolation up to the time of the Castilian conquest, around the 14th century (though Genoese, Portuguese, and Castilians may have visited there from the second half of the 8th century onwards).
Why are there so many Germans in the Canary Islands?
British, Portuguese, Dutch and Germans have been interested for centuries in the Canary Islands, due to their commercial potential, their strategic location and their excellent conditions for geological, biological and astronomical scientific study.
What is the national dish of Tenerife?
El gofio. Rather than being a dish in itself, gofio is the base of many traditional dishes in Tenerife and in the Canary Islands in general. The name gofio means a type of corn or millet flour, which is toasted using a traditional method.
Where can I find media related to Guanche?
E. G. Bourne, ed., The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot (New York, 1906) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guanche. Museums of Tenerife. The Canary Islands were not occupied by the Romans, the peoples of these islands until the arrival of the Castilians were the Guanches.
Are there Guanche descendants in the modern Canary Islander gene pool?
It was found that Guanche males contributed less to the gene pool of modern Canary Islanders than Guanche females. Haplogroups typical among the Guanche has been found at high frequencies in Latin America, suggesting that descendants of the Guanche played an active role in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Did the Guanche play a role in the Spanish colonization of America?
Haplogroups typical among the Guanche has been found at high frequencies in Latin America, suggesting that descendants of the Guanche played an active role in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Painting of Guanches of Grand Canaria by Leonardo Torriani, 1592.
Where did the Guanche come from?
An account of the Guanche population may have been made around AD 1150 by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in the Nuzhatul Mushtaq, a book he wrote for King Roger II of Sicily, in which al-Idrisi reports a journey in the Atlantic Ocean made by the Mugharrarin (“the adventurers”), a family of Andalusian seafarers from Lisbon.