Spanish Islas Canarias
Island group and autonomous community (pop., 2001: 1,694,477) of Spain.
Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwestern coast of Africa, the islands lie 823 mi (1,324 km) southwest of the Spanish mainland. They comprise two provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas , with an area of 2,875 sq mi (7,447 sq km). The capital is Santa Cruz de Tenerife . Known in ancient times as the "Fortunate Islands," they were written about by both Plutarch and Pliny the Elder . Believed to be the western limit of the world, they were visited in the Middle Ages by Arabs, Portuguese, and French. They were taken by Castile (see Castile-León ) in 1402, and their indigenous inhabitants, the Guanche and Canario, were gradually conquered during the 15th century. The islands became a stop on the usual route for Spanish trading vessels with the New World. Today agriculture is an economic mainstay, as is an expanding tourist trade.