Kingdom of the Canary Islands
| Kingdom of the Canary Islands | ||||||||||||
| Vassal of the Crown of Castile | ||||||||||||
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| Capital |
Betancuria (1404–1425) Teguise (1425-) |
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| Languages | Castilian, Norman, Guanche | |||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism, Guanche religion | |||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||||
| King | ||||||||||||
| • | 1402–1425 | Jean de Béthencourt | ||||||||||
| • | 1425–1448 | Maciot de Béthencourt | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||||
| • | Conquest of Lanzarote | 1402 | ||||||||||
| • | Lanzarote lordship sold to Portugal (denounced by Castile) | 1448 | ||||||||||
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The Kingdom of the Canary Islands was founded in 1402/1404, although it had always recognized another country as their overlord. Its purpose was probably entirely to conquer the Canaries, and to eventually be fully incorporated into the Crown of Castile when complete.
Apart from earlier contact by Romans and Arabs, one of the first known Europeans to have encountered the Canaries was the Genoan navigator Lancelotto Malocello. He arrived on the island of Lanzarote, (which was probably named after him), in 1312 and stayed for almost two decades until he was expelled during a revolt by the native Guanche under the leadership of their king Zonzamas.
The conquest of the Canaries was started in 1402 by French-Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt. He had set sail from France one year earlier with a small army. He started the conquest in a rather friendly way by taking over the island of Lanzarote with the help of the locals. They would soon also take Fuerteventura and El Hierro. Their present king Guadarfia was the grandson of Zonzamas, who was king when Lancelotto Malocello had visited the island earlier.
When Béthencourt left the island for reinforcements from Castile, unrest broke out because of fighting between Norman officer Gadifer de la Salle and Berthin, in which the natives had been involved. However, Béthencourt managed to calm the situation when he returned, and the Guanche leader was baptized on February 27, 1404, thus surrendering to the Europeans. Subsequently Jean de Béthencourt was proclaimed king of the Canaries by Pope Innocent VII, even though he recognized the Castilians as overlords. The remaining islands, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma, were gradually conquered over the course of a century or so.
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Wikipedia