Canarian nationalism is a political movement that encourages the national consciousness of the Canarian people. The term includes several ideological trends, ranging from a demand for further autonomy within Spain to the right to self-determination.
Canarian nationalism is a political movement that encourages the national consciousness of the Canarian people. The term includes several ideological trends, ranging from a demand for further autonomy within Spain to the right to self-determination.
The origins of the Canarian people started with the Spanish conquest of the islands, when the local Guanche Berber [ citation needed ] population [1] were conquered and eventually assimilated and European-style manorialism introduced in most of the islands. [2]
During the last days of the conquest, on 30 May 1481, an aboriginal leader from Gran Canaria called Tenesor Semidán (afterwards baptized as Fernando Guanarteme) signed a peace treaty with Fernando II of Aragon, in the so-called Carta de Calatayud. [3] This treaty defined the archipelago as a kingdom within the Spanish monarchy, establishing the legal framework for its administration and its relationship with Spain. [4]
The pact signed in Calatayud granted the rights and duties that would shape the Canarian fuero (Fuero de Canarias), which would soon be used in institutions such as the Cabildos and the Canarian Court (Audiencia de Canarias). Notable rights stated in the fuero included an autonomous treasury and army, and the continuity of traditional Canarian customs and roles. The Canary Islands had its own currency [ which? ] until 1776. [5]
Initially only Gran Canaria accepted the pact, but one by one the whole group of islands eventually consented to the agreement. [6]
Spain failed to fulfill the pact several times, a failure that resulted in the uprisings of 1502 (Ichasagua), 1770 (La Aldea), and 1778 (Arico). [7]
The pact was finally discarded during the Restoration. [8]
The first nationalist organizations were born in the 19th century as part of a local labour movement. Some of its proponents were José Cabrera Díaz, Nicolás Estévanez and Secundino Delgado. Delgado is considered today as the father of the Canarian nationalism.
The earliest nationalist parties were the Partido Popular (Autonomista), founded in 1901 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the Canarian Nationalist Party, founded in 1924 in exile in Cuba. [6]
During the Second Spanish Republic Canarian nationalism went unnoticed; although an autonomy statute was proposed, the Spanish Civil War blocked hopes for autonomy.
Francoism fiercely oppressed any kind of regional nationalism in Spain and its colonies. However, the 1960s were years known for the activism of various groups. In 1959 the movement Canarias Libre acquired some notoriety, and in 1964, Antonio Cubillo founded the MPAIAC (Movement for the Self-determination and Independence of the Canarian Archipelago). The MPAIAC created the flag of the seven green stars that is accepted by the nationalist movement as a whole today.
During the last days of Francoism the DAC (Destacamentos Armados Canarios) and the FAG (Fuerzas Armadas Guanches), movements attached to Canarian nationalism, committed terrorist acts. Although the movements had initially attracted sympathies, the violent terror actions and the "armed struggle" spearheaded by Cubillo's MPAIAC brought about a general rejection among local Canarios. [9]
One of the factors leading to the 1977 Tenerife airport disaster, the most deadly accident in aviation history, was a bomb exploded by Canarian separatists in Gran Canaria Airport.
Since 1982 the Canary Islands have had a statute of autonomy, which defines the archipelago as a nationality of Spain.
In the 1980s a nationalist-like party called UPC (Canarian People's Union) was the third-most-voted party in Canary Islands. In 1985 Antonio Cubillo returned from Algiers and founded the National Congress of the Canaries (CNC). [10]
Since 1993, the nationalist party Canarian Coalition has held the government of the islands. [11]
At present, many sorts of parties, trade unions and associations describe themselves as "nationalist," some of which support the Berberist cause.
The nationalist parties include CC (Canarian Coalition), NC (Nueva Canarias), [12] FREPIC-AWAÑAK (Popular Front of the Canary Islands), CCN (Nationalist Canarian Centre), [13] ANC (Canarian Nationalist Alternative), [14] Azarug, [15] Partido Nacionalista Canario [16] Alternativa Popular Canaria, Alternativa Maga Nacionalista, [17] and UP (Unidad del Pueblo).
There are also nationalist trade unions such as FSOC (Frente Sindical Obrero Canario), IC (Intersindical Canaria), as well as revolutionary organizations, like Inekaren. [18] Some radical groups use the word Taknara to refer to the Canary Islands, but other nationalists do not agree with this name. [19]
The movement has recently undergone a modest renaissance. The popular newspaper of the islands El Día has changed its editorial line to fit the nationalists' cause. In its pages it is normal to read the opinion of historical nationalist activists. In particular the "Project for a Federal Canarian Republic", written by Antonio Cubillo, has created a stir and a media debate. [20]
Berberism is a Berber political-cultural movement of ethnic nationalism, started mainly in Kabylia (Algeria) and in Morocco later spreading to the rest of the Berber communities in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The Berberist movement in Algeria and Morocco is in opposition to cultural Arabization, the pan-Arabist political ideology and Islamism.
The National Congress of the Canaries is a separatist political party in the Canary Islands, Spain.
The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is a vertical tricolour of three equal bands of white, blue, and yellow. The state flag includes the Coat of arms of the Canary Islands in the central band; the civil flag omits this. The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community on 16 August 1982.
The Canary Islands Independence Movement (CIIM), also known as the Movement for the Independence and Self-determination of the Canaries Archipelago, was an independentist organization that had a radio station in Algiers and resorted to violence in attempts to force the Spanish government to create an independent state in the Canary Islands.
The Popular Front of the Canary Islands or FREPIC-AWAÑAK is a marginal leftist political party seeking independence from Spain for the Canary Islands.
Antonio de León Cubillo Ferreira was a Spanish Independentist, politician, lawyer and militant of the Canary Islands.
The Guanche Armed Forces was the armed wing of the Movement for the Self- Determination and Independence of the Canarian Archipelago, Spanish: Movimiento por la Autodeterminación e Independencia del Archipiélago Canario(MPAIAC). It was active between 1 November 1976 and late 1978, when the group unilaterally announced a "ceasefire" in what it considered to be "struggle against Spanish colonial occupation" of the Canary Islands.
The Church of the Guanche People is a religious organisation, founded in 2001 in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It aims to perpetuate and spread the traditional religion of the ancient Guanche people.
The Nationalist Canary Party is a nationalist political party in the Canary Islands. Its current headquarters are in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife.
Sindicato Obrero Canario was a nationalist trade union movement in the Canary Islands. It was founded as an underground movement in 1976, under the leadership of the Canarian Communist Party (Provisional). The union was legalized in 1977.
Alternativa Popular Canaria is a Canarian nationalist leftist party founded in 2002, and part of the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional Canario (MLNC). Its creation was spurred by the youth organisation Azarug and several municipal parties, as well as members of various leftist nationalist parties.
Azarug Is a leftist youth organization of the Canary Islands founded in 1992 that seeks the independence of the archipelago.
The 2015 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 9th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Canarian Nationalist Alternative is a Canarian left-wing nationalist political party, born in 2006 after a split of the People's Alternative for the Canary Islands (APC).
The Nationalist Canarian Initiative, initially called Canarian Initiative, was a nationalist political party in the Canary Islands founded in 1991.
The Canarian United People was a left-wing nationalist political coalition operating in the Canary Islands. The party aim was self-determination for the islands and socialism. It was a coalition between various political parties and groups, with a communist, pro-independence or nationalist ideology. The coalition received the support of the MPAIAC.
Communist Party of the Canary Islands (provisional) (Spanish: Partido Comunista Canario-provisional, PCC(p)), later Party of the Canarian Revolution (Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Canaria), PRC) was a Marxist-Leninist and Canarian nationalist political party operating in the Canary Islands. The party aim was self-determination for the islands and socialism.
As in the rest of Spain, the majority religion in the Canary Islands is the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion has been the majority since the Conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace the Canarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifth autonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after the Region of Murcia, Extremadura, Galicia, Aragon, and Castile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.
Canary Islands Now is a left-wing and Canarian separatist electoral alliance founded in February 2019 in order to compete in the 2019 Spanish general election and the Canarian regional election of that same year. The alliance is formed by three parties: Canarian Nationalist Alternative, National Congress of the Canaries and the Unity of the People.