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The Canary Islands are a unique part of Spain. Geographically part of Africa and politically part of Europe, it is unlike anywhere where else in Spain or the EU. In addition to being different from the rest of Spain, the islands are all different from each other as well, sometimes having radically different landscapes and geographies. (1) They were NOT named after the canary birds. Despite the name, the islands were not named after canaries, the cute, chirping birds. It comes from the Latin word for dog, “canaria“. One story is that when some of the first Europeans arrived,...

Extinct Ancient Societies Gaunches of the Canary IslandsAbout the Gaunches of the Canary Islands, history of the extinct society, how they were destroyed and the last of them. Their Society: Inhabiting the Canary Islands, which lie off the coast of northwest Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, the Guanches were a tall, fair or red-haired race of people. It is believed that they were the descendants of Cro-Magnon men who migrated to the islands from southern France and the Iberian Peninsula in oceangoing canoes some 3,000 years ago. The Guanches' own oral history and mythology spoke of 60 men and their...