Canary Islanders
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 1,600,000 Roman Catholic (85%)[5] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Isleños, other Spaniards, Madeirans, Portuguese, Berbers (Guanches) |
Canary Islanders, or Canarians (
History
The original inhabitants of the Canary Islands are commonly known as
The islands were conquered by Castile at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1402, they began to subdue and suppress the native Guanche population. The Guanches were initially enslaved[citation needed] and gradually absorbed. As a result, genetic analyses of modern Canarians show mainly a mixture of European and North African genes, and low frequencies of sub-Saharan genes, with quite a lot of variation (see Ancestry).
After subsequent settlement by Europeans, the remaining Guanches were gradually assimilated by the settlers and their culture largely vanished. Alonso Fernández de Lugo, conqueror of Tenerife and La Palma, oversaw extensive immigration to these islands during a short period from the late 1490s to the 1520s from mainland Europe, mostly Castile and Portugal. At subsequent judicial enquiries, Fernández de Lugo was accused of favoring Genoese and Portuguese immigrants over Castilians.[8]
Ancestry
The native inhabitants of the Canary Islands hold a gene pool that is predominantly European and native Guanche. Guanche genetic markers have also been found recently in Puerto Rico and, at low frequencies, in peninsular Spain after later emigration from the Canary Islands.[9]
Population genetics
Uniparental markers
The most frequent (maternal-descent)
A 2003 genetics research article by Nicole Maca-Meyer et al. published in the European Journal of Human Genetics compared aboriginal Guanche mtDNA (collected from Canarian archaeological sites) to that of today's Canarians and concluded that "despite the continuous changes suffered by the population (Spanish colonization, slave trade), aboriginal mtDNA lineages constitute a considerable proportion [42–73%] of the Canarian gene pool". According to this article, both percentages are obtained using two different estimation methods; nevertheless according to the same study the percentage that could be more reliable is the one of 73%.[13]
Although the
A 2019 genetics research article confirms that most lineages observed in the ancient samples have a Mediterranean distribution, and belong to lineages associated with the Neolithic expansion in the Near East and Europe (T,J,X…). This phylogeographic analysis of Canarian ancient mitogenomes, the first of its kind, shows that some lineages are restricted to Central North Africa (H1cf, J2a2d and T2c1d3), while others have a wider distribution, including both West and Central North Africa, and, Europe and the Near East.[16]
Indeed, according to a recent study by Fregel et al. 2009, in spite of the geographic nearness between the Canary Islands and
Mitochondrial DNA
The maternal lineages of mitochondrial DNA in Canary Islanders show the prevalence of European ancestry in all islands except La Gomera, in which the Northwest African lineage is stronger:
Island/NW African mtDNA | Sample size |
% U6 | % L | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
La Gomera | 46 | 50.01 % | 10.86 % | 60.87 % |
El Hierro | 32 | 21.88 % | 12.49 % | 34.37 % |
Lanzarote | 49 | 20.40 % | 8.16 % | 28.56 % |
Gran Canaria | 80 | 11.25 % | 10 % | 21.25 % |
Tenerife | 174 | 12.09 % | 7.45 % | 19.54 % |
La Palma | 68 | 17.65 % | 1.47 % | 19.12 % |
Fuerteventura | 42 | 16.66 % | 2.38 % | 19.04 % |
Study: Fregel 2009[20]
A 2002 study analyzing the mithocondrial DNA from the teeth of the 18th century Canarian population, found that the 18th century Canary Islanders had a bit more of North African heritage than European, with minor Sub-Saharian roots, which the author links to the former trade of black slaves.
North-African | European | Sub-Saharan | |
---|---|---|---|
Canary Islands[21] | 50.2% | 43.2% | 6.6% |
Autosomal DNA
An autosomal study in 2011 found an average Northwest African influence of about 17% in Canary Islanders with a wide interindividual variation ranging from 0% to 96%. According to the authors, the substantial Northwest African ancestry found for Canary Islanders supports that, despite the aggressive conquest by Castile in the 15th century and the subsequent immigration, genetic footprints of the first settlers of the Canary Islands persist in the current inhabitants. Paralleling mtDNA findings, the largest average Northwest African contribution was found for the samples from La Gomera.[22]
Island | N | Average NW African ancestry |
La Gomera | 7 | 42.50 % |
Fuerteventura | 10 | 21.60 % |
La Palma | 7 | 21.00 % |
El Hierro | 7 | 19.80 % |
Lanzarote | 13 | 16.40 % |
Tenerife | 30 | 14.30 % |
Gran Canaria | 30 | 12.40 % |
Total Canary Islanders | 104 | 17.40 % |
Another recent study by Guillen-Guio et al. 2018 sequenced the entire genomes of a sample of 400 adult men and women from all the islands except La Graciosa to determine the relationship of Canarian genetic diversity to the more frequent complex pathologies in the archipelago. The study indicated that Canarian DNA shows distinctive genetic markers, the result of a combination of factors such as the geographic isolation of the islands, the adaption to the environment of its inhabitants and the historic admixture of the Pre-Hispanic population of the archipelago (coming from North Africa), with European and from Sub-Saharan area individuals. Drawing on these data, it was estimated that the Canarian population is, on average at an autosomal level, 75% European, 22% North African and 3% Sub-saharan.[24] According to the authors "the proportion of SSA ancestry we observed in Canary Islanders likely originated in the postconquest importation of enslaved African people.". This study reported the below Genomic Ancestry Proportions in Canary Islanders.[23]
Island | North African | Sub-Saharan African | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Min. | Mean | Max. | Min. | Mean | Max. | |
Fuerteventura | 0.218 | 0.255 | 0.296 | 0.011 | 0.027 | 0.046 |
Lanzarote | 0.214 | 0.254 | 0.296 | 0.014 | 0.032 | 0.057 |
Gran Canaria | 0.155 | 0.200 | 0.264 | 0.005 | 0.032 | 0.082 |
Tenerife | 0.149 | 0.208 | 0.255 | 0.002 | 0.015 | 0.057 |
La Gomera | 0.160 | 0.221 | 0.289 | 0.013 | 0.048 | 0.092 |
La Palma | 0.170 | 0.200 | 0.245 | 0.000 | 0.013 | 0.032 |
El Hierro | 0.192 | 0.246 | 0.299 | 0.005 | 0.020 | 0.032 |
Source: Genomic Ancestry Proportions (from ADMIXTURE, K-4) in Canary Islanders (Guillen-Guio et al. 2018)[23]
Ancient Canarians
The
Culture
Modern-day Canarian culture is Spanish, with some Guanche influences. Some of the Canarian traditional sports such as
The holidays celebrated in the Canary Islands are of international, national and regional or insular character. The official day of the autonomous community is
The strong influence of Latin America in Canarian culture is due to the constant emigration and return over the centuries of Canarians to that continent, chiefly to
Religion
Catholic Church
The majority of native Canary Islanders are
The appearance of the
The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each governed by a bishop:
- Diócesis Canariense: Includes the islands of the Eastern Province: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Its capital was San Marcial El Rubicón (1404) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1483–present). There was a previous bishopric which was based in Telde, but it was later abolished.
- western province: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Its capital is San Cristóbal de La Laguna(1819–present).
Other religions
Around 5 percent of Canarians belong to a minority religion. Separate from the overwhelming Christian majority are a minority of Muslims who are usually foreign-born.[31] At present, there are in the Canary Islands a figure of approximately 70,000 Muslims and 40 mosques and places of worship throughout the archipelago.[32]
Among the followers of Islam, the Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands exists to represent the Islamic community in the Canary Islands as well as to provide practical support to members of the Islamic community.[33]
Statistics
The distribution of beliefs in 2012 according to the CIS Barometer Autonomy was as follows:[34]
- Catholic 84.9%
- Atheist/Agnostic/Unbeliever 12.3%
- Other religions 1.7%
Among the believers 38.7% attend religious services frequently.
Canarian diaspora
Historically, the Canary Islands have served as a hub between Spain and the Americas; favoured by that circumstance, large groups of Canary islanders have emigrated and settled all over the New World as early as the 15th century, mainly in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Uruguay.
Demographics
The Canarian population includes long-tenured and new waves of mainland Spanish immigrants, including
Population history[38] | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Population | |
1768 | 155,763 | |
1787 | 168,928 | |
1797 | 173,865 | |
1842 | 241,266 | |
1860 | 237,036 | |
1887 | 301,983 | |
1900 | 364,408 | |
1920 | 488,483 | |
1940 | 687,937 | |
1960 | 966,177 | |
1981 | 1,367,646 | |
1990 | 1,589,403 | |
2000 | 1,716,276 | |
2010 | 2,118,519 | |
2011 | 2,082,655[39] | |
2019 | 2,152,590[1] |
Birthplace | Population | Percent | |
---|---|---|---|
Canary Islands | 1,553,517 | 72.1 | |
Other regions (Spain) | 176,302 | 8.2 | |
Total, Spain | 1,735,457 | 80.6 | |
Foreign-born | 417,932 | 19.4 | |
Americas | 201,257 | 9.3 | |
Venezuela | 66,573 | - | |
Cuba | 41,792 | - | |
Colombia | 31,361 | - | |
Argentina | 17.429 | - | |
Uruguay | 8,687 | - | |
Rest of Europe | 154,511 | 7.2 | |
Italy | 39,469 | - | |
Germany | 25,921 | - | |
United Kingdom | 25,339 | - | |
Africa | 38,768 | 1.8 | |
Morocco | 24,268 | - | |
Asia | 23,082 | 1.1 | |
China | 9,848 | - | |
Oceania | 314 | 0.0 | |
Total | 2,153,389 | 100.0% | |
Source[37][36] |
Canarian identity
According to a 2012 study by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, when asked about national identity, the majority of respondents from the Canary Islands (49.3%) consider themselves Spanish and Canarian in equal measures, followed by 37.1% who consider themselves more Canarian than Spanish. Only 6.1% of the respondents consider themselves only Canarian.[40]
Only Spanish | 3.5% |
More Spanish than Canarian | 2.0% |
Equally Spanish and Canarian | 49.3% |
More Canarian than Spanish | 37.1% |
Only Canarian | 6.1% |
Did not answer | 2.0% |
Notable Canarians
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- Agoney, singer
- golden age of piracy
- José de Anchieta, Jesuit priest, saint and missionary in Brazil
- Rosana Arbelo, singer
- Rafael Arozarena, writer
- Javier Bardem, actor
- Carolina Bang, actress
- Bencomo, pre-Hispanic king
- Beneharo, pre-Hispanic king
- Wenceslao Benítez Inglott, navy officer, scientist and engineer
- Agustín de Betancourt y Molina, engineer, Russian General
- Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, saint and missionary in Guatemala
- Manolo Blahnik, fashion designer
- José Comas Quesada, painter
- Óscar Domínguez, painter
- Doramas, pre-Hispanic warrior
- José Doreste, sailor, yacht racer and Olympic champion
- Luis Doreste, sailor, yacht racer and world champion and Olympic champion
- Ruslan Ela, soccer player
- Nicolás Estévanez, politician
- Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, filmmaker
- Pedro García Cabrera, poet
- Antonio González y González, scientist and chemist
- Fernando Guanarteme, pre-Hispanic king
- Ana Guerra, singer
- Pedro Guerra, music composer and singer
- Ángel Guimerá, writer
- Emeterio Gutiérrez Albelo, poet
- Nancy Fabiola Herrera, mezzo-soprano opera singer
- K-Narias, reggaeton pop duo
- Alfredo Kraus, opera singer
- Fernando León y Castillo, politician
- Juan Fernando López Aguilar, politician and jurist, former Minister of Justice
- Marxistrevolutionary
- Maninidra, pre-Hispanic warrior
- César Manrique, artist
- Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Dominican lay Sister and mystic
- Cristo Marrero Henríquez, professional footballer
- Manolo Millares, painter
- Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general, politician and precursor of South America independence
- Manuel Mora Morales, writer and filmmaker
- Juan Negrín, politician
- Leopoldo O'Donnell, General and statesman
- Frances Ondiviela, telenovela actress, former Miss Spain and model
- María Orán, soprano
- Pedri, FC Barcelona footballer
- Benito Pérez Galdós, writer
- Domingo Pérez Minik, writer
- Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer born to Cuban parents with Canarian origins[41]
- NBAbasketball player
- Pedro, professional footballer
- Aythami Ruano, judoka
- Las Palmas and two times president of Canaries
- Victoria Sanchez, actress in American and Canadian movies and TV series
- David Silva, football player
- Carla Suárez Navarro, tennis player
- Tanausu, pre-Hispanic King of Aceró
- Tinguaro, pre-Hispanic warrior General
- Goya Toledo, actress and model
- Juan Carlos Valerón, football player
- Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa, writer
- José Vélez, singer
- Juan Verde Suárez, politician
- José Viera y Clavijo, historian
- Eduardo Westerdahl, painter, art critic and writer, member of the Surrealist movement
See also
- Berberism
- Canarian dialect
- Cubans
- Guanche language
- Isleños
- Nationalities in Spain
- White Puerto Ricans
- White Dominicans (Dominican Republic)
References
- ^ a b c "Estadística del Padrón Continuo. Datos provisionales a 1 de enero de 2019". January 1, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "How many Canarians in other countries". Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
- ^ "Canarians in Venezuela". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
- ^ LA EMIGRACIÓN CANARIA A AMÉRICA A TRAVÉS DE LA HISTORIA. Manuel Hernández González
- ^ Interactivo: Creencias y prácticas religiosas en España
- ISSN 1476-5438.
- hdl:2164/13526.
- ^ History of La Palma
- S2CID 14372404.
- S2CID 25089862.
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- PMID 19337312.
- ^ Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches
- ^ PMID 14508507.
- .
- ^ Rosa Fregel et al.: Mitogenomes illuminate the origin and migration patterns of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands
- PMID 14508507.
- ^ PMID 19650893.
- PMID 15639620.
- PMID 19337312.
- ^ Nicole Maca Meyer. 2002, Composición genética de poblaciones históricas y prehistóricas humanas de las Islas Canarias
- PMID 21479138.
- ^ PMID 30289472.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Cuatro apellidos canarios, un bisabuelo peninsular y otro africano
- ^ Ricardo Rodríguez-Varel et al. 2017, Genomic Analyses of Pre-European Conquest Human Remains from the Canary Islands Reveal Close Affinity to Modern North Africans
- ^ a b Laura Plitt (January 11, 2013). "Silbo gomero: A whistling language revived". BBC News. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Whistled language of the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands), the Silbo Gomero". Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee 2009 (4.COM). Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ "El Porvenir | Opinión | Bernabé de las Casas". Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.[full citation needed]
- ^ Pedro de San José Betancurt, Santo
- ^ José de Anchieta, Santo
- ^ Un 5% de canarios profesa una religión minoritaria
- ^ "Entrevista al Señor Tijani El Bouji Presidente de FIDC". Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Los musulmanes de la Isla constituyen la primera Federación Islámica de Canarias
- ^ Barometro Autonómico del CIS Canarias (2012); preguntas 47 y 48
- ^ a b Suárez, Borja (June 25, 2018). "El 91% de los nuevos habitantes de Canarias viene del extranjero". www.canarias7.es.
- ^ a b "Estadística del Padrón Continuo a 1 de enero de 2019. Datos a nivel nacional, comunidad autónoma y provincia (Canarias)". Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ a b "Estadística del Padrón Continuo a 1 de enero de 2019. Datos a nivel nacional, comunidad autónoma y provincia". Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ "Official census statistics of the Canary Islands population". Gobiernodecanarias.org. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Censos de Población y Viviendas 2011.
- ^ a b "Barómetro Autonómico (III), (Comunidad autónoma de Canarias)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 18, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "Narciso Rodríguez. Noticias, fotos y biografía de Narciso Rodríguez".