The Guanche were the indigenous inhabitants of the Spanish Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kilometres (60 mi) to the west of modern Morocco and the North African coast. The islanders spoke the Guanche language, which is believed to have been related to the Berber languages of mainland North Africa; the language became extinct in the 17th century, soon after the islands were colonized.
Tacoronte is a city and municipality of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located in the north-east of the island. Mostly rural, the municipality stretches for 30 square kilometers from the volcanic peaks that rise in the center of the island to the Atlantic shore. The municipality seat, also called Tacoronte, lies about 16 km west of the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Old manorial houses and farms are situated here, as well as vineyards that produce the wine known as Tacoronte-Acentejo.
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.
Tinguaro was a Guanche sigoñe (transl. warrior) of Tenerife, also known as Chimechia and Achimenchia Tinguaro.
The Orotava Valley is an area in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The valley measures 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) by 11 km, and stretches from the north coast to about 2,000 m elevation, at the northern foot of Pico del Teide.
La Victoria de Acentejo is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It is located near the north coast, 2 km southwest of La Matanza de Acentejo, 7 km northeast of La Orotava and 22 km west of the island capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The TF-5 motorway passes through the municipality. The population is 9,069 (2013) and the area is 18.36 km2.
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.
Alonso Fernández de Lugo was a Spanish conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma (1492–1493) and Tenerife (1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered by Europeans. He was also the founder of the towns of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Santa Cruz de La Palma. One biographer has written that his personality was a “terrible mixture of cruelty and ambition or greed, on one part, and on the other a great capacity and sense for imposing order and government on conquered lands,” a trait found in the conquistadors of the New World.
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.
Maninidra was a Guanche from Gran Canaria. He was the brother of the Guanarteme (king) Tenesor Semidan, later known as Fernando Guanarteme. Maninidra was the mastermind and executor of the destruction of the Spanish fort at Gando. Later he was one of the Canarian leaders who participated in the Battle of Guiniguada, together with Adargoma and Doramas, against the Spanish invaders.
The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candle (Tagalog: Mahal na Birhen ng Candelaria, popularly called La Morenita, celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The center of worship is located in the city of Candelaria in Tenerife. She is depicted as a Black Madonna. The "Royal Basilica Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria" is considered the main church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Canary Islands and she is the patroness saint of the Canary Islands. Her feast is celebrated on February 2 and August 15, the patronal feast of the Canary Islands.
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.
The conquest of the Canary Islands by the Crown of Castile took place between 1402 and 1496 in two periods: the Conquista señorial, carried out by Castilian nobility in exchange for a covenant of allegiance to the crown, and the Conquista realenga, carried out by the Spanish crown itself during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. It has been described as the first instance of European settler colonialism in Africa.
Güímar was one of nine menceyatos on the island of Tenerife at the time of the arrival of the Castilian conquerors. It controlled 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.
Taoro was one of nine Guanche menceyatos in which the island of Tenerife was divided at the time of the arrival of the conquering Spaniards.
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.
