Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km², it stands as the fourth largest of the islands. The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's name in the native Guanche language was Titero(y)gaca, which may mean "the red mountains".
GeographyLanzarote is situated at 29°00' north, 13°40' west. It is located 11 kilometers north-east of Fuerteventura and 1 km from Graciosa. The elongated island has an area of 845,9 km². The dimensions of the island are 60 km from north to south and 25 km from west to east. Lanzarote has 213 km of coastline, of which 10 km are sand, 16.5 km are beach, and the remainder are rocky. Its dramatic landscape includes the mountain ranges of Famara (671 m) in the north and Ajaches (608 m) to the south. South of the Famara massif is the El Jable desert which separates Famara and Montañas del Fuego.
The mountainous area of Lanzarote is called Timanfaya National Park. The tallest mountain is Peñas del Chache elevating 670 m above sea level. The "Tunnel of Atlantis" is the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world.
Geology
View over a lava field towards the Montañas del Fuego.Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years ago by the Canary hotspot. Alfred Wegener arrived in 1912 and studied the island and showed how it fitted in with his theory of continental drift. The island along with others was created after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates.
Hacha Grande, in the south of the island, viewed from the road to Papagayo beach.
Demographics Papagayo beachAs of 2006, a total of 127.457 people lived on Lanzarote . The seat of the island government (Cabildo Insular) is in the capital, Arrecife, which has a population of 55.203. The majority of the inhabitants (73.9%) are Spanish, with a sizeable number of residents from other European nations, mainly British (4.0%) and Germans (2.6%). Other populous groups include immigrants from Colombia, Morocco, Ecuador, Western Africa, China and India, which constitute for a large proportion of the remaining 19.5% of the population.
The island has its own international airport, Arrecife Airport, through which 5.626.337 passengers travelled in 2006. Tourism has been the mainstay of the island's economy for the past forty years, the only other industry being agriculture.
Lanzarote is part of the province of Las Palmas, and is divided into seven municipalities:
Arrecife Haría San Bartolomé Teguise (includes Isla de La Graciosa and four smaller islets) Tías Tinajo Yaiza
ClimateLanzarote's climate is benevolent and relatively stable throughout the year, with an average annual temperature of 21'4 ºC in 2006. During the summer months, June to September, daytime maximums can reach 32 ºC, but rarely more, whilst nighttime temperatures remain around 20 ºC. Winter daytime temperatures vary from 15 to 25 °C, and can drop at night to 14 ºC, although seldom below that.
Lanzarote is in the path of the North Atlantic trade winds and profits from their cooling effect on daytime temperatures. Without this benefit the island's climate would resemble that of the neighbouring Sahara. Every year sandstorms originate in the desert and cross the thin stretch of ocean to the Canary Islands, where temperatures can rise dramatically and visibility can drop to just 100 metres. The locals call the wind that causes these storms siroco and the resulting floating dust calima.
Annual precipitation for 2006 was 1.171 centimetres, although the bulk of this fell in October (164 mm), January (281 mm) and February (488 mm). Due to the particular orographic layout of the island, most of the rain occurs in the north-western half, including the Famara Massif, while the south-eastern half is mainly dry.
Surface water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean reach 23 °C during the summer months and can drop as low as 13 °C during the winter.
Flora and fauna Vines growing in volcanic lapilli in the La Geria region of Lanzarote. The low, curved walls are traditionally used to protect the vines from the constant wind.There are five hundred different kinds of plants on the island, of which 17 are endemic and 180 are lichen. Lichens survive in the suitable areas like the rock and introduce its own weathering. These plants have adapted to the relative scarcity of water, the same as succulents. Plants includes date sut Phoenix canariensis which are founded in damper areas of the north, Pinus canariensis, ferns, wild olive trees (Olea europaea). The laurisilva trees which once covered the highest parts of Risco de Famara are rarely found today. After the winter rainfalls, the vegetation comes to a colorful bloom between February and March.
The fauna of Lanzarote is more monotonous than the plant life, except for bats and other types of mammals which accompanied humans to the island, including the dromedary which was used for agriculture and is now a tourist attraction. Lanzarote has thirty-five types of animal life, including birds, falcons, and reptiles. Some interesting endemic creatures are the Gallotia lizards, and the blind deep-water Remipedia crabs found in the Jameos del Agua lagoon, which was created by a volcanic eruption.
The vineyards of La Gería, with their traditional methods of cultivation, are a protected area. Single vines are planted in pits 4-5m wide and 2-3m deep, with small stone walls around each pit. This agricultural technique is designed to harvest rainfall and overnight dew and to protect the plants from the winds. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island.
HistoryLanzarote was probably the first Canary Island to be settled. The Phoenicians settled there around 1100 BC. The Greek writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch described the garden of Hesperis, the land of fertility where fruits and flowers smell in the part of the Atlantic. The first known record came from Pliny the Elder in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands. The names of the islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae) were recorded as Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Mayor (La Palma) and Capraria (El Hierro). Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were only mentioned as an archipelago.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Canary islands became abandoned until 999 AD when the Arabs arrived at the island and was known as al-Djezir al-Khalida and other names. In 1336, a ship arrived from Lisbon under the guidance of Lanzarote da Framqua, alias Lancelotto Malocello. A fort was later built in the area of Montaña de Guanapay near today's Teguise. Jean de Béthencourt arrived in 1402 on a private expedition to the Canary Islands and brought slavery to the island as well as raw materials. Bethencourt first visited the south of Lanzarote at Playas de Papagayo. In 1404, the Spaniards with the support of the King of Spain came and fought against a rebellion among the local Guanches. The islands of Fuerteventura and El Hierro were later conquered. In the 17th century, pirates raided the island and took 1,000 inhabitants to slavery in Cueva de los Verdes.
In 1585, the Ottoman admiral Murat Reis captured Lanzarote.
From 1730 to 1736 (for 2,053 days), the island was hit by a series of volcanic eruptions, creating 32 new volcanoes in a stretch of 18 km. The minister of Yaiza Don Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo documented the eruption in detail until 1731. Lava covered a quarter of the island's surface, including the most fertile soil and eleven villages. One hundred smaller volcanoes were located in the area called Montañas del Fuego. In 1768, drought affected the island and winter rains did not fall. Much of the population was forced to emigrate to Cuba and the Americas. Another volcanic eruption occurred within the range of Tiagua in 1824 which was not as bad as the major eruption between 1730 and 1736.
In 1927, Lanzarote as well as Fuerteventura became part of the province of Las Palmas.
NotablesAmong the notables who have lived on the island are César Manrique, an artist; José Saramago, a Portuguese Nobel Prize for Literature winner, and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark and her husband, Carlos Morales Quintana.
Wikipedia - Lanzarote Island
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Spain Africa Islands - The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands - which can be found at locale: (28° 06'N, 15° 24'W) - are an African archipelago governed by Spain. The archipelago consists of seven major islands, two minor islands, and several small islets. The oceanic islands are of volcanic origin and can be found in the North Atlantic Ocean. These islands are located just off the coast of the north-western portion of the African continent/mainland, nearest the political divide of the two countries of Morocco and Western Sahara. They form the autonomous community of the Canary Islands which is administered by Spain. The Canary Islands were formed by the Canary hotspot. The status of 'capital' city is shared by the two cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. EtymologyThe islands' name is likely derived from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning Island of the Dogs, a name applied originally only to the island of Gran Canaria. It is thought that the dense population of an endemic breed of large and fierce dogs, like the Canary Mastiff (in Spanish, el Presa Canario), was the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with the islands by the sea.
History
Ancient and pre-colonial times
Canary Islands in pre-colonial timesThe islands were known to the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and are mentioned in a number of classical sources. For example, Pliny the Elder describes a Carthaginian expedition to the Canaries, and they may have been the Fortunate Isles of other classical writers. King Juba, the Roman protegee, dispatched a contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in the early 1st century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.
When the Europeans began to explore the islands they encountered several indigenous populations living at a Neolithic level of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common origin with the Berbers of northern Africa. The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be known collectively as the Guanches, although Guanches was originally the name for the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.
Spanish conquestThere are claims that the Portuguese had discovered the Canaries as early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this. In 1402, the Spanish conquest of the islands began, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and vassals of Henry III of Castile, to the island of Lanzarote. From there, they conquered Fuerteventura and El Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his overlord.
Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was truly conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, resisted the Spanish invaders for almost a century. In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians. A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the Treaty of Alcaçovas. Alonso Fernández de Lugo presenting the captured native kings of Tenerife to Ferdinand and IsabellaThe Spanish continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete pacification was not achieved until 1495, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. After that, the Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.
After the conquestAfter the conquest, the Spanish imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugar cane; then wine, an important item of trade with England. In this era, the first institutions of colonial government were founded. Both Gran Canaria, since 6 March 1480 a colony of Castile (from 1556 of Spain), and Tenerife, a Spanish colony since 1495, had separate governors.
The cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World. This trade route brought great prosperity to some of the social sectors of the islands. The islands became quite wealthy and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. Magnificent palaces and churches were built on the island of La Palma during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 1500s.
The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateers. Ottoman Turkish admiral and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while Murat Reis the Elder captured Lanzarote in 1585.
The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the Dutch War of Independence. A Dutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by Johan Van der Does, attacked the capital, Las Palmas. (The city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants.) The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city.
The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. 300 Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillaged Maspalomas, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastian on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew.
Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet under the future Lord Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.
Eighteenth to nineteenth centuriesThe sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Crises in the sugar market in the nineteenth century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.
These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration, primarily to the Americas, during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. From 1840 to 1890, as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela alone (many of them ending up stopping, then staying in Puerto Rico due to the long journey ). Also, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba as well. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against possible American attack; but the attack never came.
Early twentieth centuryAt the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes.
The rivalry between the elites of the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago into two provinces in 1927. This has not laid to rest the rivalry between the two cities, which continues to this day.
During the time of the Second Spanish Republic, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organizations were a minority.
Franco regimeIn 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on the island of La Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, on Gomera . Though there was never a proper war in the islands, they were one of the places where the post-war repression was most severe.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar being invaded from the Spanish mainland.
Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organize until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties.
Today Parliament of the Canary IslandsAfter the death of Franco there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria, the MPAIAC. Now there are some pro-independence political parties, like the CNC and the Popular Front of the Canary Islands, but none of them openly calls for an armed struggle. Their popular support is insignificant, with no presence in both the autonomous parliament and the cabildos insulares.
After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries, by a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held, and were won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). In the most recent autonomous elections (2007), the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) formed a ruling coalition government.
Physical geography Beach in Fuerteventura.The islands and their capitals are:
Island Capital Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Gran Canaria Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Lanzarote Arrecife La Palma Santa Cruz de La Palma La Gomera San Sebastián de La Gomera El Hierro Valverde Fuerteventura Puerto del Rosario La Graciosa Caleta de Sebo
The nearest island (Fuerteventura) is 108 km from the northwest mainland African coast.
The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion with the Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The seven main islands are volcanic in origin. The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third largest volcano on Earth. All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years; four of them (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro) have historical records of eruptions since European discovery. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene. The islands are considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division.
According to the position of the islands with respect to the NE trade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species are laurisilva forests.
Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. In the early 90's, there were only five Spanish national parks, four of them being the Canarian parks, and the other one Doñana. The parks are: Hacha Grande, a mountain in the south of Lanzarote, viewed from the road to the Playa de Papagayo.Park Island Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente La Palma Garajonay National Park La Gomera Teide National Park Tenerife Timanfaya National Park Lanzarote
Political geography Map of the Canary Islands Maps of the Canary Islands drawn by William Dampier during his voyage to New Holland in 1699.The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose capitals (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) are co-capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named cabildo insular.
The international boundary of the Canaries is the subject of dispute between Spain and Morocco. Morocco does not agree that the laws regarding territorial limits allow Spain to claim for itself sea-bed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, because the Canary Islands are autonomous. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community. Under the Law of the Sea, the only islands not granted territorial waters or an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are those that are not fit for human habitation or do not have an economic life of their own, which is clearly not the case of the Canary Islands.
The boundary is relevant for possible seabed oil deposits and other ocean resource exploitation. Morocco therefore does not formally agree to the territorial boundary; it rejected a 2002 unilateral Spanish proposal.
The Islands have 13 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, 1 for each other island; 2 seats are indirectly elected by the regional Autonomous Government.
EconomyThe economy is based primarily on tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 10 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily bananas and tobacco, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the more arid islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cochineal, sugarcane, grapes, vines, dates, oranges, lemons, figs, wheat, barley, corn, apricots, peaches and almonds.
The economy is 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20 year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts of Foreign Direct Investment, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near 11 billion euro in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds). Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Island's government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the as Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than 5 jobs.
The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the Grantecan.
The islands are outside the European Union customs territory and VAT area, though politically within the EU. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 5%, an increased tax rate of 12%, a reduced tax rate of 2% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services (eg telecommunications). The ISO 3166-1 α-2 code IC is reserved for representing them in customs affairs. Goods subject to Spanish customs and excise duties and Value Added Tax (VAT), such as tobacco or electronic goods, are therefore significantly cheaper in the Canaries. Spanish magazines usually have a similar or higher price than in the peninsula since VAT is substituted with air transport costs. The islands' country calling code is (+34) and the Internet country code is the same as Spain's (.es). The currency is the euro.
Canarian time is Western European Time (WET) (or GMT; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the UK, Portugal and Ireland all year round.
Wildlife
Terrestrial WildlifeWith a range of habitats, the Canary Islands exhibit diverse plant species. The bird life includes European and African species, such as the Black-bellied Sandgrouse; and a rich variety of endemic (local) species including the:
Canary Graja (endemic to La Palma) Blue Chaffinch Canary Islands Chiffchaff Fuerteventura Chat Tenerife Goldcrest Madeira Firecrest Bolle's Pigeon Laurel Pigeon Trocaz Pigeon Plain Swift
Terrestrial fauna includes gekkos (such as the striped Canary Islands Gecko) and wall lizards, and three endemic species of recently rediscovered and critically endangered giant lizard: the El Hierro Giant Lizard (or Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard), La Gomera Giant Lizard, and La Palma Giant Lizard. Some endemic mammals, the Lava Mouse and Canary Islands Giant Rat, are extinct, as are the Canary Islands Quail and Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff.
Marine LifeMarine Life of the Canary IslandsThe Marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularities of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.
Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpionfish, triggerfish, grouper, goby, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertibrate species including sponge, jellyfish, anenome, crab, mollusc, sea urchin, starfish, sea cucumber and coral.
There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle; however, local fisherman continue to take this endangered species. The other four are the Green, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley Turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.
Sports Lucha CanariaOne native of the Canary Islands played Major League Baseball: Alfredo Cabrera, born there in 1881; he played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913.
Wikipedia - The Canary Islands
History
Ancient and pre-colonial times
Canary Islands in pre-colonial timesThe islands were known to the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and are mentioned in a number of classical sources. For example, Pliny the Elder describes a Carthaginian expedition to the Canaries, and they may have been the Fortunate Isles of other classical writers. King Juba, the Roman protegee, dispatched a contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in the early 1st century AD. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.
When the Europeans began to explore the islands they encountered several indigenous populations living at a Neolithic level of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common origin with the Berbers of northern Africa. The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be known collectively as the Guanches, although Guanches was originally the name for the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.
Spanish conquestThere are claims that the Portuguese had discovered the Canaries as early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this. In 1402, the Spanish conquest of the islands began, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and vassals of Henry III of Castile, to the island of Lanzarote. From there, they conquered Fuerteventura and El Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his overlord.
Béthencourt also established a base on the island of La Gomera, but it would be many years before the island was truly conquered. The natives of La Gomera, and of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma, resisted the Spanish invaders for almost a century. In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians. A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the Treaty of Alcaçovas. Alonso Fernández de Lugo presenting the captured native kings of Tenerife to Ferdinand and IsabellaThe Spanish continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete pacification was not achieved until 1495, when Tenerife and La Palma were finally subdued by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. After that, the Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.
After the conquestAfter the conquest, the Spanish imposed a new economic model, based on single-crop cultivation: first sugar cane; then wine, an important item of trade with England. In this era, the first institutions of colonial government were founded. Both Gran Canaria, since 6 March 1480 a colony of Castile (from 1556 of Spain), and Tenerife, a Spanish colony since 1495, had separate governors.
The cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World. This trade route brought great prosperity to some of the social sectors of the islands. The islands became quite wealthy and soon were attracting merchants and adventurers from all over Europe. Magnificent palaces and churches were built on the island of La Palma during this busy, prosperous period. The Church of El Salvador survives as one of the island's finest examples of the architecture of the 1500s.
The Canaries' wealth invited attacks by pirates and privateers. Ottoman Turkish admiral and privateer Kemal Reis ventured into the Canaries in 1501, while Murat Reis the Elder captured Lanzarote in 1585.
The most severe attack took place in 1599, during the Dutch War of Independence. A Dutch fleet of 74 ships and 12,000 men, commanded by Johan Van der Does, attacked the capital, Las Palmas. (The city had 3,500 of Gran Canaria's 8,545 inhabitants.) The Dutch attacked the Castillo de la Luz, which guarded the harbor. The Canarians evacuated civilians from the city, and the Castillo surrendered (but not the city). The Dutch moved inland, but Canarian cavalry drove them back to Tamaraceite, near the city.
The Dutch then laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of all its wealth. They received 12 sheep and 3 calves. Furious, the Dutch sent 4,000 soldiers to attack the Council of the Canaries, who were sheltering in the village of Santa Brígida. 300 Canarian soldiers ambushed the Dutch in the village of Monte Lentiscal, killing 150 and forcing the rest to retreat. The Dutch concentrated on Las Palmas, attempting to burn it down. The Dutch pillaged Maspalomas, on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, San Sebastian on La Gomera, and Santa Cruz on La Palma, but eventually gave up the siege of Las Palmas and withdrew.
Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet under the future Lord Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm.
Eighteenth to nineteenth centuriesThe sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Crises in the sugar market in the nineteenth century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.
These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration, primarily to the Americas, during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. From 1840 to 1890, as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela alone (many of them ending up stopping, then staying in Puerto Rico due to the long journey ). Also, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba as well. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Spanish fortified the islands against possible American attack; but the attack never came.
Early twentieth centuryAt the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana, the export of which was controlled by companies such as Fyffes.
The rivalry between the elites of the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago into two provinces in 1927. This has not laid to rest the rivalry between the two cities, which continues to this day.
During the time of the Second Spanish Republic, Marxist and anarchist workers' movements began to develop, led by figures such as Jose Miguel Perez and Guillermo Ascanio. However, outside of a few municipalities, these organizations were a minority.
Franco regimeIn 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, except for a few points of resistance on the island of La Palma and in the town of Vallehermoso, on Gomera . Though there was never a proper war in the islands, they were one of the places where the post-war repression was most severe.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill prepared plans for the British seizure of the Canary Islands as a naval base, in the event of Gibraltar being invaded from the Spanish mainland.
Opposition to Franco's regime did not begin to organize until the late 1950s, which experienced an upheaval of parties such as the Communist Party of Spain and the formation of various nationalist, leftist parties.
Today Parliament of the Canary IslandsAfter the death of Franco there was a pro-independence armed movement based in Algeria, the MPAIAC. Now there are some pro-independence political parties, like the CNC and the Popular Front of the Canary Islands, but none of them openly calls for an armed struggle. Their popular support is insignificant, with no presence in both the autonomous parliament and the cabildos insulares.
After the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries, by a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held, and were won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). In the most recent autonomous elections (2007), the PSOE gained a plurality of seats, but the nationalist Canarian Coalition and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) formed a ruling coalition government.
Physical geography Beach in Fuerteventura.The islands and their capitals are:
Island Capital Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Gran Canaria Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Lanzarote Arrecife La Palma Santa Cruz de La Palma La Gomera San Sebastián de La Gomera El Hierro Valverde Fuerteventura Puerto del Rosario La Graciosa Caleta de Sebo
The nearest island (Fuerteventura) is 108 km from the northwest mainland African coast.
The islands form the Macaronesia ecoregion with the Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. The seven main islands are volcanic in origin. The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the third largest volcano on Earth. All the islands except La Gomera have been active in the last million years; four of them (Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro) have historical records of eruptions since European discovery. The islands rise from Jurassic oceanic crust associated with the opening of the Atlantic. Underwater magmatism commenced during the Cretaceous, and reached the ocean's surface during the Miocene. The islands are considered as a distinct physiographic section of the Atlas Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System division.
According to the position of the islands with respect to the NE trade winds, the climate can be mild and wet or very dry. Several native species are laurisilva forests.
Four of Spain's thirteen national parks are located in the Canary Islands, more than any other autonomous community. In the early 90's, there were only five Spanish national parks, four of them being the Canarian parks, and the other one Doñana. The parks are: Hacha Grande, a mountain in the south of Lanzarote, viewed from the road to the Playa de Papagayo.Park Island Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente La Palma Garajonay National Park La Gomera Teide National Park Tenerife Timanfaya National Park Lanzarote
Political geography Map of the Canary Islands Maps of the Canary Islands drawn by William Dampier during his voyage to New Holland in 1699.The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands consists of two provinces, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose capitals (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) are co-capitals of the autonomous community. Each of the seven major islands is ruled by an island council named cabildo insular.
The international boundary of the Canaries is the subject of dispute between Spain and Morocco. Morocco does not agree that the laws regarding territorial limits allow Spain to claim for itself sea-bed boundaries based on the territory of the Canaries, because the Canary Islands are autonomous. In fact, the islands do not enjoy any special degree of autonomy as each one of the Spanish regions is considered an autonomous community. Under the Law of the Sea, the only islands not granted territorial waters or an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are those that are not fit for human habitation or do not have an economic life of their own, which is clearly not the case of the Canary Islands.
The boundary is relevant for possible seabed oil deposits and other ocean resource exploitation. Morocco therefore does not formally agree to the territorial boundary; it rejected a 2002 unilateral Spanish proposal.
The Islands have 13 seats in the Spanish Senate. Of these, 11 seats are directly elected, 3 for Gran Canaria, 3 for Tenerife, 1 for each other island; 2 seats are indirectly elected by the regional Autonomous Government.
EconomyThe economy is based primarily on tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 10 million tourists per year. Construction makes up nearly 20% of the GDP and tropical agriculture, primarily bananas and tobacco, are grown for export to Europe and the Americas. Ecologists are concerned that the resources, especially in the more arid islands, are being overexploited but there are still many agricultural resources like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cochineal, sugarcane, grapes, vines, dates, oranges, lemons, figs, wheat, barley, corn, apricots, peaches and almonds.
The economy is 25 billion (2001 GDP figures). The islands experienced continuous growth during a 20 year period, up until 2001, at a rate of approximately 5% annually. This growth was fueled mainly by huge amounts of Foreign Direct Investment, mostly to develop tourism real estate (hotels and apartments), and European Funds (near 11 billion euro in the period from 2000 to 2007), since the Canary Islands are labelled Region Objective 1 (eligible for euro structural funds). Additionally, the EU allows the Canary Island's government to offer special tax concessions for investors who incorporate under the as Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) regime and create more than 5 jobs.
The combination of high mountains, proximity to Europe, and clean air has made the Roque de los Muchachos peak (on La Palma island) a leading location for telescopes like the Grantecan.
The islands are outside the European Union customs territory and VAT area, though politically within the EU. Instead of VAT there is a local Sales Tax (IGIC) which has a general rate of 5%, an increased tax rate of 12%, a reduced tax rate of 2% and a zero tax rate for certain basic need products and services (eg telecommunications). The ISO 3166-1 α-2 code IC is reserved for representing them in customs affairs. Goods subject to Spanish customs and excise duties and Value Added Tax (VAT), such as tobacco or electronic goods, are therefore significantly cheaper in the Canaries. Spanish magazines usually have a similar or higher price than in the peninsula since VAT is substituted with air transport costs. The islands' country calling code is (+34) and the Internet country code is the same as Spain's (.es). The currency is the euro.
Canarian time is Western European Time (WET) (or GMT; in summer one hour ahead of GMT). So Canarian time is one hour behind that of mainland Spain and the same as that of the UK, Portugal and Ireland all year round.
Wildlife
Terrestrial WildlifeWith a range of habitats, the Canary Islands exhibit diverse plant species. The bird life includes European and African species, such as the Black-bellied Sandgrouse; and a rich variety of endemic (local) species including the:
Canary Graja (endemic to La Palma) Blue Chaffinch Canary Islands Chiffchaff Fuerteventura Chat Tenerife Goldcrest Madeira Firecrest Bolle's Pigeon Laurel Pigeon Trocaz Pigeon Plain Swift
Terrestrial fauna includes gekkos (such as the striped Canary Islands Gecko) and wall lizards, and three endemic species of recently rediscovered and critically endangered giant lizard: the El Hierro Giant Lizard (or Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard), La Gomera Giant Lizard, and La Palma Giant Lizard. Some endemic mammals, the Lava Mouse and Canary Islands Giant Rat, are extinct, as are the Canary Islands Quail and Eastern Canary Islands Chiffchaff.
Marine LifeMarine Life of the Canary IslandsThe Marine life found in the Canary Islands is also varied, being a combination of North Atlantic, Mediterranean and endemic species. In recent years, the increasing popularities of both scuba diving and underwater photography have provided biologists with much new information on the marine life of the islands.
Fish species found in the islands include many species of shark, ray, moray eel, bream, jack, grunt, scorpionfish, triggerfish, grouper, goby, and blenny. In addition, there are many invertibrate species including sponge, jellyfish, anenome, crab, mollusc, sea urchin, starfish, sea cucumber and coral.
There are a total of 5 different species of marine turtle that are sighted periodically in the islands, the most common of these being the endangered Loggerhead Turtle; however, local fisherman continue to take this endangered species. The other four are the Green, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley Turtle. Currently, there are no signs that any of these species breed in the islands, and so those seen in the water are usually migrating. However, it is believed that some of these species may have bred in the islands in the past, and there are records of several sightings of leatherback turtle on beaches in Fuerteventura, adding credibility to the theory.
Sports Lucha CanariaOne native of the Canary Islands played Major League Baseball: Alfredo Cabrera, born there in 1881; he played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1913.
Wikipedia - The Canary Islands
South Africa Islands - The Prince Edward Islands
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa. As a group of two islands, the Prince Edwards Islands are located at 46°46′23″S, 037°51′09″E. The two islands are named Marion Island ( 46°54′45″S, 37°44′37″E) and Prince Edward Island ( 46°38′39″S, 37°56′36″E). The only human inhabitants of the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island. Geography and geologyMarion Island, the larger of the two islands, is located at 46°54′45″S, 37°44′37″E. It is roughly 19 km (12 miles) long and 12 km (7 mi) wide with a surface of 290 km² (112 sq mi) and a coastline of some 72 km (45 mi), most of which are high cliffs. The highest point on Marion Island is Mascarin Peak (Formerly State President Swart Peak), reaching 1242 m (4,274 ft) above sea level. Boot Rock is about 150 meters (500 ft) off the northern coast.
Prince Edward Island is much smaller (only about 45 km², 17 sq mi) and lies some 12 nm (19 km) to the northeast. Prince Edward Island is located at 46°38′39″S, 37°56′36″E. At the Von Zinderen Bakker Peak northwest of the center, it reaches a height of 672 meters (2,204 ft). There are a few offshore rocks along the northern coast, like Ship Rock (100 meters, 330 ft, north of northernmost point) and Ross Rocks (500 meters, 1650 ft, from the shore).
The island group is about 955 nm (1770 km) south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa.
Both islands are of volcanic origin. Marion Island is one of the peaks of a large underwater shield volcano that rises some 5000 m (16,500 ft) from the sea floor to the top of Mascarin Peak. The volcano was thought to be extinct, but erupted in 1980 and is now classed as "active".
ClimateThe islands lie directly in the path of eastward-moving depressions all year round and this gives them an unusually cool and unpleasant climate. Strong winds blow almost every day of the year and the prevailing wind direction is north-westerly. Annual rainfall averages from 2400mm up to over 3000mm on Mascarin Peak. It rains on average about 320 days a year (about 28 days a month) and the islands are among the cloudiest places in the world - about 1300 hours a year on the sheltered eastern side of Marion island but falling to around 800 hours away from the coast and on the wet western sides of Marion and Prince Edward island. Summer and winter are not remarkably different with cold winds and threat of snow or frost possible at any time of the year. However, the mean temperature in February is 8.3°C (midsummer) and in August it is 3.9°C (midwinter).
HistoryThe islands were discovered in 1663 by the Dutch ship Maerseveen. In 1772, Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne visited the islands and spent five days trying to land, thinking he had found Antarctica (then not yet proven to exist). In 1776, his expedition, now headed by his second-in-command, Jules Crozet after the death of du Fresne, met James Cook in Cape Town. Cook subsequently set sail for the islands, but was unable to attempt a landing due to bad weather conditions. He named the smaller island after Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III and to the larger gave the name of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne.
The first recorded landing was in 1803 and was made by a group of seal hunters, who did, however, find signs of earlier inhabitation, probably other sealers.
James Clark Ross also visited the islands in 1840 but was also unable to land. Finally, the islands were surveyed by Captain George Nares in 1873.
In 1908, the British government granted William Newton the rights to exploit guano deposits for the next twenty-one years, and a ten-year grant for seal exploitation to a sealing company in 1926.
Logo of Marion IslandIn late 1947 and early 1948, South Africa annexed the islands and installed the meteorological station Fairbairn Settlement on Transvaal Cove on the northeast coast of Marion Island. The research station was soon enlarged and today researches the biology of the islands, in particular the birds (penguins, petrels, albatrosses, gulls) and seals.
In 1949, five domestic cats were brought to Marion Island to deal with a mouse problem in the station. However, the cats multiplied quickly, and by 1977 there were about 3,400 cats living on the island, feeding on the burrowing petrels instead of the mice, threatening to drive the birds to extinction on the island. Some species of petrels did become extinct on Marion Island, and thus a "cat eradication program" was set up: a few cats were infected with the highly specific feline panleukopenia virus, which reduced the number of cats to about 600 by 1982. The remaining cats were killed by night-time hunting, and in 1991, only eight cats could be trapped in a twelve-month period. It is believed that there are no cats left on Marion Island today.
On September 22, 1979, one of the U.S. Vela spy satellites recorded an activity near the Prince Edward Islands, which was initially interpreted like the "double flash" of a small nuclear test. The event is still controversial and is known as Vela Incident.
Legal statusMarion Island and Prince Edward Island were claimed for South Africa by a South African Navy force from the HMSAS Transvaal on 29 December 1947 and 4 January 1948 respectively. On 1 October 1948 the annexation was made official when Governor-General Gideon Brand van Zyl signed the Prince Edward Islands Act 43 of 1948. Because the United Kingdom relinquished its claims on the islands to South Africa, no other nation has made a claim on the islands, and they have been occupied continuously since 1948 by South Africa, the status of the islands is not in dispute.
In terms of the Act, the islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Cape Town Magistrate's Court, and South African law as applied in the Western Cape applies on them. The islands are also deemed to be situated within the electoral district containing the Port of Cape Town; as of 2006 this is ward 55 of the City of Cape Town.
Wikipedia - The Prince Edward Islands
South Africa Islands - Seal Island
Seal Island is a small land mass located about 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is so named because of the number of Cape Fur Seals that occupy it. There are a few sea birds as well. It is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about six metres above the high tide mark. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance. A radio mast was built on the island during World War II but this was blown over in a winter storm in 1970 and all that remains of it is rusty, twisted metal. There are the ruins of a few huts and other structures from the sealing and guano-collection era (first half of the 20th century). Some rock inscriptions made by sealers in the 1930s are still evident.
Great White Sharks The island seen from the water. The brown dots are all seals and hence the sharks.The dense population of fur seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main foe, the Great White Shark. Seal Island provides unique opportunities for those who wish to observe attacks by White Sharks on Cape Fur Seal and to observe social interactions amongst both species. The island is well known for the interesting way the sharks grab their prey: They come up from underneath and literally launch themselves out of the water with the seal in their mouth. It has been shown that the seals that enter the "death zone" (where the sharks circle the island) on the surface instead of at the murky bottom, they will be picked off by the faster and more aggressive Great White.
Wikipedia - Seal Island
Great White Sharks The island seen from the water. The brown dots are all seals and hence the sharks.The dense population of fur seals at certain times of the year attracts the seal's main foe, the Great White Shark. Seal Island provides unique opportunities for those who wish to observe attacks by White Sharks on Cape Fur Seal and to observe social interactions amongst both species. The island is well known for the interesting way the sharks grab their prey: They come up from underneath and literally launch themselves out of the water with the seal in their mouth. It has been shown that the seals that enter the "death zone" (where the sharks circle the island) on the surface instead of at the murky bottom, they will be picked off by the faster and more aggressive Great White.
Wikipedia - Seal Island
South Africa Islands - Robben Island
Robben Island (Afrikaans Robben Eiland) is an island in Table Bay, 12 km off the coast from Cape Town, South Africa and is located at 33.806734° S 18.366222° ECoordinates: 33.806734° S 18.366222° E. The name is Dutch for "seal island". (Incidentally, "Seal Island" is a different island in nearby False Bay.) Robben Island is roughly oval in shape and about a kilometer wide. It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group.
Robben Island as viewed from Table Mountain. The view is roughly to the north-northwest. The distant sandy shore beyond disappears towards Saldanha Bay. HistoryRobben Island was first inhabited thousands of years ago by stone age people, at a time when sea levels were considerably lower than they are today and people could walk to it. It was then a flat-topped hill. Towards the end of the last Ice Age the melting of the ancient ice caps caused sealevels to rise and the land around the island was flooded by the ocean. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people — mainly prisoners — and amongst its first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia.
From 1836 to 1931 the island was used as a leper colony. During the Second World War, the island was fortified and guns were installed as part of the defences for Cape Town.
Robben Island became a maximum security prison in 1959. Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men were incarcerated here as political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.
During the time that the island was a prison, security was very tight and it was off limits to almost all civilians, including fishermen. Before about 1980 there was not one citizen in 10,000 in Cape Town who had set foot on the island. It is not generally known that the use of the island as a prison was greatly inhibited for centuries by a lack of fresh water. The island is arid, with low scrubby vegetation and has no watercourses. Boreholes were drilled in the first half of the 20th century but in due course the fragile water table was invaded by sea water and the bores became useless. Sometime after 1965 a pipeline was laid on the bottom of the ocean from Cape Town.
Frederik Willem de Klerk initiated the removal of political prisoners in June of 1990, with the last gone by May of the following year. The last of the non-political prisoners (who had always been held separately from political prisoners) left the island in 1996, and it became a museum in 1997.
Cape Town, False Bay (top) and Table Bay with Robben Island (right) from space, February 1995. Gate to Robben Island prison.
Maritime perilRobben Island has been the nemesis of many a ship and its crew. The surf of the open Atlantic Ocean thunders continuously at its margins and any vessel wrecked on the reefs offshore is soon beaten to pieces and disappears. In the latter half of the 1600s a Dutch ship laden with gold coins earmarked for the payment of the salaries of employees of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia (now Indonesia) disintegrated on these reefs a short distance off shore, in relatively shallow but very restless waters. The gold today would be worth tens of millions of pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. A few coins have washed ashore over the centuries but the treasure itself remains in the ocean. It is protected largely by the almost ceaseless and violent surf. Many other vessels have been wrecked around the isle.
The island todayAll the land on the island is owned by the State, with the exception of the island church.
Today the island is a popular tourist destination and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It is reached by ferry from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town and is open throughout the year, weather permitting, and tours of the island and prison are led by guides who were formerly prisoners there. Robben Island Museum (RIM) operates as a site or living museum.
Robben Island LighthouseJan van Riebeeck first set a navigation aid atop Fire Hill (now Minto Hill), the highest point on the island, where the lighthouse stands today. Huge bonfires were lit at night to warn VOC ships of the rocks which surround the island. The current Robben Island lighthouse, built in 1863, is 18 metres high and was converted to electricity in 1938. It is the only South African lighthouse to utilise a flashing light instead of a revolving light. Its light can be seen from 25 kilometres away.
The Moturu KramatThe Moturu Kramat, a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage on Robben Island, was built in 1969 to commemorate Sayed Adurohman Moturu, the Prince of Madura. Moturu, one of Cape Town's first 'imans', was exiled to the island in the mid 1740s and died there in 1754. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island.
Animal lifeWhen the Dutch arrived in the area about 400 years ago, the only large animals on the island were seals and birds. In about 1960, or a little before, the warden of the island introduced a few antelope that were native to the coastal dunes nearby and also a few giant tortoises, which were not. The tortoises probably originated in the Galapagos Islands or the Seychelles and came from the zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak in Cape Town, where they have lived in captivity for at least 150 years. It is not clear whether these animals still exist on the island.
The penguin colonyThe penguin colony is a popular attraction.
Wikipedia - Robben Island
Robben Island as viewed from Table Mountain. The view is roughly to the north-northwest. The distant sandy shore beyond disappears towards Saldanha Bay. HistoryRobben Island was first inhabited thousands of years ago by stone age people, at a time when sea levels were considerably lower than they are today and people could walk to it. It was then a flat-topped hill. Towards the end of the last Ice Age the melting of the ancient ice caps caused sealevels to rise and the land around the island was flooded by the ocean. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people — mainly prisoners — and amongst its first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia.
From 1836 to 1931 the island was used as a leper colony. During the Second World War, the island was fortified and guns were installed as part of the defences for Cape Town.
Robben Island became a maximum security prison in 1959. Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men were incarcerated here as political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.
During the time that the island was a prison, security was very tight and it was off limits to almost all civilians, including fishermen. Before about 1980 there was not one citizen in 10,000 in Cape Town who had set foot on the island. It is not generally known that the use of the island as a prison was greatly inhibited for centuries by a lack of fresh water. The island is arid, with low scrubby vegetation and has no watercourses. Boreholes were drilled in the first half of the 20th century but in due course the fragile water table was invaded by sea water and the bores became useless. Sometime after 1965 a pipeline was laid on the bottom of the ocean from Cape Town.
Frederik Willem de Klerk initiated the removal of political prisoners in June of 1990, with the last gone by May of the following year. The last of the non-political prisoners (who had always been held separately from political prisoners) left the island in 1996, and it became a museum in 1997.
Cape Town, False Bay (top) and Table Bay with Robben Island (right) from space, February 1995. Gate to Robben Island prison.
Maritime perilRobben Island has been the nemesis of many a ship and its crew. The surf of the open Atlantic Ocean thunders continuously at its margins and any vessel wrecked on the reefs offshore is soon beaten to pieces and disappears. In the latter half of the 1600s a Dutch ship laden with gold coins earmarked for the payment of the salaries of employees of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia (now Indonesia) disintegrated on these reefs a short distance off shore, in relatively shallow but very restless waters. The gold today would be worth tens of millions of pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. A few coins have washed ashore over the centuries but the treasure itself remains in the ocean. It is protected largely by the almost ceaseless and violent surf. Many other vessels have been wrecked around the isle.
The island todayAll the land on the island is owned by the State, with the exception of the island church.
Today the island is a popular tourist destination and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. It is reached by ferry from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town and is open throughout the year, weather permitting, and tours of the island and prison are led by guides who were formerly prisoners there. Robben Island Museum (RIM) operates as a site or living museum.
Robben Island LighthouseJan van Riebeeck first set a navigation aid atop Fire Hill (now Minto Hill), the highest point on the island, where the lighthouse stands today. Huge bonfires were lit at night to warn VOC ships of the rocks which surround the island. The current Robben Island lighthouse, built in 1863, is 18 metres high and was converted to electricity in 1938. It is the only South African lighthouse to utilise a flashing light instead of a revolving light. Its light can be seen from 25 kilometres away.
The Moturu KramatThe Moturu Kramat, a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage on Robben Island, was built in 1969 to commemorate Sayed Adurohman Moturu, the Prince of Madura. Moturu, one of Cape Town's first 'imans', was exiled to the island in the mid 1740s and died there in 1754. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island.
Animal lifeWhen the Dutch arrived in the area about 400 years ago, the only large animals on the island were seals and birds. In about 1960, or a little before, the warden of the island introduced a few antelope that were native to the coastal dunes nearby and also a few giant tortoises, which were not. The tortoises probably originated in the Galapagos Islands or the Seychelles and came from the zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak in Cape Town, where they have lived in captivity for at least 150 years. It is not clear whether these animals still exist on the island.
The penguin colonyThe penguin colony is a popular attraction.
Wikipedia - Robben Island
Monday, March 17, 2008
South Africa Islands - Dassen Island
Dassen Island is a South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about 10km west of Yzerfontein and 55km north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about 4.5 km long by 2 km wide and is a proclaimed nature reserve.
The geological structure of the island is composed of a fine-grained tourmaline granite (with a few areas of biotite granite) outcrop covered with sand. Some of the granite features along the shore - to just above the high-water mark - consists of large, rounded boulders which stick out above the sand. Although temporary pans form during the winter in the interior, there is generally little fresh water on the island.
Except on its eastern side, Dassen Island is surrounded by reefs and consequently many ships have run aground here.
Wikipedia - Dassen Island
The geological structure of the island is composed of a fine-grained tourmaline granite (with a few areas of biotite granite) outcrop covered with sand. Some of the granite features along the shore - to just above the high-water mark - consists of large, rounded boulders which stick out above the sand. Although temporary pans form during the winter in the interior, there is generally little fresh water on the island.
Except on its eastern side, Dassen Island is surrounded by reefs and consequently many ships have run aground here.
Wikipedia - Dassen Island
Somalia Islands - Bajuni Islands
The Bajuni Islands or Baajun Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, on the southern coast of Somalia, from Kismayu to Ras Kiyamboni (not to be confusen with Ras Kamboni). They lie at the northern end of a string of reefs which also include Zanzibar and Pemba.
There are six main islands: Chandra, Chovaye, Chula, Koyama, Darakasi and Ngumi. Chula with the village of Ndowa is the only island with a significant population.
The biggest island of the archipelago is Coiama or Koyama with two separate villages mainly Koyama and Koyamani. Koyama is also rich in hystorical ruines and monuments like "Pillar Tombs".
All Bajuni inhabitants of Koyama island belong to Nowfali (bajuni subclan).
Other islands of minor importance are: Kandha Iwu, Fuma, Ilisi and the island of Kisimayu (actual Kisimayu harbor) attached to the coast in 1961 during the construction of Kismayu Port.
Wikipedia- Bajuni Islands
There are six main islands: Chandra, Chovaye, Chula, Koyama, Darakasi and Ngumi. Chula with the village of Ndowa is the only island with a significant population.
The biggest island of the archipelago is Coiama or Koyama with two separate villages mainly Koyama and Koyamani. Koyama is also rich in hystorical ruines and monuments like "Pillar Tombs".
All Bajuni inhabitants of Koyama island belong to Nowfali (bajuni subclan).
Other islands of minor importance are: Kandha Iwu, Fuma, Ilisi and the island of Kisimayu (actual Kisimayu harbor) attached to the coast in 1961 during the construction of Kismayu Port.
Wikipedia- Bajuni Islands
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