History. — There is ground for supposing that the Phoenicians were not ignorant of the Canaries. The Romans, in the time of Augustus, received intelligence of them through Juba, king of Mauritania, whose account has been transmitted to us by the elder Pliny. He mentions “Canaria, so called from the multitude of dogs of great size,” and “Nivaria, taking its name from perpetual snow, and covered with clouds,” doubtless Teneriffe. Canaria was said to abound in palms and pine trees. Both Plutarch and Ptolemy speak of the Fortunate Islands, but their description is so imperfect that it is not clear whether the Madeiras or the Canaries are referred to. There is no farther mention of them until we read of their rediscovery about 1334, by a French vessel driven amongst them by a storm. A Spanish nobleman thereupon obtained a grant of them, with the title of king, from Clement VI., but want of means prevented him from carrying out his project of conquest. Two expeditions subsequently set out from Spanish ports, and returned without having taken possession. At length three vessels, equipped by Jean de Bethencourt, a gentleman of Normandy, sailed from Rochelle in 1400, and bent their course to the Canaries. He landed at Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, but being opposed by the natives, and finding himself deficient in means to effect his purpose, he repaired to the court of Castile, and obtaining from Henry III. a grant of the islands, with the title of king, he sailed, in 1404 with a strong force, which mastered Lauzarote, Fuerteventura, Gomera, and Hierro, without bloodshed. Being repulsed in his attempts on Palma and Canary, he returned to Europe in 1408 to obtain further assistance. He was well received at the Castilian court, where he was promised aid; but he died shortly afterwards in France. Bethencourt’s nephew had been left governor of the islands, and claimed to succeed to his uncle’s rights. Being charged with many acts of misgovernment, he went to Spain to clear himself, and whilst there sold his rights to Don Enrique de Guzman, who, after expending large sums iu fruitless endeavours to reduce the unconquered islands, sold them to another Spaniard named Paraza. His successors, about 1461, took nominal possession of Canary and Teneriffe, but the natives effectually resisted their occupation of them. Meantime it appeared that Jean de Bethencourt’s nephew had fraudulently made a second sale of the islands to Portugal, and the difference thus arising between the crowns of Spain and Portugal was ended by the cession of the islands to the former. Grand Canary, Teneriffe, and Palma remaining unsubdued in 1476, Ferdinand» and Isabella of Spain compelled Paraza’s successors ] to seit those islands to the crown; and the following year 1000 men were despatched to reduce them. After much bloodshed, and with reinforcements from the mother country, the Spaniards, under Pedro de Vera, became masters of Grand Canary in 1483. Palma was conquered in 1491, and Teneriffe in 1495, by Alonzo de Lugo. All the islands still continue in the possession of Spain.

Inhabitants. — As to the derivation of their original inhabitants, the Guanches, nothing certain is known. The most probable supposition is that they came from the adjoining coast of Africa. Pliny states that the islands were uninhabited at the time of which he wrote. If this were so, we might infer, from the absence of any trace of Mahometanism amongst the people found there by the Spaniards, that the migration took place between the time to which his account refers and the time of the conquest of Barbary by the Arabs. Many of the Guanches fell in opposing the Spanish invasion, many were sold by the conquerors as slaves, and many conformed to the Roman Catholic faith and intermarried with the Spaniards,—so that all trace of them as a distinct race is lost. They were said to be of tall stature, and Humboldt styles them the Patagonians of the Old World; but the skeletons of Guanches when measured have been found to be less than average skeletons of Europeans. The Guanches embalmed the bodies of their dead, and placed them in caves; and many mummies have been found at different times in a state of extreme desiccation, each weighing not more than 6 or 7 ft>. Two inaccessible caves in a vertical rock by the shore, three miles from Santa Cruz (Teneriffe), are said still to contain bones. A few words of the languages spoken by the ancient inhabitants have been preserved, and a resemblance of some of them to words of North African dialects has been noticed. On the other hand, the Guanches had customs, such as that of preserving their dead, in which they differed from the Berbers. Councillor Von Löher, one of the most recent investigators of the question, finds that the names of places in the interior of the island are generally either of Berber or of Teutonic origin, and maintains that the Guanches were in all probability the descendants of Vandal and Gothic immigrants.

The present inhabitants are slightly darker than the people of Spain, but in other respects arc scarcely distinguishable. The men are of middle height, well-made, and strong; the women are not striking in respect of beauty, but they have good eyes and hair. Spanish is the only language in use. The people have most of the traits of the people of the peninsula; they are sober, but given to gambling; they are quick, but lazy, faithless, and superstitious. The lower orders are quite illiterate, and the better classes not very enlightened. A few booksellers’ shops of a minor description exist at Santa Cruz and Las Palmas. The sustenance of the lower classes is chiefly composed of fish, potatoes, and gofio, which is merely Indian corn or wheat roasted and then, when ground, kneaded with water or milk.

Government, dec. — The Archipelago is politically considered part of the province of Andalusia. The governorgeneral, who resides at Santa Cruz, has chief command both in civil and military affairs. The actual administration of affairs is in the hands of two lieutenant-governors, who reside at Santa Cruz and Las Palmas. On the other islands are deputy-governors, acting under the lieutenant-governor to whose district they belong. The military force is composed of a battalion of soldiers of the line, numbering about 1000 men; six regiments of militia, amounting to about 8000 men, distributed amongst the islands; and a few companies of artillery. There is a military commander on each island. The great court of appeal sits at Las Palmas. Courts of first instance sit at Santa Cruz, Orotava, and Las Palmas. The land in great part is strictly entailed. The islands form two bishoprics, Teneriffe and Grand Canary. The whole ecclesiastical revenue is estimated at upwards of £36,000. The monkish establishments have been suppressed, and such of the monasteries and convents as are not kept up for secular purposes are falling to ruin. No form of religion except the Roman Catholic is tolerated.

Climate and Meteorology. — From April to October a north or north-east wind of more or less strength blows upon the islands, commencing at 10 a.m. and continuing until 5 or 6 p.M. In summer this wind produces a dense stratum of sea cloud (cumuloni), 1000 feet thick, whose lower surface is about 3500 feet above the sea at Teneriffe. This does not reach up to the mountains, which have on every side a stratum of their own, about 500 feet thick, the lower surface being about 2500 feet above the level of the sea. Between these two distinct strata there is a gap through which persons on a vessel approaching or leaving the island may obtain a glimpse of the peak. Travellers who ascend the mountains look down on these stationary layers of cloud. The sea cloud conceals from view the other islands, except those whose mountains pierce through it. On the south-west coasts there is no regular sea or land breeze. In winter they are occasionally visited by a hot south-east wind, called Levante, from the African continent, producing various disagreeable consequences on the exposed parts of the person, besides injuring the vegetation, especially on the higher grounds. Locusts have sometimes been brought by this wind. In 1812 it is said that locusts covered some fields in Fuerteventura to the depth of 4 feet. Hurricanes, accompanied by waterspouts, sometimes cause much devastation; but, on the whole, these islands are singularly free from such visitations. The climate generally is mild, dry, and salubrious. On the lower grounds the temperature is equable, the daily range seldom exceeding 6° Fahr. The rainy season occurs at the same period as in southern Europe. The dry season is at the time of the trade-winds, which extend a few degrees farther north than this latitude. “In no part of the world is the barometer more susceptible of atmospheric changes than amongst the Canary Islands. A rapid rise is the sure precursor of an easterly wind, whilst the contrary as certainly indicates a change to west or south-west” (Lieut. Arlett).

Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce. — In ordinary years sufficient grain and potatoes are produced to supply the wants of the islands. The soil on the lower part of the islands, where water is plentiful, is productive; in some places two crops of Indian corn and one of potatoes can be obtained from the same piece of ground in a twelvemonth. Except at Fuerteventura, the vine is much cultivated, but chiefly at Teneriffe, the best wines being produced on the north-west coast. None, however, is considered so good as the wine of Madeira. The most esteemed kind is sent to England under the name of Vidonia. The grape disease made its appearance at the Canaries in 1853, and destroyed nearly the whole crop. Previously the total annual produce was estimated at about 40,000 pipes, of which 25,000 pipes were produced in Teneriffe. Between 8000 and 9000 pipes were exported. The price per pipe on board ranged from £8 to £20. Some of the wine is distilled into good brandy. Sumach, canary-seed, and a little flax are grown. Sweet potatoes, maize, gourds, pumpkins, tara (Colocasia antiquorum), lentils, Cicer arietinum, beans, kidney beans, and lupines are extensively cultivated for food. From bad management the fruits are generally inferior. They include oranges, figs, bananas, dates, pineapples, pomegranates, papaws, guavas, custard apples, and prickly pears. There are no cocoa-nut trees or bread-fruit trees. A little oil is obtained from the olive in Grand Canary. The agave is abundant, and supplies a material for ropes, girths, &c. The leaves of the date palm are made into hats and baskets. A good deal of orchil-lichen is gathered for exportation; and the ice-plant is grown in smaîl quantity for barilla. The sugar manufacture, once largely carried on, has fallen before the American and West Indian trade; the only two existing mills are on Palma. Wine having been for some time so little remunerative, other products have received attention, the chief being cochineal. This insect, which feeds on a species of cactus, was introduced in 1825, and is now largely produced on all the islands,—land formerly occupied by grain and vines being devoted to its cultivation. In 1873 upwards of 5,728,000 lb, of the total value of 13,894,225 pesetas, or about £555,849, were exported, principally to France and England. The silkworm is reared to á small extent, chiefly on Palma. Raw silk is exported, and some is manufactured on the spot into stockings, ribands, &c. Some linen and woollen stuffs of a coarse kind are made for home consumption, but the great bulk of the clothing in use is of British manufacture. The island goats (a peculiar and esteemed breed) furnish milk, from which butter and cheese are made. Pigs and sheep of a small coarse-woolled breed are numerous. Horses and cattle are scarce; domestic fowls and rabbits are plentiful. Asses and mules are much used. A fishery on the African coast, which gives employment to many persons, has existed from an early period. The fish, principally bream, is salted and largely consumed at the Canaries.

There is a good deal of intercourse by means of boats and small sailing vessels amongst the different islands. In this way wine, raw silk, cochineal, barilla, and dried fruits are taken to the places of export; and grain is conveyed from those islands where it is abundant to those where the supply is deficient. The principal foreign trade is with England, the chief articles of export being wine, cochineal, barilla, and orchil. The imports consist of iron, metal goods, glass, crockery, leather, and silk, cotton, and woollen manufactures. There is also a considerable trade with the United States and the countries bordering the Mediterranean. With Hamburg and France an exchange of commodities takes place. The ships employed in this commerce are foreign, chiefly British; but the islanders send a few vessels of their own with brandy, coarse earthenware, and silk goods to the Spanish West Indies, bringing back cigars, sugar, coffee, rum, cocoa (the material of chocolate), and a few other articles. Santa Cruz, Orotava, and Las Palmas are the only ports engaged in foreign trade; nearly 300 vessels enter these ports in the course of a year. In 1852 the ports were practically made free— the small duty of 2s. per cent, only being now levied upon imported goods, with the exception of tobacco, which pays 5d. per ft>., and cigars which pay 10d. per lb. Spanish steamers ply between Cadiz and Santa Cruz. The Spanish Government packet on its outward voyage to Havana touches at Santa Cruz once a month; and the same port is visited by the English mail steamers in their voyages to and from the African coast.

Zoology. — The indigenous mammals and reptiles of the Canary Islands are very few in number. Of the former, only species of dog, of swine, of goat, and of sheep were found upon the island by the Spanish conquerors. The race of large dogs which is supposed to have given a name to Canary has been long extinct. A single skeleton has been found, which is deposited in one of the museums at Paris. The ferret, rabbit, cat, rat, mouse, and two kinds of bat have become naturalized. The ornithology is more interesting, on account at once of the birds native to the islands and the stragglers from the African coast. The latter are chiefly brought over in winter when the wind has blown for some time from the east. Among the former are some birds of prey, as the African vulture, the falcon, the buzzard, the sparrow-hawk, and the kite. There are also two species of owl, three species of sea-mew, the stockdove, quail, raven, magpie, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackcap, canary bird, titmouse, blackbird, house-swallow, &c. The bird with the sweetest song is a variety of the blackcap or Sylvia atricapilla. As to the insects, mention may be made of a species of gnat or mosquito which is sometimes troublesome, especially to strangers, and the cockroach. The list of reptiles is limited to three lizards and a frog. The only fresh-water fish is the eel. The marine fishes are not numerous, the reason perhaps being that the steepness of the coast does not allow seaweed to grow in sufficient quantity to support the lower forms of marine animal life. Whales and seals are occasionally seen. The cuttle-fish is abundant, and is sought for as an article of food.

Botany. — The position of mountainous islands like the Canaries, in the sub-tropical division of the temperate zone, is highly favourable to the development, within a small space, of plants characteristic of both warm and cold climates. Von Buch refers to five regions of vegetation in Teneriffe :—1. From the sea to the height of 1300 feet. This he styles the African region. The climate in the hottest parts is similar to that of Egypt and southern Barbary. Here grow, among the introduced plants, the coffee-tree, the date-palm, the sugar-cane, the banana, the orange tree, the American agave, and two species of cactus; and among indigenous plants, the dragon tree on the north-west of Teneriffe. A leafless and fantastic euphorbia, E. canariensis, and a shrubby composite plant, Cacalia Kleinia, give a character to the landscape about Santa Cruz. 2. Between 1300 feet and 2800 feet. This is the region of South European vegetation, the climate answering to that of southern France and central Italy. Here flourish the vine and the cereals. 3. The region of indigenous trees, including various species of laurel, an Ardisia, Ilex, lihamnus, Olea, Myrica, and other trees found wild also at Madeira. The clouds rest on this region during the day, and by their humidity support a vegetation amongst the trees, partly of shrubs, and partly of ferns. It extends to the height of 4000 feet. 4. The region of the beautiful Pinus canariensis, extending to the height of 6400 feet; here the broad-leaved trees have ceased to grow, but arborescent heaths are found throughout its whole extent, and specimens of Juniperus oxy cedrus may be met with. 5. The region of Rétama (Cytisus nubigenus), a species of'white-flowering and sweet-scented broom, which is found as high as 11,000 feet. At the upper edge of this region a lilac-coloured violet clings to the soil, and above there is nothing but a little lichen. The number of wild flowering plants may be estimated at 900, upwards of 270 of which are peculiar to the Canaries. The forms of vegetation must in the main be considered North African, since the origin of many of those which they have in common with Southern Europe should be looked for in Africa. The character of the vegetation in Lanzarote and Euerteventura islands, composed of extensive plains and low hills, with few springs, is different from that of the other islands, which are more elevated and have many springs. The wood is more abundant, and the vegetation more luxuriant.

Geology. — Recent soundings have proved that the Canary Islands, like the other island groups of the North Atlantic, are the summits of mountains that are surrounded by an ocean of great depth. The lower and exterior portion of these islands consists for the most part of basalt, compact, vesicular, or scoriaceous, interstratified with beds of variously-coloured tufa. The compact variety of basalt frequently contains scattered grains and crystals of augite and olivine. In some cases the rock is chiefly trachyte. In Grand Canary the fossils contained in the tufas prove that movements of elevation began in the Upper Miocene period. They continued down to the Pleistocene period, for raised beaches containing shells of the recent period exist both in Teneriffe and Grand Canary. Simultaneously with the upheaval subaërial eruptions were taking place. Many of the superimposed streams of lava are divided from one another by red bands of laterite, probably ancient soils formed by the decomposition of the surfaces of the lava, and showing that the building up of the islands was a slow process. In Teneriffe the basalt and tufa form an exterior mass, through which in the centre emerge the felspathic or trachytic rocks forming the nucleus of the volcanic cone, and over them fragments of pumice and streams of modern lava have been thrown. These trachytic rocks contain numerous disseminated crystals of glassy felspar. Obsidian is found in several parts of Teneriffe, and is usually spotted with white crystals of felspar. The few minerals that have been found in the Canary Islands are those characteristic of volcanic regions. A little iron exists, but is not turned to account. In no part of Teneriffe has there been discovered any sedimentary rock. The old lavas in Lanzarote are covered by a thin layer of white concretionary limestone, the origin of which is obscure, In Grand Canary and Fuerteventura there is also calcareous stone, but its nature does not appear to be known, Teneriffe, the largest island of the group, lies between Grand Canary and Gomera. It is of irregular shape, 60 miles in length, with an extreme breadth of 30 miles, Not more than one-seventh is cultivable. A chain of mountains traverses the island in the direction of its greatest length, and in the middle of the broadest part rises the celebrated Peak, locally known as the Pico de Teyde, which, with its supports and spurs, occupies nearly two-thirds of the whole island. It has a double top; the highest point, El Piton, is 12,200 feet above the sea; the other, Chahorra, connected with...