Conquest of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) 1478-1483



In 1402-1405, Norman adventurer Jean de Bethencourt (Betancourt, Bettencourt) had conquered Lanzarote and obtained the title "Lord of the Canary Islands" as a fief of the King of Castile. His successors were not successful in extending their control, limited to the islands of Lanzarote and Hierro.
Between 1394 and 1460, several Portuguese expeditions against Gran Canaria failed to conquer the island.
On June 24th 1478, Castilian Juan Rejon, with 650 men, began the conquest of Gran Canaria and founded the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Guanches resisted stubbornly; only on April 29th 1483 did the last Guanches surrender.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		History, from The Online Guide to Gran Canaria
Geschichte von Gran Canaria und der Kanarischen Inseln, from Gran Canaria Info, in German
Breve Historia Cultural de Palmas de Gran Canaria, from Breve Historia de las Capitales de Provincia de Espana, in Spanish
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on March 10th 2004, last revised on November 16th 2004

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