Taoro was one of nine Guanche menceyatos (native kingdoms) in which the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands) was divided at the time of the arrival of the conquering Spaniards.
Taoro was considered the most powerful aboriginal kingdom on the island. It spanned the existing municipalities of Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, La Victoria de Acentejo, La Matanza de Acentejo, Los Realejos and Santa Úrsula. Its mencey (King) at the time of the Spanish arrival was Bencomo and the final mencey was Bentor, who ruled the kingdom from November 1495 until his suicide in February 1496. [1]
The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kilometres (60 mi) west of Africa.
The First Battle of Acentejo took place on the island of Tenerife between the Guanches and an alliance of Spaniards, other Europeans, and associated natives, on 31 May 1494, during the Spanish conquest of this island. It resulted in a victory for the Guanches of Tenerife.
The Second Battle of Acentejo was a battle that took place on 25 December 1494 between the invading Spanish forces and the natives of the island of Tenerife, known as Guanches. The battle had been preceded by the Battle of Aguere, fought on 14-15 November that year, which had been a Castilian victory.
La Matanza de Acentejo is a town near the north coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located 10 km east of Puerto de la Cruz, and about 20 km west of the island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Its name means "the Slaughter of Acentejo" in Spanish, and refers to the 1494 First Battle of Acentejo, lost by the Spanish.
Bencomo was the penultimate mencey or king of Taoro, a Guanche menceyato on the island of Tenerife. He fought in the First Battle of Acentejo, a victory for the Guanches against the invading Castilians, after having refused the terms of Alonso Fernández de Lugo. He may have perished on the heights of San Roque during the Battle of Aguere alongside his brother Tinguaro.
The Battle of Aguere, or Battle of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, was fought between forces of the Crown of Castile, led by the Adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugo, and the natives of Tenerife, called Guanches. The battle took place on 14-15 November 1494.
Beneharo was a Guanche king of Menceyato de Anaga on the island of Tenerife.
Acaimo or Acaymo was a Guanche mencey of Tacoronte, on the island of Tenerife at the time of the Spanish conquest in the 15th century. He formed an alliance against the Spaniards with the mencey Beneharo and the mencey Bencomo.
Tacoronte was one of nine menceyatos guanches in which the island of Tenerife was divided at the time of the arrival of the conquering Spaniards.
Abona was one of nine menceyatos guanches that has divided the island of Tenerife after the death of mencey Tinerfe, in the days before the conquest of the islands by the Crown of Castile.
Güímar was one of nine menceyatos guanches that was divided island of Tenerife at the time of the arrival of the Castilian conquerors. Occupied an area significantly greater than the actual municipality of Güímar, including part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna, El Rosario, Candelaria, Arafo and Fasnia, himself and perhaps a small part of the town of Arico.
Anaga was one of the 9 menceyatos guanches in which was divided the island of Tenerife before the arrival of the conquering Spaniards.
Adeje was one of the 9 menceyatos guanches that had divided the island of Tenerife before the arrival of the conquering Spaniards and occupied the present day towns of Guía de Isora, Adeje, Santiago del Teide, as well as possibly also part of Arona, in the southwest of Tenerife.
Icod or Icode was one of nine menceyatos guanches that had divided the island of Tenerife after the death of mencey Tinerfe.
Daute was one of nine menceyatos guanches that was divided the island of Tenerife (Spain) after the death of King Tinerfe, in the period before the conquest of the islands by the Crown of Castile.
Tegueste was one of nine Guanche menceyatos, which ruled Tenerife on the Canary Islands before the Castilian conquest.
Tinerfe "the Great", legendary hero who was a guanche mencey of the island of Tenerife. It is estimated that he lived at the end of the 14th century.
Romen was a Guanche mencey king of Menceyato de Daute in times of the conquest of Tenerife in the fifteenth century.
Tegueste or Tegueste II was a Guanche King (mencey) of Menceyato de Tegueste, reigning during the conquest of Tenerife in the fifteenth century.
Bentor, sometimes also called Ventor, Bentore, Benytomo, or Bentorey, was the last mencey or king of Taoro from November 1494 until his suicide in February 1495. A native Guanche prince in the Canary Islands during the second half of the 15th century, Bentor was the eldest grandson of Bencomo, the penultimate mencey of Taoro. Taoro was one of nine menceyatos, or kingdoms, on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands before the Spanish conquest of the islands. Bentor's mother was probably named Hañagua, although this is unclear. He succeeded his grandfather as mencey upon his father's death in November 1494, and led the kingdom until his own death by suicide four months later, in February 1495. Bentor had five siblings: one sister (Dácil) and four brothers.