Piracy beginnings in the Canary Islands

1ºdiapositiva
Piracy in the Canary Islands was developed due to the strategic location of the Canary Islands
archipelago as a commercial bridge between Europe, Africa and America and a crossroads of
maritime routes.
The rise of piracy was associated with the discovery of America and the conflicts between the
great powers. The Canary Islands and the Azores became strategic places in the maritime routes
of Europe, America and Asia. The precious treasures of the newly discovered land were a great
loot for the pirates. As these American treasures landed in the Canary Islands or the Azores on
their way to Europe, piracy soon emerged in the seas around the islands. This strategic location
also meant that ships bound for America would pass through the islands to stock up on water and
food, and on the way would attack a coastal town.
Pirates of all nationalities acted in the Canary Islands, but mainly English, French, Berber and
Dutch pirates.
2ºdiapositiva
From the first years of the conquest, there were attacks that were aimed at capturing Guanches to
be slaves. The Berbers acted by destroying the villages that existed in retaliation for the raids that
took place in North Africa. In the 16th century, under the reign of Charles I, the territory reached
its maximum extension with the European and American territories. Motivated by Spanish rivalry
with France, the first pirates to act in the Canaries during his reign were Frenchmen who destroyed
coastal villages. However, during the reign of Philip II (his son) the English pirates began to attack
the coasts of the Canary Islands as a result of the great Spanish-English rivalry. At the end of the
16th century the Dutch joined in this activity.
In the 17th century, piracy in the Canary Islands intensified, due to the weakening of the Spanish
empire and the numerous wars with France and Flanders. Insecurity led to the creation of the
figure of the Captain General with both military and political functions. A number of engineers
arrived in the Canary Islands to provide the Canary coasts with towers and castles to face the
attacks of pirates and other enemy forces of the Spaniards. Among these defensive towers or
castles are the Black Castle in Tenerife; in La Palma the Castle of Santa Catalina or the Tower of
the Eagle, in Lanzarote to name a few of them.
3º diapositva
In the 18th century, English attacks multiplied with the intention of invading and occupying the
islands. Many of these attacks were pushed back in the major cities, but on the smaller islands
these pirates were successful due to the defensive weakness of the populations.
During this period, Canarian pirates and corsair also emerged, generally linked to the Atlantic
trade with America, who looted the British, French and Dutch ships that they found in Canarian
waters and along the route to the Caribbean. The most outstanding Canarian corsair was the
Tenerife-born Amaro Pargo.