Canary Islanders

{{Main|Canary Islands in pre-colonial times|Conquest of the Canary Islands|Kingdom of the Canary Islands}}

The original inhabitants of the Canary Islands are commonly known as Guanches (although this term in its strict sense only refers to the original inhabitants of Tenerife). They are most probably descendants of the Berbers of North Africa.{{cite journal |last1=Maca-Meyer |first1=Nicole |last2=Arnay |first2=Matilde |last3=Rando |first3=Juan Carlos |last4=Flores |first4=Carlos |last5=González |first5=Ana M. |last6=Cabrera |first6=Vicente M. |last7=Larruga |first7=José M. |title=Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |date=February 2004 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=155 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201075 |language=en |issn=1476-5438|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Rodríguez-Varela |first1=Ricardo |last2=Günther |first2=Torsten |last3=Krzewińska |first3=Maja |last4=Storå |first4=Jan |last5=Gillingwater |first5=Thomas H. |last6=MacCallum |first6=Malcolm |last7=Arsuaga |first7=Juan Luis |last8=Dobney |first8=Keith |last9=Valdiosera |first9=Cristina |last10=Jakobsson |first10=Mattias |last11=Götherström |first11=Anders |last12=Girdland-Flink |first12=Linus |title=Genomic Analyses of Pre-European Conquest Human Remains from the Canary Islands Reveal Close Affinity to Modern North Africans |journal=Current Biology |date=November 2017 |volume=27 |issue=21 |page=3396|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.059 |url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31257-5|hdl=2164/13526 |hdl-access=free}}

The islands were conquered by Castile at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1402, they began to subdue and suppress the native Guanche population. The Guanches were initially enslaved {{Cn|date=January 2023}} and gradually absorbed. As a result, genetic analyses of modern Canarians show mainly a mixture of European and North African genes, and low frequencies of sub-Saharan genes, with quite a lot of variation (see Ancestry).

After subsequent settlement by Europeans, the remaining Guanches were gradually assimilated by the settlers and their culture largely vanished. Alonso Fernández de Lugo, conqueror of Tenerife and La Palma, oversaw extensive immigration to these islands during a short period from the late 1490s to the 1520s from mainland Europe, mostly Castile and Portugal. At subsequent judicial enquiries, Fernández de Lugo was accused of favoring Genoese and Portuguese immigrants over Castilians.[http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/lapalma/history.html History of La Palma]

The native inhabitants of the Canary Islands hold a gene pool that is predominantly European (predominantly Andalusians, Portuguese and Galicians, but also Normans and Flemings){{cite journal |last1=García-Olivares |first1=Víctor |last2=Rubio-Rodríguez |first2=Luis A. |last3=Muñoz-Barrera |first3=Adrián |last4=Díaz-de Usera |first4=Ana |last5=Jáspez |first5=David |last6=Iñigo-Campos |first6=Antonio |last7=Rodríguez Pérez |first7=María Del Cristo |last8=Cabrera de León |first8=Antonio |last9=Lorenzo-Salazar |first9=José M. |last10=González-Montelongo |first10=Rafaela |last11=Cabrera |first11=Vicente M. |last12=Flores |first12=Carlos |date=20 January 2023 |title=Digging into the admixture strata of current-day Canary Islanders based on mitogenomes |journal=iScience |volume=26 |issue=1 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2022.105907|hdl=10261/362940 |hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Román-Busto |first1=Jorge |last2=Fuster |first2=Vicente |last3=Colantonio |first3=Sonoa |title=Portuguese migration to the Canary Islands: an analysis based on surnames. |journal=Anthropologischer Anzeiger |volume=69 |issue=2 |date=2012 |pages=243-53 |doi=10.1127/0003-5548/2012/0117|hdl=11336/135636 |hdl-access=free }} and native Guanche. Guanche genetic markers have also been found recently in Puerto Rico and, at low frequencies, in peninsular Spain after later emigration from the Canary Islands.{{cite journal |vauthors=Maca-Meyer N, Villar J, Pérez-Méndez L, Cabrera de León A, Flores C |title=A tale of aborigines, conquerors and slaves: Alu insertion polymorphisms and the peopling of Canary Islands |journal=Annals of Human Genetics |volume=68 |issue=Pt 6 |pages=600–5 |date=November 2004 |pmid=15598218 |doi=10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.00125.x|s2cid=14372404}}

File:Grancanaria197227 hg.jpg 1972]]

The most frequent (maternal-descent) mtDNA haplogroup in Canary Islands is H (37.6%), followed by U6 (14.0%), T (12.7%), not-U6 U (10.3%) and J (7.0%). Two haplogroups, H and U6, alone account for more than 50% of the individuals. Significant frequencies of sub-Saharan maternal L haplogroups (6.6%) is also consistent with the historical records on introduction of sub-Saharan female slave labour in Canary Islands. However, some Sub-Saharan female lineages are also found in North African populations, and as a result, some of these L lineages could have been introduced to the Islands from North Africa.{{cite journal |vauthors=Rando JC, Cabrera VM, Larruga JM, etal |title=Phylogeographic patterns of mtDNA reflecting the colonization of the Canary Islands |journal=Annals of Human Genetics |volume=63 |issue=Pt 5 |pages=413–28 |date=September 1999 |pmid=10735583 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-1809.1999.6350413.x|s2cid=25089862}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Brehm A, Pereira L, Kivisild T, Amorim A |title=Mitochondrial portraits of the Madeira and Açores archipelagos witness different genetic pools of its settlers |journal=Human Genetics |volume=114 |issue=1 |pages=77–86 |date=December 2003 |pmid=14513360 |doi=10.1007/s00439-003-1024-3|s2cid=8870699 |hdl=10400.13/3046 |hdl-access=free}} A 2009 study of DNA extracted from the remains of aboriginal inhabitants found that 7% of lineages were haplogroup L, which leaves open the possibility that these L lineages were part of the founding population of the Canary Islands.{{cite journal |vauthors=Fregel R, Pestano J, Arnay M, Cabrera VM, Larruga JM, González AM |title=The maternal aborigine colonization of La Palma (Canary Islands) |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=17 |issue=10 |pages=1314–24 |date=October 2009 |pmid=19337312 |doi=10.1038/ejhg.2009.46 |pmc=2986650}} Sub-Saharan female lineages have been found in frequencies of 10% or more in some islands.

A 2003 genetics research article by Nicole Maca-Meyer et al. published in the European Journal of Human Genetics compared aboriginal Guanche mtDNA (collected from Canarian archaeological sites) to that of today's Canarians and concluded that "despite the continuous changes suffered by the population (Spanish colonization, slave trade), aboriginal mtDNA lineages constitute a considerable proportion [42–73%] of the Canarian gene pool". According to this article, both percentages are obtained using two different estimation methods; nevertheless according to the same study the percentage that could be more reliable is the one of 73%.[https://www.nature.com/articles/5201075 Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches]

File:Bimbaches.jpg of El Hierro by Leonardo Torriani, 1592]]

Although the Berbers are the most probable ancestors of the Guanches, it is deduced that important human movements (e.g., the Islamic-Arabic conquest of the Berbers) have reshaped Northwest Africa after the migratory wave to the Canary Islands and the "results support, from a maternal perspective, the supposition that since the end of the 16th century, at least, two-thirds of the Canarian population had an indigenous substrate, as was previously inferred from historical and anthropological data".{{cite journal |vauthors=Maca-Meyer N, Arnay M, Rando JC, etal |title=Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=155–62 |date=February 2004 |pmid=14508507 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201075|doi-access=free}} mtDNA haplogroup U subclade U6b1 is Canarian-specific{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0531-5131(02)00553-8 |title=Phylogeny of the mtDNA haplogroup U6. Analysis of the sequences observed in North Africa and Iberia |year=2003 |last1=Pereira |first1=L |last2=MacAulay |first2=V |last3=Prata |first3=M.J |last4=Amorim |first4=A |journal=International Congress Series |volume=1239 |pages=491–3}}

A 2019 genetics research article confirms that most lineages observed in the ancient samples have a Mediterranean distribution, and belong to lineages associated with the Neolithic expansion in the Near East and Europe (T,J,X…). This phylogeographic analysis of Canarian ancient mitogenomes, the first of its kind, shows that some lineages are restricted to Central North Africa (H1cf, J2a2d and T2c1d3), while others have a wider distribution, including both West and Central North Africa, and, Europe and the Near East.[https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209125 Rosa Fregel et al.: Mitogenomes illuminate the origin and migration patterns of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands]

File:Alfred Diston - Man and woman of Chasna-Tenerife - B1975.4.282 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg, 1828]]

Y-DNA, or Y-chromosomal, (direct paternal) lineages were not analysed in this study; however, an earlier{{which|date=April 2012}} study giving the aboriginal y-DNA contribution at 6% was cited by Maca-Meyer et al., but the results were criticized as possibly flawed due to the widespread phylogeography of y-DNA haplogroup E1b1b1b, which may skew determination of the aboriginality versus coloniality of contemporary y-DNA lineages in the Canaries. Regardless, Maca-Meyer et al. state that historical evidence does support the explanation of "strong sexual asymmetry...as a result of a strong bias favoring matings between European males and aboriginal females, and to the important aboriginal male mortality during the Conquest".{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201075 |title=Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches |year=2003 |last1=Maca-Meyer |first1=Nicole |last2=Arnay |first2=Matilde |last3=Rando |first3=Juan Carlos |last4=Flores |first4=Carlos |last5=González |first5=Ana M |last6=Cabrera |first6=Vicente M |last7=Larruga |first7=José M |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=155–62 |pmid=14508507|doi-access=free}}

Indeed, according to a recent study by Fregel et al. 2009, in spite of the geographic nearness between the Canary Islands and Morocco the genetic ancestry of the Canary islands males is mainly of European origin. Nearly 67% of the haplogroups resulting from are Euro–Eurasian (R1a (2.76%), R1b (50.62%), J (14%), I (9.66%) and G (3.99%)). Unsurprisingly the Castillian conquest brought the genetic base of the current male population of the Canary Islands. Nevertheless, the second most important haplogroup origin is Northern Africa. E1b1b (14% including 8.30% of the typical berber haplogroup E-M81), E1b1a and E1a (1.50%), and T (3%) haplogroups are present at a rate of 33%.{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-9-181 |title=Demographic history of Canary Islands male gene-pool: Replacement of native lineages by European |year=2009 |last1=Fregel |first1=Rosa |last2=Gomes |first2=Verónica |last3=Gusmão |first3=Leonor |last4=González |first4=Ana M |last5=Cabrera |first5=Vicente M |last6=Amorim |first6=António |last7=Larruga |first7=Jose M |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=9 |pages=181 |pmid=19650893 |pmc=2728732 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Zurita AI, Hernandez A, Sanchez JJ, Cuellas JA |title=Y-chromosome STR haplotypes in the Canary Islands population (Spain) |journal=Forensic Science International |volume=148 |issue=2–3 |pages=233–8 |date=March 2005 |pmid=15639620 |doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.05.004}} According to the same study, the presence of autochthonous North African E-M81 lineages, and also other relatively abundant markers (E-M78 and J-M267) from the same region in the indigenous Guanche population, "strongly points to that area [North Africa] as the most probable origin of the Guanche ancestors". In this study, Fregel et al. estimated that, based on Y-chromosome and mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, the relative female and male indigenous Guanche contributions to the present-day Canary Islands populations were respectively of 41.8% and 16.1%.

The maternal lineages of mitochondrial DNA in Canary Islanders show the prevalence of European ancestry in all islands except La Gomera, in which the Northwest African lineage is stronger:

Study: Fregel 2009{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/ejhg.2009.46 |title=The maternal aborigine colonization of La Palma (Canary Islands) |year=2009 |last1=Fregel |first1=Rosa |last2=Pestano |first2=Jose |last3=Arnay |first3=Matilde |last4=Cabrera |first4=Vicente M |last5=Larruga |first5=Jose M |last6=González |first6=Ana M |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=17 |issue=10 |pages=1314–24 |pmid=19337312 |pmc=2986650}}

A 2002 study analyzing the mitochondrial DNA from the teeth of the 18th-century Canarian population, found that the 18th-century Canary Islanders had a bit more of North African heritage than European, with minor sub-Saharan roots, which the author links to the former trade of black slaves.

An autosomal study in 2011 found an average Northwest African influence of about 17% in Canary Islanders with a wide interindividual variation ranging from 0% to 96%. According to the authors, the substantial Northwest African ancestry found for Canary Islanders supports that, despite the aggressive conquest by Castile in the 15th century and the subsequent immigration, genetic footprints of the first settlers of the Canary Islands persist in the current inhabitants. Paralleling mtDNA findings, the largest average Northwest African contribution was found for the samples from La Gomera.{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0018389 |title=North African Influences and Potential Bias in Case-Control Association Studies in the Spanish Population |year=2011 |editor1-last=O'Rourke |editor1-first=Dennis |last1=Pino-Yanes |first1=María |last2=Corrales |first2=Almudena |last3=Basaldúa |first3=Santiago |last4=Hernández |first4=Alexis |last5=Guerra |first5=Luisa |last6=Villar |first6=Jesús |last7=Flores |first7=Carlos |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=e18389 |pmid=21479138 |pmc=3068190|bibcode=2011PLoSO...618389P |doi-access=free}}

File:Triangle plot of individual genomic admixture proportions in Canary Islanders.png of individual genomic admixture proportions in Canary Islanders by Guillen-Guio et al. 2018. EUR: European, NAF: North African, SSA: sub-Saharan African. Each dots represent individuals. The different colors represent the different software used for the estimation.]]

Another recent study by Guillen-Guio et al. 2018 sequenced the entire genomes of a sample of 400 adult men and women from all the islands except La Graciosa to determine the relationship of Canarian genetic diversity to the more frequent complex pathologies in the archipelago. The study indicated that Canarian DNA shows distinctive genetic markers, the result of a combination of factors such as the geographic isolation of the islands, the adaption to the environment of its inhabitants and the historic admixture of the Pre-Hispanic population of the archipelago (coming from North Africa), with European and from Sub-Saharan area individuals. Drawing on these data, it was estimated that the Canarian population is, on average at an autosomal level, 75% European, 22% North African and 3% Sub-saharan.[https://www.canarias7.es/sociedad/cuatro-apellidos-canarios-un-bisabuelo-peninsular-y-otro-africano-YH6339320 Cuatro apellidos canarios, un bisabuelo peninsular y otro africano] According to the authors "the proportion of SSA ancestry we observed in Canary Islanders likely originated in the postconquest importation of enslaved African people.". This study reported the below Genomic Ancestry Proportions in Canary Islanders.{{cite journal |author=Guillen-Guio B, Lorenzo-Salazar JM, González-Montelongo R, Díaz-de Usera A, Marcelino-Rodríguez I, Corrales A |display-authors=etal |title=Genomic Analyses of Human European Diversity at the Southwestern Edge: Isolation, African Influence and Disease Associations in the Canary Islands. |journal=Mol Biol Evol | year=2018 |volume= 35 |issue= 12 |pages=3010–3026 |pmid=30289472 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msy190 | pmc=6278859}}

Source: Genomic Ancestry Proportions (from ADMIXTURE, K-4) in Canary Islanders (Guillen-Guio et al. 2018)

{{Seealso|Genetic history of North Africa}}

The Guanches are related to the indigenous Berbers. In 2017, the first genome-wide data from the Guanches confirmed a North African origin and that they were genetically most similar to ancient North African Berber peoples of the nearby North African mainland. It also showed that modern inhabitants of Gran Canaria carry an estimated 16%–31% Guanche autosomal ancestry.Ricardo Rodríguez-Varel et al. 2017, [https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31257-5 Genomic Analyses of Pre-European Conquest Human Remains from the Canary Islands Reveal Close Affinity to Modern North Africans]

{{See also|Canarian cuisine|Music of the Canary Islands}}

File:salto del Pastor 04.jpg]]

File:Demostración de silbo gomero, La Gomera, España, 2012-12-14, DD 01.jpg demonstration at a restaurant in La Gomera]]

Modern-day Canarian culture is Spanish, with some Guanche influences. Some of the Canarian traditional sports such as lucha canaria ("Canarian fight"), juego del palo ("stick game") or salto del pastor ("shepherd's jump"), among others, have their roots in Guanche culture. Additionally, other traditions include Canarian pottery, words of Guanche origin in the Canarian speech and the rural consumption of guarapo gomero and gofio. The inhabitants of La Gomera also retain an ancient way of communicating across deep ravines by means of a whistled speech called Silbo Gomero, which can be heard up to {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=in}} away.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20953138|title=Silbo gomero: A whistling language revived|work=BBC News|author=Laura Plitt|date=11 January 2013 |access-date=13 January 2013}} This indigenous whistled language was invented by the Guanches, and was then adopted by the Spanish settlers in the 16th century after the Guanches were culturally assimilated into the population. The language was also formerly spoken on El Hierro, Tenerife and Gran Canaria{{Cite web|url= http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/00172 |title= Whistled language of the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands), the Silbo Gomero |publisher= Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee 2009 (4.COM)|access-date=10 October 2014}}

The holidays celebrated in the Canary Islands are of international, national and regional or insular character. The official day of the autonomous community is Canary Islands Day on 30 May. The anniversary of the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, based in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, held on 30 May 1983, is commemorated with this day. The most famous festival of the Canary Islands is the carnival. The carnival is celebrated in all the islands and all its municipalities, perhaps the two busiest being those of the two Canarian capitals; the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tourist Festival of International Interest) and the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It is celebrated on the streets between the months of February and March. But the rest of the islands of the archipelago have their carnivals with their own traditions among which stand out: The Festival of the Carneros of El Hierro, the Festival of the Diabletes of Teguise in Lanzarote, Los Indianos de La Palma, the Carnival of San Sebastián de La Gomera and the Carnival of Puerto del Rosario in Fuerteventura.

The strong influence of Latin America in Canarian culture is due to the constant emigration and return over the centuries of Canarians to that continent, chiefly to Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. To a lesser extent, they also went to the US states of Louisiana (mostly the southern portion) and Texas (mostly in and around San Antonio), and some areas in eastern Mexico including Nuevo León and Veracruz.{{Cite web |url=http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=55499 |title=El Porvenir | Opinión | Bernabé de las Casas |access-date=2009-03-04 |archive-date=2009-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412055553/http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=55499 |url-status=dead }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2013}}

{{Main|Canarian Spanish}}

File:Fiestas de Mayo 01.jpg

The Spanish language variety that is typical and conventional in the Canary Islands is usually called the Canarian Spanish, Canarian dialect or Canarian speech, and is used by the approximately two million Spanish speakers who live in the Canary Islands. It is a dialect variety that falls within what has been called the "Atlantic variety", similar to those of Spanish-speaking America, and also to those of the south of the Iberian Peninsula, especially western Andalusia.

The dialect most similar to the Canarian dialect, given the historical link between both areas, is the Caribbean dialect, spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic), and the coast of the Caribbean Sea (Venezuela, northern Colombia, and Panama). In addition, lexically, the Canarian dialect is widely influenced by the Portuguese language, from which a certain part of its lexicon is derived.

{{Main|Religion in Canary Islands|Religion in Spain|Catholic Church in Spain}}

File:LagunaCathedral134.jpg, the first Canarian catholic saint]]

The majority of native Canary Islanders are Catholic with various smaller foreign-born populations of other Christian beliefs such as Protestants from northern Europe.

File:SantaCenalalagunatenerife.JPG in San Cristóbal de La Laguna]]

The appearance of the Virgin of Candelaria (Patron of Canary Islands){{cite web |url=http://webtenerife.ru/travel/other/candelaria_2017.pdf |title=Programa de las Fiestas de la Virgen de Candelaria. Agosto de 2017 |website=Webtenerfife.ru |access-date=26 June 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004025555/http://webtenerife.ru/travel/other/candelaria_2017.pdf |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://diariodeavisos.elespanol.com/2017/07/candelaria-se-prepara-recibir-agosto-150-000-devotos-la-virgen/ |title=Candelaria se prepara para recibir en agosto a 150.000 devotos de la Virgen |date=20 July 2017 |website=Diariodeavisos.elespanol.com |access-date=26 June 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004225114/https://diariodeavisos.elespanol.com/2017/07/candelaria-se-prepara-recibir-agosto-150-000-devotos-la-virgen/ |url-status=live}} was credited with moving the Canary Islands toward Christianity. In this sense, it is also important to highlight the figure of Saint Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur, a missionary in Guatemala in the 17th century, who is the first saint of Canarian origin.{{cite web |url=http://www.es.catholic.net/op/articulos/35981/pedro-de-san-jos-betancurt-santo.html |title=Pedro de San José Betancurt, Santo |website=Es.catholic.net |access-date=23 December 2015 |archive-date=23 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223190733/http://www.es.catholic.net/op/articulos/35981/pedro-de-san-jos-betancurt-santo.html |url-status=live}} Another saint venerated by the Catholic Church with this ethnic origin is Saint Joseph of Anchieta, also a missionary, in this case in 16th century Brazil.{{cite web |url=http://es.catholic.net/op/articulos/35379/jos-de-anchieta-santo.html |title=José de Anchieta, Santo |website=Es.catholic.net |access-date=23 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164128/http://es.catholic.net/op/articulos/35379/jos-de-anchieta-santo.html |url-status=live}}

The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses, each governed by a bishop:

• Diócesis Canariense: Includes the islands of the Eastern Province: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Its capital was San Marcial El Rubicón (1404) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1483–present). There was a previous bishopric which was based in Telde, but it was later abolished.
• Diócesis Nivariense: Includes the islands of the western province: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. Its capital is San Cristóbal de La Laguna (1819–present).

Around 5 percent of Canarians belong to a minority religion. Separate from the overwhelming Christian majority are a minority of Muslims who are usually foreign-born.[http://www.laopinion.es/sociedad/2008/10/03/sociedad-canarios-profesa-religion-minoritaria/173826.html Un 5% de canarios profesa una religión minoritaria] At present, there are in the Canary Islands a figure of approximately 70,000 Muslims and 40 mosques and places of worship throughout the archipelago.{{Cite web |url=http://fidc.es/es/articulos/entrevista-al-presidente-de-fidc.html |title=Entrevista al Señor Tijani El Bouji Presidente de FIDC |access-date=2016-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805203016/http://fidc.es/es/articulos/entrevista-al-presidente-de-fidc.html |archive-date=2018-08-05 |url-status=dead}}

Among the followers of Islam, the Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands exists to represent the Islamic community in the Canary Islands as well as to provide practical support to members of the Islamic community.[http://www.laopinion.es/tenerife/2015/04/16/musulmanes-isla-constituyen-primera-federacion/601084.html Los musulmanes de la Isla constituyen la primera Federación Islámica de Canarias] For its part, there is also the Evangelical Council of the Canary Islands in the archipelago.

Other religious faiths represented include Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as Hinduism. Minority religions are also present such as the Church of the Guanche People which is classified as a neo-pagan native religion. Also present are Buddhism, Judaism, Baháʼí, African religion, and Chinese religions.

File:DelacroixTrapper1941WolcottB.jpg

The distribution of beliefs in 2012 according to the CIS Barometer Autonomy was as follows:[http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/2940_2959/2956/CANARIAS_5/e295650.html Barometro Autonómico del CIS Canarias (2012); preguntas 47 y 48]

• Catholic 84.9%
• Atheist/Agnostic/Unbeliever 12.3%
• Other religions 1.7%

Among the believers 38.7% attend religious services frequently.

{{Main|Isleño}}

Historically, the Canary Islands have served as a hub between Spain and the Americas; favoured by that circumstance, large groups of Canary islanders have emigrated and settled all over the New World as early as the 15th century, mainly in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Uruguay.

The Canarian population includes long-tenured and new waves of mainland Spanish immigrants, old settlers of Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, British, and French origin, as well as recent foreign-born arrivals.{{cite web|url=https://www.canarias7.es/sociedad/el-91-de-los-nuevos-habitantes-de-canarias-viene-del-extranjero-IN4906192|title=El 91% de los nuevos habitantes de Canarias viene del extranjero|first=Borja|last=Suárez|date=25 June 2018|website=www.canarias7.es}} In 2019 the total population was 2,153,389, of which 72.1% were native Canary Islanders. A total of 80.6%, or 1,735,457, were born in Spain and 19.4%, or 417,932, were born outside the country. Of these, the majority are from the Americas, mainly from Venezuela (66,573) and Cuba (41,792) and Colombia (31,368). There are 38,768 people from Africa, the majority from Morocco (24,268).

File:Fiesta del Almendro en Flor.jpg]]

According to a 2012 study by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, when asked about national identity, the majority of respondents from the Canary Islands (49.3%) consider themselves Spanish and Canarian in equal measures, followed by 37.1% who consider themselves more Canarian than Spanish. Only 6.1% of the respondents consider themselves only Canarian.{{cite web |url=http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/2940_2959/2956/CANARIAS_5/Es2956Can.pdf |title=Barómetro Autonómico (III), (Comunidad autónoma de Canarias) |language=es |publisher=Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas |date=2012 |access-date=2019-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518212504/http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/2940_2959/2956/CANARIAS_5/Es2956Can.pdf |archive-date=2016-05-18 |url-status=dead }}

File:Augustin de Betancourt in Russian attire, 1810s.jpg]]

File:Photo of Benito Pérez Galdós.jpg]]

{{Spanish people}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=28em|

• Antonio Afonso Moreno, footballer
• Agoney, singer
• Amaro Pargo, one of the most famous corsairs of the golden age of piracy
• José de Anchieta, Jesuit priest, saint and missionary in Brazil
• Rosana Arbelo, singer
• Rafael Arozarena, writer
• Francisco Bahamonde de Lugo, Governor of Puerto Rico and Cartagena de Indias
• Javier Bardem, actor
• Ángel Guimerá, writer
• Bencomo, pre-Hispanic king
• Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez, priest and confessor to Ferdinand VII
• Beneharo, pre-Hispanic king
• Wenceslao Benítez Inglott, navy officer, scientist and engineer
• Antonio Betancort, footballer
• Agustín de Betancourt y Molina, engineer, Russian General
• Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, saint and missionary in Guatemala
• Manolo Blahnik, fashion designer
• José Comas Quesada, painter
• Antonio Cubillo, nationalist and revolutionary leader
• Óscar Domínguez, painter
• Doramas, pre-Hispanic warrior
• José Doreste, sailor, yacht racer and Olympic champion
• Luis Doreste, sailor, yacht racer and world champion and Olympic champion
• Nicolás Estévanez, politician
• Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, filmmaker
• Pedro García Cabrera, poet
• Antonio González y González, scientist and chemist
• Fernando Guanarteme, pre-Hispanic king
• Ana Guerra, singer
• Pedro Guerra, music composer and singer
• Emeterio Gutiérrez Albelo, poet
• Nancy Fabiola Herrera, mezzo-soprano opera singer
• K-Narias, reggaeton pop duo
• Alfredo Kraus, opera singer
• Fernando León y Castillo, politician
• Juan Fernando López Aguilar, politician and jurist, former Minister of Justice
• Maninidra, pre-Hispanic warrior
• César Manrique, artist
• Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Dominican lay Sister and mystic
• Cristo Marrero Henríquez, footballer
• Manolo Millares, painter
• Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general, politician and precursor of South America independence
• Manuel Mora Morales, writer and filmmaker
• Juan Negrín, politician
• Leopoldo O'Donnell, General and statesman
• Frances Ondiviela, telenovela actress, former Miss Spain and model
• María Orán, soprano
• Pedri, FC Barcelona footballer
• Benito Pérez Galdós, writer
• Domingo Pérez Minik, writer
• Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer born to Cuban parents with Canarian origins{{Cite web|url=http://www.hola.com/biografias/narciso-rodriguez/|title = Narciso Rodríguez. Noticias, fotos y biografía de Narciso Rodríguez}}
• Sergio Rodríguez, NBA basketball player
• Pedro, professional footballer
• Aythami Ruano, judoka
• Jerónimo Saavedra, politician, mayor of Las Palmas and two times president of Canaries
• Victoria Sanchez, actress in American and Canadian movies and TV series
• Alfonso Silva, footballer
• David Silva, footballer
• Carla Suárez Navarro, tennis player
• Tanausu, pre-Hispanic King of Aceró
• Tinguaro, pre-Hispanic warrior General
• Goya Toledo, actress and model
• Juan Carlos Valerón, football player
• Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa, writer
• José Vélez, singer
• Juan Verde Suárez, politician
• José Viera y Clavijo, historian
• Eduardo Westerdahl, painter, art critic and writer, member of the Surrealist movement

}}

• Berberism
• Canarian dialect
• Guanche language
• Isleños
• Kingdom of the Canary Islands
• Nationalities in Spain
• White Cubans
• White Dominicans (Dominican Republic)
• White Puerto Ricans

{{Reflist}}

{{Spanish diaspora}}

{{Ethnic groups of Spain}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canarian people}}

Category:Ethnic groups in Spain

Category:History of North Africa

Category:Romance peoples