Population, territory and livestock in the Eastern Canary Islands (1200-1700)

Abstract

The Eastern Canary Islands were a territory where the types and uses of livestock farming remained consistent from the late pre-Hispanic period to the first half of the Modern era. The small population of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, and southern Gran Canaria, favored extensive livestock farming, both small and large. Cattle, in their various forms of exploitation, were the dominant force in these areas, as most of the land belonged to tribes or clans during the pre-Hispanic period, or to families/kin groups during the historical period. These groups grazed their livestock on communal, royal, or manorial lands, or, in most cases, on lands without clear ownership. In these areas, livestock was the primary means of production and income generation for its owners. Livestock was not only a factor in colonization, favoring the interests of large landowners, but it also became a key element in establishing settlements in some of the rugged and isolated areas of the islands. Furthermore, it became the primary means of livelihood for the original inhabitants and the Moorish laborers who arrived as slaves after the conquest. The economic development of the vast, almost uninhabited areas of the three islands cannot be understood without the presence of livestock, just as territorial colonization and a permanent human presence would not have been possible without a livestock population capable of generating sustained income.