Isleños

Isleño settlements in Louisiana

"Spanish" trapper and sons, Delacroix Island, 1941

The Canary Islander immigration to the Americas began as early as 1492, with the first voyage of Columbus, and did not end until the early 1980s. The Spanish conquest of the Canary Islands had only recently occurred (1402–1496), when Columbus made a stopover in the Canary Islands for supplies in 1501. Also in 1501 (possibly 1502), Nicolás de Ovando left the Canary Islands with a group of people heading to the island of Hispaniola.[6] In the early 16th century, some Guanches from the Canary Islands were exported as slaves to Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, a practice that continued as late as 1534.

In the first half of the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors, some of whom settled permanently in the Americas themselves, organized several groups of people chosen in the Canary Islands to colonize parts of Latin America including Mexico, Buenos Aires, Peru, New Granada and La Florida. There followed other groups who settled in Santo Domingo and Cuba in the second half of the 16th century. In 1611, about 10 Canarian families were sent to Santiago del Prado, Cuba, and by the Royal Decree of May 6, 1663, 800 Canarian families were sent to settle in Santo Domingo; it is assumed this was to avert the danger that the French might seize it, since they already had occupied what is now Haiti.

In 1678, the Spanish crown enacted the so-called Tributo de Sangre (Blood Tribute); this was a Spanish law stipulating that for every thousand tons of cargo shipped from Spanish America to Spain, 50 Canarian families would be sent to the Americas to populate regions having low populations of Peninsulares, or Spanish-born Spaniards.[7] Consequently, during the late 17th and 18th century, hundreds of Canarian families moved to Venezuela, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, with others going to places like Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina or the south of the present United States. These families were sent to populate various parts of Latin America.

The Tributo de Sangre was finally abolished in 1764. Despite that, many Canarians continued to migrate to the Americas to escape grinding poverty at home. After the liberation of the Latin American countries from Spanish rule (1811–1825), Spain retained only Cuba and Puerto Rico as colonies in the Americas. It abolished slavery in those colonies, and encouraged Canarian immigration. Most Canarian immigrants then immigrated to the two islands in the Caribbean, where their labor was exploited and they were paid very little. There were, however, also thousands of Canarians who immigrated to other countries including Venezuela, Uruguay and Argentina. After the annexation of Cuba and Puerto Rico to the United States and the prohibition of Canarian immigration to Puerto Rico in 1898, immigration was directed primarily to Cuba, with certain flows to other countries (especially Argentina and Uruguay). After 1936, most Canarian immigrants went to Cuba and Venezuela until 1948, after which most of the islanders began immigrating to Venezuela. Since the 1970s Canarian emigration has decreased and from the early 1980s, with the improvement of the Canary Islands' economy (and Spain's in general, until the economic crisis of 2008), Canarian emigration has diminished.[7]

After a century and a half of growth, the economy of the Canary Islands was in crisis. The diminished output of vidueño canario (an internationally traded white table wine) after the 1640 emancipation from Spanish rule of Portugal, whose colonies were its preferred market, put thousands of Canarians out of work, causing many of them to immigrate to the Americas with their families. There was discussion in governmental circles of the islands being overpopulated, and the Spanish crown decided to institute the "El Tributo de Sangre (the tribute of blood). For every hundred tons of cargo that a Spanish colony in the Americas sent to Spain, five Canarian families would be sent there. The number of families actually sent, however, usually exceeded ten.

The occupation of Jamaica by the English and of the western half of Santo Domingo and the Guianas by the French made the Spanish Crown consider want to avoid the occupation of part of Venezuela and the Greater Antilles. Commerce in cochineal dye expanded in the Canary Islands during the 19th century well into the 1880s, when trade in this product plummeted, which, together with the coffee boom and the war crisis in Cuba, depressed the economy. It also spurred Canarian immigration to the Americas. After 1893, Canarians continued to immigrate to Venezuela to escape Spanish military service.

During the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) in Cuba, Cuban separatists made a distinction between Canary Islander immigrants and those from peninsular Spain, leading them to promote Canarian immigration to Cuba. The usual form of administration to manage the emigration from the islands prevailed, with corruption and fraud governing the actions of the Canarian ruling classes. In the 20th century poverty, the Spanish Civil War, and the actions of Francoist Spain also drove Canarian immigration to the Americas.[8]

For the reasons already mentioned, there were specific problems on some islands that also boosted Canarian emigration. In Lanzarote, from the 16th to the 20th century, the people experienced terrible drought (1626–1632), epidemics, house and tithe taxes, invasions of locusts, and several volcanic eruptions in 1730, affecting over half the population, causing many of them to migrate, pirate attacks (Lanzarote suffered more pirate invasions than the other islands) and harsh weather conditions. Consequently, many people on Lanzarote migrated to other Canary Islands including (Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura) as well as to the Americas, including Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the southern United States.[9]

During the 18th century, the Spanish crown sent several groups of Canary Islanders to their colonies in New Spain. Spain's goal was to colonize certain regions with Spanish settlers, and between 1731 and 1783, several Canarian communities were established in what is now the Southern United States. In 1731, 16 Canarian families arrived in San Antonio, Spanish Texas. Between 1757 and 1759, 154 families were sent to Spanish Florida.

Between 1778 and 1783 another 2,100 Canarians arrived in Spanish Louisiana and founded the four communities of Galveztown, Valenzuela, Barataria, and San Bernardo. Of those settlements, Valenzuela and San Bernardo were the most successful as the other two were plagued with both disease and flooding. The large migration of Acadian refugees to Bayou Lafourche led to the rapid gallicization of the Valenzuela community while the community of San Bernardo (Saint Bernard) was able to preserve much of its unique culture and language into the 21st century.

Many Isleños fought in the American Revolutionary War and the Battle of the Alamo. After the incorporation of Louisiana and Texas into the United States, they fought in the Civil War and both World Wars. The Isleños have been able to preserve some features of their culture except in Florida, where they had made improvements in its agriculture, but most of the Canarian settlers immigrated to Cuba when Florida was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 and still more left when, after being recovered by Spain, Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819. The dialect of Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands during the 18th century was still spoken by older Isleños until the 1950s in San Antonio but is still spoken in St. Bernard Parish.

Louisiana's Isleños have shared some aspects of Canarian culture for over 200 years with the Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican peoples in those Caribbean countries influenced by earlier waves of settlers from the Canary Islands, who first arrived in the Americas in the late 16th century.

Puerto Rico

Most Puerto Rican Jíbaros were of Canarian stock

Between 1678 and 1764 the Spanish policy of tributo de sangre stated that for every ton of cargo shipped from the Spanish colonies in the Americas to Spain, five Canarian families were sent to populate the colonies. The number of families sent to the Americas, however, often became ten. The first wave of Canarian emigration seems to have occurred in 1695 when Juan Fernández Franco de Medina, the new Governor of Puerto Rico, arrived with 20 Canarian families.[10] This was followed by others in 1714, 1720, 1731, and 1797. Between 1720 and 1730, some 176 Canarian families, totaling 882 persons, immigrated to Puerto Rico, more than half of them married couples and their children, and the rest eventually found partners in Puerto Rico.

The tributo de sangre ended in 1764, but poverty and overpopulation in the Canary Islands still caused many Canarians to immigrate to Puerto Rico and other parts of Latin America. After the Spanish American colonies won their independence (1811–1825), most Canarian immigrants went to Cuba and Puerto Rico, the only remaining Spanish possessions in the Americas, where their labor was exploited to replace that of slaves, who had been liberated with the abolishment of slavery. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Canarian immigration to the Americas continued. Successive waves of Canary Island immigration came to Puerto Rico, and entire villages were formed of relocated islanders.[11]

Between 1891 and 1895, Canary immigration to Puerto Rico was officially over 600 immigrants; if unrecorded or concealed immigration were taken into account, the number would be much larger.[12] Canarian immigration to Puerto Rico in the 19th century is estimated at 2,733 people, mostly peasants desiring to farm their own land, who tended to settle in Puerto Rico in families or groups of families related to each other.[13]

Whole towns and villages in Puerto Rico were founded by Canarian immigrants, and their lasting influence of Canarian culture can still be heard in the Puerto Rican accent and seen in the cuatro, a small guitar with origins in the Canary Islands. The Canarian Islands have contributed more to the Puerto Rican population than any other Spanish region except Andalusia, and Canary Islanders, along with Andalusians, were the principal Spanish expatriate community there by the 19th century.

The Isleños contributed substantially to the development of agriculture, as well as the provincial rural character of Puerto Rican society, preserving their ancestral customs, traditions, folk arts, dialect and festivals that remain features of Puerto Rican culture. They tended to settle in areas where other Isleños were already living, preferring certain rural districts and towns like Camuy, Hatillo and Barceloneta. They concentrated also in San Juan, Ponce, Lares, San Sebastián, Lajas, Mayagüez and Manatí. Many settled in small villages where they intermarried with other Puerto Ricans and with the Jíbaro peasants.

Most of the Isleños arrived on the island married, often with many children, which helped to preserve their customs, traditions, religions, and accent. A group of geneticists from Puerto Rican universities conducted a study of mitochondrial DNA, which is passed through the mother, and found that the present population of Puerto Rico has in its genome a substantial component of genes from Guanches, the Canarian aborigines, especially those from the island of Tenerife. In some areas of the island, this Guanche component appears in over 50% of the sampled population, and in the western part, it appears in over 80%.[13] Even today, there are people in these towns who can relate stories from their Canary Island great-grandparents that they remember when they were children.

During colonial times and until the end of the Second World War, most European immigrants in Venezuela were Canary Islanders. Their cultural impact was significant, influencing both the development of Castilian Spanish in the country as well as its cuisine and customs. Venezuela has perhaps the largest population of Canarian immigrants, and it is commonly said in the Canary Islands that "Venezuela is the eighth island of the Canary Islands." In the 16th century, the German Jorge de la Espira in the Canary Islands recruited 200 men to colonize Venezuela, as did Diego Hernández de Serpa, governor of New Andalusia Province, who sent another 200 soldiers and 400 slaves from Gran Canaria to Venezuela,[16] where some of these Canarians were among the founders of Cumaná. Diego de Ordaz, governor of Paria, took about 350 persons, and his successor, Jerome of Ortal, about 80 people, from Tenerife, whether they were native Canarians or just people settled in the islands. In 1681, 54 families from Tenerife were transported to the port of Cumaná, but this area was so unsafe that a few of them settled in villages already founded or went to the Llanos. The next year, another group of 31 families arrived from Tenerife as well.[17]

25 Canarian families were transported to Guyana in 1717 to found a village, and they then migrated to the Llanos of Venezuela. In 1697, Maracaibo was founded with 40 Canarian families, which was followed in 1700 by another 29 in the town of Los Marqueses. Maracaibo received 25 Canarian families between 1732 and 1738, while in 1764 another 14 families arrived, to which were added another 300 families transported to Venezuela. This Canarian migration to Venezuela in the 18th century was one of two waves of migration from the Canary Islands to the Venezuelan region, the second of which occurred in the mid-early 19th century. Venezuela experienced significant economic and political change between these centuries, and Canarians played key roles during the turbulent period of revolts and independence movements that resulted in these changes, roles largely inspired by the social, economic, and political conditions faced by the first wave of Canarian immigrants to the region.

Beginning in the 1680s and continuing into the 18th century, Canarians arrived in Venezuela in large numbers. Facing the reality that the Canary Islands had neither the land nor the economic conditions to support an ever-growing population, these migrants arrived in Venezuela in search of opportunity, most importantly in terms of land for agricultural production.[18] However, Canarians faced social conditions that impeded their ability to develop strong economic footholds in the region. Firstly, the Caracas Company, a trading company established by the Spanish crown to incorporate the economy of Venezuela into that of the greater Spanish empire in the Americas, held a monopoly over trade and dictated the cost of produced and imported goods.[18] Secondly, the landed elites of Venezuela had a firm grip on the economy and agricultural production in the northern areas of the country that included the economic and political center of Caracas as well as the land most productive for cacao production, a staple of the regional economy. Canarians looking for land were forced further inland to the Llanos, where the land was often less productive and demanded more work.[18] Canarian landowners and agricultural producers therefore saw themselves as largely insignificant in the export economy. Those that decided against searching for land took jobs as laborers on cacao estates or became menial workers such as shopkeepers or transporters of goods, while others became involved in the business of contraband.[18] Canarians involved in illicit trade did achieve some success towards the end of the 18th century, especially as the Canarian communities in the Llanos developed economically and looked for trading options for their goods outside of the monopoly of the Caracas Company. However, these contrabandists faced increasing challenges to their operations as the Spanish crown began appointing a greater number of peninsulares—peninsular Spaniards mostly from the Basque region—to a wide range of official positions, including those that held jurisdiction over the investigation of contrabandists, indicating a crackdown on a key industry for many Canarians.[18] Regardless of their profession, Canarians had little economic or political power and were impacted by the monopolistic practices of the peninsular-operated Caracas Company and the economic and social influences of the landed elite, conditions that would be catalysts for Canarian involvement in revolts and rebellions.

The rigid, caste-like social structure in Venezuela dictated the experience of Canarians in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Although separate from colored people such as mulattos, slaves, and Indians due to their race, Canarians were still seen as inferior by the Venezuelan-born Creole elites, whose social and racial prejudices often led them to include the Canarians in the lowest social strata that included these people of color.[18] Among whites, Canarians were seen as inferior to both the peninsular Spanish and the Creoles due to their status as immigrants and their relative poverty.[18] This classism was omnipresent in Venezuelan life, determining social interactions as well as economic prospects. Laws prohibited intermarriage between Canarians and Spaniards. Occupations in which Canarians were well-represented were usually those that Creoles rejected as ‘unworthy’ of people of their status, and there was little to no opportunity for them to gain social status. Although Canarians could legally hold political, merchant, military and bureaucratic positions, unlike people of color, they were often not as openly accepted or respected under these positions.[18]

Venezuela descended into a period of political and social instability from 1750 to the early 1800s as tensions flared between the Spanish and their subjects in Venezuela and independence movements gained steam. Initially, Canarians held no strong allegiances to either the independence or royalist movements, and instead had reasons for wanting either of the possible outcomes.[18] These outcomes both served them in some way; independence for Venezuela meant an end to the stranglehold the Caracas Company held over regional trade, and royalist victory meant an opportunity to change the social order which had often been oppressive to anybody not a peninsular Spaniard or Creole elite. However, it was Canarian discontent with the Caracas Company that drove their initial participation in these movements. A Canarian-led protest in 1749 against the Company, which was widely supported among non-Spanish members of the Venezuelan population, ended with brutal repercussions for participants of lower social classes but a relatively lighter punishment for Creole elites, as well as changes to the Caracas Company which gave the Creoles, but not the Canarians, the opportunity to own shares of the company.[18] A rallying cry for Canarians during this protest was “Long live the King and death to the Vizcayans,” referring to the peninsulares who held positions of power in government and the Caracas Company.[18] The Canarians were not looking to rid themselves of the Spanish crown, but to shake themselves of the power of the Caracas Company and peninsulares who threatened the contraband economy.

Despite their support for the King, many Canarians initially supported the independence movement of the First Republic in 1810, realizing the potential for change in a new nation. This change did not materialize, and Canarians switched allegiance to the royalist cause in the years that followed the establishment of the First Republic.[18] The Canarians, much like other groups in Venezuelan society, were opportunists when choosing when and to whom to show their support. They were looking for a fairer economy without the monopolistic presence of the Caracas Company, but also hoping that a new republic would be formed under different social circumstances. Creoles had no intentions of relinquishing their social superiority or economic and political power, and Canarians reacted accordingly. Canarian support for the Spanish crown was documented, and they likely believed their support would be rewarded with economic opportunity and social capital by switching to the royalist cause. Upon the success of the counterrevolution of 1812, Canarians were rewarded for their loyalty with positions of power.[18] Canarians who ascended to such positions were often underqualified for their posts, and many were ruthless in denouncing and persecuting former employers and other Creoles.[18] Many accounts, both written at the time of the counter-revolution or in later periods by historians, paint Canarians as ignorant, vulgar, and hated by the rest of the population, and blame that ignorance as the rationale behind the decision-making of Isleños during the counter-revolution.[18] Other accounts, however, don’t see the ignorance as a factor in decision-making, instead arguing that Isleños identified and sided with the movement they believed would be most sympathetic to their cause and their goals.[18] Regardless, their support for the counter-revolution would cement their position as royalists in the Second Republic and royalist caudillo movements that would follow in the early 19th century.

Many of those who fought in the Venezuelan War of Independence in the first half of the 19th century were Canarians or descendants of Canarians. For example, Simón Bolívar had Canarian ancestors on his mother's side. There were many other notable Venezuelan leaders who were of Canarian descent, such as the precursor of independence Francisco de Miranda, the philosopher Andrés Bello and the physician José Gregorio Hernández, as well as José Antonio Páez, José María Vargas, Carlos Soublette, José Tadeo Monagas, Antonio Guzmán Blanco, Rómulo Betancourt and Rafael Caldera. More than 9,000 Canarians emigrated to Venezuela between 1841 and 1844, and in 1875, more than 5,000 Canarians arrived.

Since 1936, most Canarian immigrants have gone either to Cuba or to Venezuela (some of those who emigrated to Venezuela came from Cuba) because they encouraged immigration, especially of Spanish citizens, and since 1948, most have emigrated to Venezuela, a massive immigration that did not end until the early 1980s, but there was a significant decrease in the 1970s, with the beginning of Canarian emigration to other European countries. Canarians and their descendants are now scattered throughout Venezuela.[7]

The first Canarians to emigrate to Uruguay were settled in Montevideo to populate the region, arriving in two different groups. The first group was established in the city on November 19, 1726, and 25 Canarian families came to Montevideo. They organized quickly to survive in that area. The first civilian authorities in Montevideo were Canarian, and they were the first to give Spanish names to roads and geographic features. The second group, with 30 Canarian families, arrived in the city on March 27, 1729. Others places in Uruguay where Canary Islanders settled were Colonia, San José, Maldonado, Canelones and Soria.

In 1808, the Canarian merchant Francisco Aguilar y Leal sent an expedition of 200 people from the eastern islands of the Canaries to Montevideo. Between 1835 and 1845 about 8,200 Canarians, more than half of Lanzarote's population, emigrated to Uruguay, and groups of them continued to come sporadically until about 1900. During the 19th century, more than 10,000 Canarians settled in Uruguay, the majority from the eastern islands; however, only 5700 or so of them remained permanently in Uruguay. A few groups of Canary Islanders continued to arrive through the early 20th century, still coming mainly from the eastern islands, but specific figures are not available. Canarians and Canarian descendants are scattered throughout Uruguay.[19] Uruguay ranks fifth after Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the number of people of Canarian descent among its population.

• Canarian Americans
• Canarian people
• Canarian Spanish
• Criollo people
• History of San Antonio, Texas
• Isleño (Louisiana)
• Isleño Spanish
• Isleños Fiesta
• Spanish language in the United States
• Tejano

• Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society Museum in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
• Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• CISLANDERUS (CANARY+ISLANDER+US) is the cultural project about the Descendants of Canary Islanders in the US.
• Las raíces isleñas de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Publicado por Federico Cedó Alzamora, Historiador Oficial de Mayagüez.