After the reduction of Grand Canary, many of the Spaniards preferring an active military life to one of case and retirement, which they might have quietly enjoyed in that island, looked to Palma and Tene•ille as the scenes of farther conquest. Among these was Captain Alonzo de Lugo, who had served with much reputation in the Canarian war, and who, by his interest at court, procured a gi ant of the conquest of the two islands from their Catholic Majesties. With a fleet properly equip ped, and well supplied with men, ammunition, &c. ne cessary for the undertaking, he sailed for Palma, and on the 29th of September 1490, landed at the port of Tas sacorta, on the west side of the island. 'laving fixed and strongly fortified his camp, and also built a chapel, which he dedicated to St Michael, he proceeded to the subjugation of the inhabitants. This, in part, he easily effected, especially with those of the south west quar ter of the island, whom he reduced, not by force of arms, but by promises and presents. The natives, however, in the north-east side, refused all his offers. They had formerly suffered very injurious treatment front the Spaniards of Ferro, and, suspecting their present in truders or the like intentions, no promises could induce them to submit. They retired to one of their strong holds among the mountains, which the Spaniards call ed the cauldron, from its resemblance to that vessel, and here they defied all the skill and valour of their adver saries. Ilia finding that the Spaniards had conic to set tle in the island, and were determined upon their reduc tion, they at last agreed, that if the Spaniards would retire to the foot of the mountain, they would conic next day and make their submission. Alonzo de Lugo com plied, but at the sante time suspecting that it was merely a stratagem to dislodge him from his present position, he left an ambush to cut off their retreat, in case they should follow him, and afterwards wish to return to the cauldron. When the natives appeared, according to the agreement, they found the Spaniards armed, and in order of battle, and, apprehensive of sonic treacherous design, they refused to proceed. But Tanausc, their chief, assured them, that as he had Alonzo's promise, they had nothing to fear. The faith of the Spaniard, however, was of too accommodating a nature to allow the present opportunity to escape, and not being yet assured of their real intentions, fell upon them with all his forces, when a very bloody skirmish ensued, which ended with the death or captivity of all the natives. Tanause, who was among the prisoners, was sent over, with several of the other chiefs, to Spain, along with the agreeable tidings of the conquest. He bitterly complained against Alonzo for his breach of promise, and took it so much to heart, together with his being sent out of the island, that he obstinately refused all manner of nourishment, and star ved himself to death.
The conquest of Teneriffe was not so easily accom plished, and the reverses which Alonzo met with in that island were justly merited by his perfidy at Palma. He landed at the port of Santa Cruz, on the 3d May 1493, and no sooner had he encamped in the plain of Lagu na, than he was visited in a friendly manner by several of the petty kings of the island, who then happened to be at war with Ventomo king of Taora. Ventomo was the most powerful and independent prince of Tenerifl'c, and when invited to a conference, and requested by Alonzo to embrace Christianity, and become a vassal of the king of Spain, he replied: that as to embracing Christianity, he knew not what he meant ; and as to his becoming a vassal of the king of Spain, he never would, for as he was born free, and had all his lifetime con tinued so, so he intended to die. Alonzo, relying upon the strength and valour of his forces, and the friendship -of the other chirfs, who •seem to .have remained quiet spectators of the contest, advanced fearlessly into the country. Having made a great booty of cattle, he was returning back, but was intercepted in a narrow defile by the brother of Ventomo, at the head of 300 Guanches, who fell upon the Spaniards with such fury, that these being unable, from the nature of the place, to avail themselves of their cavalry and superiority of numbers, were completely routed, and pursued with dreadful slaughter. When Ventomo came up with fresh troops, he found his brother resting himself upon a stone by the wayside, being much fatigued, and reprimanding him severely for not joining in the pursuit, the other coolly Teplied ; " I have done my part in vanquishing the cue my, now the butchers are doing theirs in killing them." In this battle the greatest part of the Spanish army perished, and Alonzo himself narrowly escaped. Thi, was the severest defeat the Spaniards had ever ex perienced in these islands, and the place \Via re the ac tion was fought is, to this day, called La Mantansa Centel°, " the slaughter of Centejo." Alonzo, quite dispirited by this disaster, re-embarked the remains of his troops, and returned to Grand Canary. But having; received considerable reinforcements from Spain and Lancerota, and after recruiting his own forces, he found himself at the head of 1000 foot and 70 horse, com pletely armed. Not discouraged by his late failure, he again proceeded to Teneriffe, but found the whole island now united against him. Ile, however, advanced to the plain of Laguna, avoiding in his march all am buscades and difficult passes. The natives, astonished at his speedy return, after such a defeat, with so large an armament, and finding, from the good order and pre cautions with which he advanced, that, in their several encounters, they could make no impression upon the Spaniards, thought seriously of coming to some agree ment. Having requested a conference, they demanded
of the general, why he invaded their island in that hos tile manner, without any provocation, disturbing the re pose of the inhabitants, plundering them of their cattle, and carrying the people into captivity ? To this Alonzo replied, that he had no other design than to make them become Christians, which if they consented to do, they should remain in quiet possession of their land and ef fects. To this proposal the Guanches, after some de liberation, agreed ; and all who were then present were immediately baptised. Ilaving thus peaceably secured the submission of the island, Alonzo founded a hermit age on the spot where the treaty was concluded, which he called Nucstra Senora de la Victoria, our Lady of Victory ; and after settling the government on a regu lar plan, he laid the foundation of the city of Laguna, on the 25th of July 1495. This conquest completed the reduction of the Canaries, which were immediately an nexed to the crown of Spain, and they still constitute a part of the dominions of that kingdom.
The Canary Islands, before they were subdued by Eu ropeans, were divided into several small states, each governed by its respective Guanarteme or prince, and separated from one another by a wall of loose stones, frequently crossing from sea to sea. A whole island was sometimes under the dominion of one prince, as was the case with Ferro, and also with Tcneriffe, a few years before its conquest ; though at that time it was divided into nine different kingdoms. The royal digni ty in this island was elective; and the king was always obliged to marry a person of his own rank. If such a one, however, could not be found, he took his own sis ter, not being permitted to debase his family by a mix ture of plebeian blood. Besides these chiefs, they had also in Grand Canary a race of nobility, who were dis tinguished from the vulgar by the peculiar cut of their hair and beards. This rank, however, was not altoge ther hereditary ; for, before the son of a nobleman could be considered as noble, he must have been formally de clared so, by the Faycag, an officer of great rank. and next in dignity to the Guanarteme, whose business it was to regulate the ceremonies of religion, and to act as judge in civil affairs. The ceremony of conferring this dignity was performed with great solemnity. The young man claiming the honour of nobility NvaS present ed before the assembled nobles, and inhabitants of the town or district to which he belonged. These were required to declare upon oath, whether they had ever seen the youth demean himself by submitting to any mean occupation; whether he had ever forcibly, or by stealth, taken away any of his neighbours' cattle ; and whether he was in any way discourteous, ill-tongued, or guilty of any indecent behaviour. If even one of these charges were brought against him by any of the assembly, and sufficiently substantiated, the Faycag shaved his head, and dismissed him with disgrace, by which he was rendered incapable of nobility, and re mained ever after a plebeian. If, on the contrary, how ever, he was declared free from every such imputation, the Faycag cut his hair in a round form, and so short as not to hang beneath his ears; then putting into his hand a staff or pole, called magade, declared him noble. In Teneriffe, the inhabitants were divided into three classes,—the nobles, the yeomen, and the peasants. From the variety of interests in these islands, frequent disputes arose concerning their flocks and pastures, and the boundaries of their respective districts. These dis putes often ended in wars, which overspread the face of the country with blood and carnage. Their principal weapons were wooden spears and darts, sharpened at the point, and hardened in the fire. They also threw stones with great force and dexterity, either from the hand or a sling; and sometimes used huge clubs, which, in Grand Canary, they called nzodagas. In Teneriffe, when an enemy approached, they alarmed the country by kindling a fire, or by whistling, which was repeated from one to another, and was heard at a most incredible distance. The women often attended their husbands to the field of battle, and were employed in taking care of the wounded, and carrying off the dead, which they in terred in caves. By these wars, whole districts were depopulated ; and some of the states, in a short time, experienced many changes of masters. Duels were very common in these islands ; and it was upon such oc casions, in particular, that they were most anxious to display their strength and valour. Public places were set apart for this purpose ; and the combatants were surrounded by their friends and relations, not to assist them, but to be quiet spectators of their gallantry and behaviour. These disputes were generally decided on public festivals or rejoicings, in the midst of a great concourse of people. The battle was begun by each of them throwing three round stones, which they in general dexterously avoided, by the writhing of their bodies ; then, arming themselves with cudgels in their right hand, and sharp flints in their left, they cut and beat one another until the Gayrcs or nobles cried out " gama l" enough I—when they immediately retired, and ever after remained good friends. Though much addicted to war, this people were of a humane, cheerful, and friendly disposition, of which the Spaniards sometimes took ad. vantage ; and, during their reduction, often gained more by conciliatory measures than by force. They were faithful in all their dealings ; and it was owing to the failure of the Europeans in this respect, that the Ca narians resisted so long every oiler of accommoda tion.