Islas Canarias - History Lab

Sanded agriculture on Lanzarote: vineyards

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

The expansion of vineyards on the island of Lanzarote took place in the mid-18th century. After the episodes of volcanic eruptions in the 1730s, the planting of grapes gained strength on the island with the productive restructuring that took place; the must was boosted and was destined for the production of brandy, which was sold in the American territories of Spain. But what was the system used to make the grapes withstand the climatic conditions? Lapilli”, small fragments of lava thrown up by volcanoes. This material captures the ambient humidity and transfers it to the mantle of the topsoil, providing water in environments with scarce rainfall. The procedure was as follows: they dug holes to plant the vine in the ground and covered the hole with lapilli and, at the top, surrounded the cleft with dry stone to avoid extreme heat temperatures. In this way, vineyards proliferated in Lanzarote, reaching a value of 1,429,491 reales at the end of the 18th century.

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Sanded agriculture on Lanzarote: water crops

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

The volcanoes, although they caused destruction and losses of cereals and livestock, brought about new forms of agriculture using volcanic materials. On the island of Lanzarote, following the eruption of the volcano in the 1730s, a process of agricultural transformation took place. The technique of sanding, which consisted of covering the soil with a layer to buffer the climatic conditions, found its maximum expression on the island with “lapilli”, a volcanic material with a hygroscopic effect (accumulation of ambient humidity). With this method, the soil was covered with lapilli, where the seeds were planted, and ploughed. With the volcanic material, the scarce autumn rains were sufficient to irrigate crops that required water, such as vegetables, pulses or potatoes.

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Seasonality of foundling mortality in Tenerife, 1752-1794

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:41 +0000

The behaviour of the mortality of foundlings in Tenerife was conditioned by the passing of the seasons, as during the harshest months of the year, in winter and summer, temperatures reached their extremes on the island and a higher mortality of abandoned children was recorded. Accordingly, in January there was an increase in the number of deaths due to respiratory illnesses (colds and flus), aggravated by the poor condition in which the children arrived at the centre after their journey. In spring, on the other hand, there was a slight decrease in mortality, favoured by the improvement in temperatures where conditions between abandonment and transfer to the crèche were more favourable. However, particularly in July, the number of deaths increased due to infectious diseases and the harshness of the conditions in which remission took place. After the summer heat, in autumn and at the beginning of winter, the number of deaths stabilised. At this level, and in relation to the particularities of the island’s economic and social life, parallels can be found with the situation experienced in Salamanca, London and Florence.

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Progressive mortality (%) of foundlings in La Laguna (Tenerife) during the first years of life, 1752-1780

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:41 +0000

The high mortality rate of foundlings recorded in 18th century Tenerife at the Casa de la Cuna de La Laguna was not so much due to the poor physical conditions in which they arrived at the institution as to the fragility and continuing economic hardship. These determined, for example, the absence of internal milkmaids, which meant that the children had to wait for one or more days until they were handed over to the external milkmaids. On the other hand, the mere exchange of the administrator resulted in the emergence of internal problems in the functioning of the incluse, such as the under-recording of infant mortality. The institution’s economic and administrative fragility must have been external, with a strong impact on the chances of survival of the children in its care.

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Population of the cities of the Canary Islands between the 16th and 18th centuries

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

The urban hierarchy of the Canary Islands is greatly influenced by the development of the economic and urban structure, marking the terrain according to the strategic needs of the islands as a whole. The city is established in the places where the representative organs of power decide to settle: the Crown, the Church and the population.
It can be seen in the resource how, from the 17th century onwards, the situation in the Canary Islands changed, with the predominance of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria shifting towards the socio-economic take-off of Tenerife and La Palma. A large number of foreign merchants settled in both, establishing their estates to export wine and manufactured products to America.
Despite this growth, Santa Cruz de La Palma saw its privileged position assured by the settlement of the power groups, controlling from there a large part of the wealth that circulated around the islands in those years.

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Evolution of the productive structure of Lanzarote, 1601-1720

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000

The discovery of the Canary Islands for Spain and Europe meant, with the conquest of the islands, that the native economy went from subsistence to a support economy, linked to supplying the voyages to Africa or America, and to an agro-export economy. The internal demography of the territory also affected the consumption pattern. At the end of the 16th century, the island of Lanzarote had little more than 1,500 inhabitants, leading to a decrease in cereal consumption and an increase in livestock farming. However, the 17th century saw a period of demographic recovery for Lanzarote, tripling its population and, consequently, its economic structure: from 1630 onwards, livestock farming declined and the “rayas” of the “vegas”, i.e. the land used for cereals and the boundaries separating the land, became more important. Within cereals, wheat production remained stagnant throughout the 17th century, while white barley production rose from 15,000 bushels to 70,000 bushels at the beginning of the following century. What was the cause of this growth? The author points out that, while wheat was more sensitive to rainfall, barley was better adapted to climatic instability and poorer quality soil.

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