Fuerteventura
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| Nickname: The place where no-one used to turn to, but now do and Paradise Island | |
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 Flag of Fuerteventura |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 28°20′N 14°1′W / 28.333°N 14.017°W |
| Archipelago | Canary Islands |
| Total islands | 7 |
| Area | 1,660 km2 (641 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 807 m (2,648 ft) |
| Highest point | Pico de Jandía |
| Country | |
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Spain
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| Autonomous Community |  Canary Islands |
| Province | Las Palmas |
| Largest city | Puerto del Rosario (pop. 28,357) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 74,983 (as of 2003) |
| Density | 45 /km2 (117 /sq mi) |
Fuerteventura (pronounced: [fweɾteβenˈtuɾa]), a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west. At 1,660 km² it is the second largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife. It was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO on May 26, 2009.
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[edit] History
[edit] Precolonial history
The first settlers are believed to have arrived here from North Africa - the word Mahorero (Majorero) or Maho is still used today to describe the people of Fuerteventura and comes from the ancient word 'mahos' meaning a type of goatskin shoe worn by the original inhabitants. They lived in caves and semi-subterranean dwellings, a few of which have been discovered and excavated revealing relics of early tools and pottery. In antiquity, the island was known as Planaria, among other names, in reference to the flatness of most of its landscape.
In the 11th century BC, the Phoenician settlers arrived in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
Several Spanish and Portuguese expeditions occurred in about 1340 around the island and the island were inhabited by Maurs and were afflicted with European slave holders.
By the time of the conquest, the island was divided into two Guanches kingdoms, one following the king Guize and the other Ayoze. The territories of these tribes were called Maxorata (in the north) and Jandía (in the south). The kingdoms were separated by a wall whose remains are still preserved today. The wall crossed the La Pared isthmus. The ancient name for the island, Erbania, refers to that wall.
[edit] The conquest
The conquest began in 1402, commanded by Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle [1]. They arrived with only 63 sailors out of the original 283 as so many had deserted. After arriving and settling in Lanzarote, the invaders made their first excursions to the neighbouring islands. In 1404, Bethencourt and Gadifer founded Betancuria, the first settlement on the island. After numerous difficulties, Gadifer took charge of the invasion, while Bethencourt went to the Spanish peninsular to seek the recognition and support of the Castilian king.
In 1405, the French conqueror Jean de Béthencourt completed their conquest of the island and gave his name to the former capital, Betancuria, on the west coast (Puerto Rosario took over the mantle as island capital in 1835). The name of the island itself is believed to have come from Bethencourt's exclamation "Quelle forte aventure!" ("What a grand adventure").
The first census showed a population of 1,200 inhabitants. Following that, the population increased gradually. In 1476 the territory became the Señorío Territorial de Fuerteventura, a subject of the Catholic Monarchs[2]
[edit] Colonial Fuerteventura
The island suffered from various pirate incursions. A Berber expedition invaded in 1593, sweeping as far as the capital. Various castles were built to protect against this type of attack. The castles were built all along the coast. The population all moved inland as a second protective measure. Because of the invasions, the first Captain General was sent to Fuerteventura, charged with defending the island in the name of the crown. With him came a number of Sergeant Majors. Betancuria became the religious capital of the island[3]
The military regiment was created in 1708. Its colonel assumed the title of Governor at Arms, a hereditary lifetime appointment which stayed in the hands of the Sánchez-Dumpiérrez family. Over time they acquired more power in the other islands through the family of Arias de Saavedra, the Lady of Fuerteventura[4]. The same year, the religious leader created the Assistant Parish of La Oliva and [[Pájara], to launch in 1711. On the 17th December 1790 he created the Assistant Parish of Tuineje, which became a new parish division on 23rd June 1792 under the bishop Tavira with lands including part of the Jandía peninsular with a population of 1,670 inhabitants. In 1780 the barrilla growing economy began[5].
In 1852, the free trade zone was extended by Isabella II to the Canary Islands. The military rule over the island which began from 1708 dissolved in 1859 and Puerto de Cabras (now Puerto del Rosario) became entirely the new capital.
The Canary Islands obtained the right to self-govern in 1912.
In 1927, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote became part of the province of Gran Canaria.
By the 1940s the island had an airport (just west of Puerto del Rosario on the road to Tindaya, still visible today).
Tourism arrived in the mid-1960s with the building of the present airport at El Mattoral and the first tourist hotels.
The seat of the island government (cabildo insular) is in Puerto del Rosario. A total of 74,983 people (2003) live on the island.
Since the island is close to Africa, many illegal immigrants try to enter the European Union through it, by a dangerous boat trip from Morocco.
[edit] Environment
[edit] Geography
The elongated island has an area of 1660 km². The island is 100 km long and 31 km wide. It is part of the province of Las Palmas. It is divided into six municipalities:
100 individual settlements are distributed through these municipalities. A nearby islet, Islote de Lobos, is part of the municipality of La Oliva.
Located just 100 kilometres off the coast of north Africa, it is the second biggest of the islands, after Tenerife, and has the longest beaches in the archipelago. The island is a destination for sun, beach and watersports enthusiasts. It lies on the same latitude as Florida and Mexico and temperatures here rarely fall below 18 °C (64 °F) or rise above 24 °C (75 °F). There are no fewer than 152 beaches along its coastline — 50 kilometres of fine, white sand and 25 kilometres of black volcanic shingle.
[edit] Geology
Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years to a volcanic eruption from the Canary hotspot. The majority of the island was created about 5 million years ago and since then has been eroded by wind and weather. On the seabed off the west coast of the island rests a block of rock 22 km long and 11 km wide, which appears to have slid off the island largely intact at some point in prehistory, similar to the predicted future collapse of Cumbre Vieja, a geological fault on the neighboring island, La Palma. The last volcanic activity in Fuerteventura was between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago.
The highest point in Fuerteventura is Mount Jandía (807 m) in the southwestern part of the island. Geographical features include Istmo de la Pared which is 5 km wide and is the narrowest part of Fuerteventura. The island is divided into two parts, the northern portion which is Maxorata and the southwestern part called the Jandía peninsula. The island is the least settled in the Canary Islands.
[edit] Climate
The climate on Fuerteventura is pleasant throughout the year. The island is also often referred to as the island of eternal spring. The sea adjusts the temperature making the hot Sahara winds blow away from the island. The island's name in English translates as 'strong fortune' or 'strong wind', the Spanish word for wind being 'viento'. During the winter months, temperatures average a high of 22 °C (72 °F) and a low of around 15 °C (59 °F), whereas during the summer a mean high of 35 °C (95 °F) and a low of 20 °C (68 °F) can be expected. Precipitation is about 147 mm per year, most of which falls in autumn and winter. October is the month with highest rainfall.
A sandstorm known as the Calima (similar to the Scirocco wind that blows North from the Sahara into Europe) blows southwestward from the Sahara Desert and can cause high temperatures, low visibility and drying air. Temperatures during this phenomenon rise temporarily by approximately 10 degrees Celsius. The wind brings in fine white sand, visibility can drop to between 100 to 200 m (328.08 to 656.17 ft) or even lower and can even bring African locusts to the island.
[edit] Wildlife
The island is home to one of the two surviving populations of the threatened Canarian Egyptian Vulture. It is also inhabited by many wild dogs and cats. On the barren, rocky land there are Barbary ground squirrels and geckos. Fuerteventura also hosts several migratory and nesting birds. The island has significant populations of the collared dove, common swifts and several finch species especially in the vicinity of holiday developments.
Despite its arid climate, the island is also home to a surprisingly large insect fauna. Butterflies which commonly occur on the island include the clouded yellow (Colias hyale) and the Bath White (Pontia daplidice) which feeds on xerophytic cruciferae. The island is also home the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and its close African relative Danaus chrysippus. Around holiday developments such as Caleta de Fuste, water is relatively abundant, and dragonfly species including the Blue Emperor, Anax imperator and the Scarlet Darter, Crocothemis erythraea can be found. The islands sand dunes and shoreline are home to a number of bee and wasp species including the large Eumenid caterpillar hunting wasp, Delta dimiatipenne and the striking blue banded bee, (Amegilla cavifrons).
Hawkmoths also occur on the island. One of the more notable species is Hyles tithymali which feeds on endemic spurges such as Euphorbia regis-jubae. Acherontia atropos, the Deaths-head Hawkmoth also occurs on the island presumably feeding on members of the Solanaceae, for example, Datura innoxia and Nicotiana glauca which are common weeds in the vicinity of human habitation.
[edit] Economy
The economy of Fuerteventura is mainly based on tourism. Primary tourist areas are located around the existing towns of Corralejo in the north and Morro Jable in Jandia, plus the purely tourist development of Caleta de Fuste, south of Puerto del Rosario. Other main industries are fishing and agriculture (cereals and vegetables). The famous Majorero cheese is locally made from the milk of the indigenous majorera goat.
In 2009, Fuerteventura recorded the highest EU regional unemployment rate at a NUTS3 level, at 29.2 percent.[6]
[edit] Tourism
The first tourist hotel was built in 1965 followed by the construction of Fuerteventura Airport at El Matorral, heralding the dawn of a new era for the island. Fuerteventura, with its 3,000 sunshine hours a year, was placed firmly on the world stage as a major European holiday destination.
The summer Trade Winds and winter swells of the Atlantic make this a year-round surfers' paradise. Sailors, scuba divers and big-game fishermen are all drawn to these clear blue Atlantic waters where whales, dolphins, marlin and turtles are all common sights. With many hills present throughout the Island, hikers are also attracted to this Island.
Much of the interior, with its large plains, lavascapes and volcanic mountains, consists of protected areas which can be best be explored in a 4x4 or (for the more daring) with a cross-country motorbike on an organised tour.
[edit] Art and culture
[edit] Traditional holidays
Like the rest of the Canaries, Carnival is traditionally one of the biggest festivals celebrated on the island. It's celebrated in different ways in all the towns during February and March. These festivities have a different theme each year. They include activities such as parades and galas to choose the Carnival King.
[edit] Concerts and festivals
There are many concerts and festivals held in the auditoriums, such as the Festival of Canarian Music. They are also held in smaller venues across the island, featuring bands such as Estopa, Van Gogh's Ear, and King Afrhica.
- Lebrancho Rock In 2004, the Town Hall of Puerto del Rosario started this initiative for the growing number of local bands who'd been performing in the area for years but had not had the chance to play at the same event.
- Fuertemusica Like Lebrancho Rock, this festival aims to encourage the local or emerging groups. It started in the same year. This festival is mainly for groups that are already known in the music world. It takes place in El Cotillo.
[edit] Auditoriums
Fuerteventura has three auditoriums. These are used for all types of performing art. They are also used for non-artistic purposes, such as conferences, charity galas and political meetings.
- The Isle of Fuerteventura Auditorium
- Gran Tarajal Auditorium
- Corralejo Auditorium
[edit] The island's central library
The Central Library of the Island is located in Antigua's city centre, in the public university. In addition to providing the traditional library services, it has an 180-seat multipurpose room, air conditioning, a wifi zone, and a multimedia room used for seminars, presentations, film festivals etc.
[edit] Museums and exhibition spaces
The island has several museums with different themes and plenty of exhibition spaces, both public and private. These include:
- The Antigua Windmill Craft Centre
- The Salt Museum
- The Atalayita Archeological Interpretation Centre
[edit] Sculpture park
In addition to the museums, the capital Puerto del Rosario has an open-air sculpture park consisting of around 100 sculptures by different artists scattered across the city. Most of them were created for the International Symposium of Sculpture celebrated annually since 2001. During the festival, artists come from all over the world to erect their sculptures in the open air, in full view of passers by.
[edit] Sites of interest
Sites of interest include Corralejo and El Jable to the north which are made up of fine sand dunes whilst the south is filled with long beaches and remote bays. The constant winds blowing onto the beaches provide a paradise for windsurfing. Surfing is common on the west and north coasts where there are large waves. Windsurfing is common around Corralejo and Playas de Sotavento and wave sailing (windsurfing on the waves) on the coast along the northern half of the island. El Cotillo is a small fishing village in the north-west of the Island famous for a very long beach to the south of the village and few very calm beaches to the north. The northern beaches frequented by snorkeling enthusiasts and sun worshipers alike are referred to as lakes by the locals.
At Cofete on the western side of Jandía a remote and imposing house - Villa Winter - looks out to sea across wide and generally empty beaches. It was reputedly built by a Mr Winter on land given by Generalisimo Franco. Despite being one of the most beautiful part of Fuerteventura Cofete has very little touristic facilities.
On 18 January 1994 the SS American Star (former America, USS West Point, Australis) was beached in Playa de Garcey during a storm. By 2007 the ship had collapsed onto its side, almost completely submerged. In 2008 the wreck finally slipped below the surface.
[edit] Food
The cuisine is fairly basic due to the customs and climate conditions. They share this simplicity with the other Canary islands, and similarly to them, they use a large quantity of fish. They also use whatever they can grow in the near-barren land. This includes papas arrugadas, a dish of wrinkled potatoes usually served with mojo, which is a hot pepper sauce or with puchero canario, a meat stew.
Seafood is prepared in many ways traditionally, such as pejines (salted fish)[7], jareas[8], or sancocho (a type of stew) made from fish, generally the grouper[9], corvina or sama, boiled after salting, and served with mojo, potatoes, or gofio (a type of grain). People are also very keen on the mussels and limpets collected on the island's coasts.
They also use meat such as beef and pork to make different dishes or simply to for braising, but their main meat is goat, both from the kids and from the older animals. They eat the goat roasted or stewed. Goats are not only useful for their meat - the Fuerteventurans also use the milk to make the cheese majorero, which has won many prizes. The majorero is mostly made of goats milk, and occasionally it is up to 15% ewes milk. It is cured in pimento oil or gofio meal. Majorero and palmero cheese are the only two Canarian cheeses with protected denomination of origin.
[edit] Sport
Many sports are commonly played in Fuerteventura, both in the open air and in sports centres across the island.
[edit] Native sports
These are the Canarian sports found on the island.
[edit] Canarian wrestling
The wrestling takes place in a ring of sand called the terrero. Inside it, the two contestants try to knock each other over. Fuerteventura has 14 terreros distributed through all the towns except Betancuria.
- Antigua: Terrero de Antigua.
- La Oliva: Terrero Venancio Guerra and Terrero de Villaverde.
- Pájara: Terrero Miguel Díaz La Lajita, Terrero de Morro Jable a Terrero de Pájara.
- Puerto del Rosario: Terrero de Casillas del Angel, Terrero Manuel Nieves, Terrero de Puerto Cabras, Terrero de Tefía a Terrero de Tetir.
- Tuineje: Terrero de Gran Tarajal, Terrero de Tamasite, and Terrero Pedro Sánchez in Tarajalejo.
The island also has a school wrestling league organized by the council and a programme to promote this sport in clubs. Twelve wrestling schools participate in this, based in Antigua, Costa Calma, El Matorral, La Lajita, Lajares, Las Playitas, Morro Jable, Puerto del Rosario, Tefía, Tetir, Unión Sur and Villaverde.
[edit] Juego del Palo
Juego del Palo is a Canarian martial art which literally translates as game of the stick. It is played by two players both armed with sticks. They aim to defeat each other without making contact with their opponent's body. The origin of this game is unclear. All we know is that it is based on a method of combat used by the precolonial Canarian people.
Fuerteventura has the following Palo clubs[10]:
- Club-Escuela Dunas de Corralejo.
- Club-Escuela Huriamen de Villaverde.
- Club-Escuela Puerto Cabras.
- Club-Escuela Sorinque de Gran Tarajal.
[edit] Canarian boules
This is a similar game to the French Pétanque which is actually played very little on the island, although there are a few teams and courts. Basically the game consists of scoring points by rolling a ball to get it as near as possible to an object called a mingue or boliche. It is played on a rectangular sand or earth pitch which is 18-25 metres long and 3.5-6 metres wide.
[edit] Watersports
The sea and climate conditions make the island the perfect place for a huge variety of watersports.
[edit] Surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing
Many types of surfing are popular on the island, including traditional surfing, windsurfing (where the board is propelled by a sail) and most recently kitesurfing. The island has many schools and courses dedicated to teaching these sports.
The sports where Fuerteventura has the most impact internationally are windsurfing and kitesurfing, mainly due to the International Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Championship. This has run since 1985 and is held at Playas de Sotavento in Pájara municipality. Many important wind and kitesurfing figures compete in this championship, such as the several-times world windsurfing champion Björn Dunkerbeck and Gisela Pulido, the very young kiteboarding champion from Tarifa.
Many Canarian windsurfers are on the Canarian Waveriders circuit, which has been based in Corralejo since 2005.
[edit] Diving
Diving schools are just as frequent as surfing ones, all around the coast of Fuerteventura. Unlike the other islands of the archipelago, Fuerteventura has a shelf which at some points goes up to 30km, making it an ideal place to practice this sport.
Two of the most useful points for diving are the coast off Playa del Matorral in the South, and the zone between Lobos Island and Corralejo in the north. It's here in Corralejo that the International Sea and Submarine Photography Festival takes places, known as Fimarsub Corralejo - Lobos. During the festival there are beginners' lessons, professional dives, lessons in underwater photography, screenings and other events related to the sport.
[edit] Swimming
There are lots of swimming pools on the island but the most obvious place to swim is in the open sea. There is an annual swim from Lobos Island to Fuerteventura, held every year since 1999. The event attracts amateur swimmers from all over the Canaries and Spain, and also swimming professionals such as David Meca and Maarten Van der Weijden, the paralympist Jesús Collado Alarcón who won gold medals for 100m backstroke and butterfly in Athens 2004, and Xavi Torres Ramis, the paralympic champion in Barcelona '92, Sydney and Atlanta.
[edit] Sailing
Of course, the area's watersports include those on carried out on board a boat. The island holds competitions involving different types of boat, such as the lateen and the [[Optimist (dinghy)|Optimis An interesting event is the Tour of Fuerteventura by Kayak, which is organised as a series of stages rather than a competition, and is an easy way to explore the island.
[edit] Fishing
The most notable competition here is the Gran Tarajal Fishing Open.
[edit] Other sports
Here's a small sample of the other sports practiced on the island:
- Cycling Since 2004 the Marcha Ciclotourista has been held in La Oliva and the Criterium Ciclista has been held in Corralejo (also part of the La Oliva municipality) since 2005. Participants include Euskaltel-Euskadi, T-Mobile and a team from Orbea. These competitions have contributed to local interest in the sport and the first professional local team, the Fuerteventura-Canarias, was formed, initially run by Óscar Guerrero, director of Kaiku, although they have not competed for the past few seasons.
- Motocross There are various circuits on the island, including Los Alares in Antigua and Isla de Fuerteventura in Puerto del Rosario municipality. They hold regular trials, some of which form part of the Canarian Regional Motocross Championship.
- Dirt rallies Throughout the year there are gravel rally races. Two are part of the Canarian Dirt Rally Championship. These are the Antiguan Rally and the La Oliva Rally.
- Football The island's main football clubs are UD Pájara Playas de Jandía and CD Corralejo, who play in Group XII of the Tercera División.
[edit] Prominent people
- Manuel Velázquez Cabrera: born in Tiscamania in 1863, the politician and lawyer who created the island's council.
- Juan Ismael: the painter, cartoonist and poet born in La Oliva in 1907, considered one of the great Canarian surrealists.
- Eustaquio Gopar: born in Tuineje in 1866. He was one of the Spanish soldiers involved in the Siege of Baler together with Major Rafael Alonso Mederos, who died of beri-beri during the siege. On his return Eustaquio became mayor over his native people. He held this post both during the republic and under Franco.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.fuerteventura.com/History/conquest.shtml
- ^ Se reconoce al conquistador su dominio sobre la isla. Fuente: Ayuntamiento de Tuineje.
- ^ The principal economic motor of the epoch was orchilla, cereal and cattle. Source: Tuineje council.
- ^ El marqués de Vallehermoso intenta que la población se ponga a favor del poder de la corona frente al señorío. Source: La Oliva council
- ^ Reseña histórica Source: Tuineje council
- ^ Eurostat. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/region_cities/regional_statistics/data/main_tables
- ^ Little sun-dried salted fish roasted or burned in a dish with a little alcohol.
- ^ Octopus, gilt-head bream or other fish washed and placed in the sun to dry.
- ^ Groupers are a group of 20 genuses in the subfamily Epinephelinae of perciformes. They have a robust body, with a large head resulting in globulous eyes and large mandibles.
- ^ Relación de clubes federados. Fuente: Federación del Juego del Palo Canario
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fuerteventura |
"Fuerteventura". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.- "Fuerte Ventura". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
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