First Battle of Acentejo

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Menceyatos at the time of the conquest

The First Battle of Acentejo , also known as the Battle of La Matanza , took place on the north side of the island of Tenerife in late May 1494 . The Guanches came in this battle for the first time on a large, well-equipped army which by order of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand was to conquer the island of Castile. More than 75% of the attackers were killed in the battle.

prehistory

After the Crown of Castile took over the rights to conquer the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife in 1477, the islands of Gran Canaria were subjugated in 1483 and the island of La Palma in 1493. At the end of 1493, the Queen and King of Castile signed a treaty with Alonso Fernández de Lugo , in which he undertook to have completed the conquest ten months after his arrival on the island of Tenerife. He had to take care of the financing of the company himself, as the Crown of Castile did not provide any funds for this. Finally, enough soldiers could be recruited in Castile and on the island of Gran Canaria, with whom there was the possibility of completing the conquest in the given time.

In May 1494, Alonso Fernández de Lugo landed with 1500 infantrymen and 150 riders on the beach of Añaza, a little south of what is now downtown Santa Cruz de Tenerife . In the first days after the arrival a camp was built, which was protected against attacks by a moat and palisade .

The island was then divided into nine independent areas, Menceyatos, each of which was ruled by an independent ruler, Mencey . Four of these menceyatos (Anaga, Güímar, Abona and Adeje) had signed peace treaties in earlier attempts by the Crown of Castile to gain a foothold on the island. They were known as the Bandos de Paz . The other five Menceyatos (Taoro, Tegueste, Tacoronte, Icod and Daute) were hostile to the Castilians. They were known as the Bandos de Guerra .

Immediately after arriving in Tenerife, Alonso Fernández de Lugo contacted the Menceyes of the Bandos de Paz and renewed the existing peace treaties with them. During the negotiations he was assisted by Fernando Guanarteme, the former Guanarteme from Gáldar on Gran Canaria , known as Tenesor Semidán before his baptism .

After a few days, the conquering troops marched with Alonso de Lugo in the direction of today's city of La Laguna . Few people were left behind in the Santa Cruz camp for sheltered retreat. The troops camped near what is now the Gracia district. Here there was a first meeting between Alonso Fernández de Lugo and Bencomo the Mencey of Taoro. He appeared at the appointed meeting with an entourage of three hundred guanches. Alonso de Lugo and Bencomo stood facing each other and started a dialogue. Alonso Fernández de Lugo urged the Mencey of Taoro through the Castilian interpreter Guillén Castellano, who spoke the language of the indigenous people, to befriend the Queen and King of Castile and to submit to their rule. They would put the Guanches under their protection and grant them many graces. In addition, the Guanches should adopt the true Christian faith. Bencomo stated that the demand to submit to the Queen and the King of Castile offends and offends him as he never recognizes submission to another person. With regard to the Christian faith, Bencomo said that he knew too little about the religion and so far did not understand it. He is ready to find out more and then be able to give an answer with greater conviction. So there was no agreement and the Guanches withdrew towards Taoro.

Course of the battle

From the improvised camp in Gracia, the Castilian army marched again. After reaching the plain of Aguere (La Laguna), the troops moved west on the north side of the island. As the advance on the paths of the north continued, Alonso de Lugo hoped for only symbolic resistance from the Guanches. On the edge of the Taoro Valley, the Castilian vanguard was confronted with the presence of a large number of indigenous people. The Castilian soldiers withdrew. They reached the main power of the invading army on the Barranco de Acentjo. The Guanches had waited here in hiding. They attacked the invaders from the upper edges of the barranco with stones and throwing spears. In this area, the Guanches had an advantage, as the attackers could not use the cavalry effectively because of the terrain. The riders threw stones from their horses, while the foot soldiers were struck down by the powerful blows with clubs. The whole thing went off with impressive shouting and whistling, which led to a mess. The Castilians had taken a large number of apparently stray cattle with them on their advance, but the sheep and goats fled at the whistles of the shepherds. This led to a further disruption of the battle rules. In the din of battle, Alonso de Lugo also fell off his horse, seriously injured by a stone on his mouth. One of his men came to his aid and got him a horse. So he could take part in the fighting again. The Castilians and their auxiliaries hardly had a chance, wounded and bleeding they fought desperately without order or harmony. They tried to avoid the blows, spears and flying stones in hopes of saving their lives. Those who were able to flee slowly withdrew, covered with stones thrown by the enemy. The battle lasted several hours. In the end, the scene was covered with corpses. Alonso de Lugo and a small group of survivors managed to withdraw to the camp in Santa Cruz. In the days that followed, a few dispersed soldiers arrived at the Santa Cruz camp. Among them was a group of 30 men who had been released by the Mencey of Taoro. At the beginning of June 1494, the remnants of the invasion force returned to Gran Canaria.

Historians assume that in the first battle of Acentejo of the 150 horsemen and 1,500 foot soldiers of the Castilian army, around 90 horsemen and 1,200 foot soldiers were killed. The number of guanches involved is estimated at around 3,300. Of these, around 2000 are said to have been killed.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Ferdinand was also King of Aragon, Sicily, etc. at this time, but he was clearly acting as Ferdinand V of Castile.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 198 (Spanish, [1] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  2. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 132 (Spanish, [2] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  3. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 181 (Spanish, [3] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  4. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 158 (Spanish, [4] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  5. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 184 (Spanish, [5] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  6. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 185 ff . (Spanish, [6] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  7. ^ John Mercer: The Canary Islanders - their prehistory conquest and survival . Rex Collings, London 1980, ISBN 0-86036-126-8 , pp. 202 (English).
  8. ^ Eduardo Aznar Vallejo: La integración de las Islas Canarias en la Corona de Castilla (1478-1526) . Idea, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2009, ISBN 978-84-9941-022-7 , pp. 170 (Spanish).

literature

  • Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Inular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 568 (Spanish, [7] [accessed June 28, 2016]).