The conquest of the Canary Islands was a process through which the archipelago, inhabited by indigenous populations, was incorporated into the Crown of Castile through military occupation in the 15th century.
This process developed in two main phases: the first, known as the “Lords’ conquest,” was carried out by the nobility in exchange for a vassalage pact, while the second, called the “Royal conquest,” was directly led by the Crown under the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
Following the conquest, the period of colonization began, during which European culture gradually imposed itself on local traditions, replacing the indigenous cultures that suffered a drastic demographic decline due to military conflicts, diseases, and slavery.
This colonization process started in the early 15th century and concluded in the first quarter of the 16th century.
More than two centuries had passed since the archipelago was rediscovered in 1312 by the Italian navigator Lanzarotto Malocello, the time needed for Renaissance Europe to recognize the strategic importance of the islands in the economic landscape of Atlantic expansion.
The archipelago acquired a key role in this new economic scenario, with a function that was articulated in two closely connected aspects.
On one hand, the Canary Islands became a service economy linked to international trade routes, and on the other, they developed an agricultural production and export economy, with sugar being the main commodity.
The colonization process lasted several decades on each island, giving rise to a new society characterized by a diverse composition, more complex in the royal-controlled islands, where clearly cosmopolitan urban areas developed, and less complex in the territories governed by feudal lords.
By the 1530s, the formation of this new society in the royal-controlled islands was considered complete, marking the beginning of a period of consolidation influenced by the many factors that shaped early modern societies.
Looking back at five centuries of history, the importance of colonization is undeniable, as it laid the foundation for the social structure that has defined the Canary Islands ever since.
After the conquest, land occupation was primarily carried out through the distribution of land and water among conquerors, settlers, bankers, and merchants who had financed the conquest, as well as the Church, newly established local governments, and even a small number of indigenous people who had collaborated with the invaders.
This distribution of resources attracted settlers from Andalusia, Castile, Galicia, Portugal, and other regions, particularly to the royal-controlled islands, allowing for a slow demographic recovery after the population decline caused by the conquest. Wealthy landowners, soon joined by powerful merchants—often of foreign origin—formed the elite of the new social structure.
Italians, mainly from Genoa, played a crucial role in financing the conquest and later dominated the sugar trade, controlling 90% of both production and commerce.
Notable Italian surnames linked to this period include Soprani, Riberol, Andorra, Franchi-Luxardo, Viña, Della Noce, Casanova, Zerli-Centurione, Ascanio, Espinola, Ricci, Cassana, Cairasco, Cerezo, Lercano, and Ponte.
Despite being a minority, these families held significant social influence. Sugarcane cultivation and processing were expensive endeavors that quickly led to the introduction of foreign capital, which eventually took control of exports and profit distribution. Italians who settled permanently in the islands secured land grants and formed partnerships with local mill owners.
The financing of sugar mills and plantations was often carried out by investing capital at the start of the harvest in exchange for a share of the crop or the right to its commercialization.
The revenues generated from this industry were used to import goods and manufactured products that the islands did not produce themselves.
The process of turning sugarcane into refined sugar was long and labor-intensive, and some of the most influential figures in this industry were the Genoese families of Ponte and Viña in Tenerife and Riberol and Cairasco in Gran Canaria.
The Italians who established themselves in the Canary Islands maintained strong connections with their colonies in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Lower Andalusia, as well as with Italy itself.
They quickly integrated into the local aristocracy and occupied key positions in administration.
Meanwhile, the majority of the population, consisting of landowners of varying wealth, artisans, servants, day laborers, beggars, and enslaved people (mostly of African origin), was employed in domestic service and agricultural labor.
The economic opportunities offered by the exploitation of the islands, as well as their strategic location on the route to the Americas, contributed to the emergence of a cosmopolitan society in the main port cities.
Notable among these was Garachico, whose port was founded by the Genoese banker Cristóbal de Ponte after the conquest of Tenerife in 1496, as well as Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de La Palma, and La Laguna.
Local governments actively promoted population concentration, including indigenous people, which fostered the growth of the island capitals.
The demographic diversity, the variety of customs, and the multiple linguistic influences all played a role in shaping the identity of the new society that took root in the Canary Islands.