The Spanish Conquest
Ninety Years of Resistance (1402–1496)
The conquest of the Canary Islands was not a swift campaign — it was an almost hundred-year war. While the eastern islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura) fell relatively quickly, the Guanches on the western islands put up fierce resistance.
Tenerife was the last island to fall. The conquistador Alonso Fernández de Lugo landed in 1494 with 2,000 soldiers — and suffered a devastating defeat in the Primera Batalla de Acentejo (1494): The Guanches under Mencey Bencomo killed over 1,000 Spaniards in an ambush in a narrow gorge. It was one of the worst defeats of the Spanish colonial forces.
Fernández de Lugo returned in 1495 with reinforcements. In the Battle of Aguere (November 1495) and the Segunda Batalla de Acentejo (December 1495), the Spaniards finally defeated the Guanches — aided by firearms, cavalry, and especially by epidemics (plague, flu) that had decimated the Guanche population. On July 25, 1496, the last Mencey surrendered — Tenerife became Spanish.
Colonial Period (16th–18th Century)
After the conquest, Tenerife quickly became an important trade hub between Europe, Africa, and the New World. The island benefited from the triangular trade:
- Sugarcane (16th century): First export crop, cultivated with slaves from Africa.
- Wine (16th–17th century): Tenerife's Malvasía wine was exported to England, Flanders, and the New World. Shakespeare mentions it several times.
- Cochineal (19th century): Red dye obtained from scale insects became the most important export — until synthetic dyes destroyed the market.
- Bananas (from 1880): Still the island's most important agricultural product today.
