Mencey

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Mencey was the name of the head of the Guanches , the indigenous people of the island of Tenerife . In the past it was often translated as king , prince , captain or ruler . The Spanish term meyceyato to denote the territory of a mencey comes from the 20th century. In historical literature, the term Reino (Reich) is commonly used.

Division of the island of Tenerife into nine Meycenatos

Menceyatos at the time of the conquest

At the end of the 15th century, at the time of the conquest, the island was divided into nine menceyatos. Since when this division existed and how it came about is assessed very differently by historians. In terms of the names and relationships among the Menceyes, the historical sources differ greatly. In the tradition of the history of the Menceyes, the not scientifically proven literary processing z. B. by Antonio Viana and Lope de Vega a role.

Dominance relationships on the island of Tenerife

The Guanche society was divided into three groups: The Menceyes family whose members were called Archimenceyes , other nobles and the common people. A new mencey was determined by an assembly (tagoro), which consisted of the male members of the mencey family and other nobles. The Mencey basically married a close relative.

Meaning of the menceyes

The mencey was the supreme authority in all areas of public life. The mencey was considered to be the owner of the land, which he redistributed every year among his nobles so that they could benefit from it. He chaired the council and presided over the religious ceremonies. He was a military leader and negotiator in agreements with other menceyes or foreigners who came to the islands. The Menceyes of Taoro played a special role in the defense of the island against the Castilians. They made up the largest number of warriors of the four Menceyatos located in the northern part of the island of Tenerife and therefore had command of the entire troops.

After the conquest

After the final submission of the island of Tenerife, Alonso Fernández de Lugo traveled to Seville with the defeated but also with the Menceyes, who had become subjects of the Queen and King of Castile by treaty . At the audience of the royal couple in Almazán in June 1496 , seven of the nine Menceyes were present. One of these menceyes was given to the Republic of Venice. The Mencey of Adeje, which had not fought against the Castilians, was taken into account in the land distribution after the conquest of Tenerife. The Mencey of Anaga lived with his family on the island of Gran Canaria. There are hardly any reliable reports about the fate of the other menceyes.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Juan Álvarez Delgado: La división de la isla de Tenerife en nueve reinos . In: Anuario de estudios atlánticos . No. 31 , 1985, ISSN  0570-4065 , pp. 103 (Spanish, [1] [accessed September 5, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Antonio Viana: Antigüedades de las Islas Afortunadas . Typografía de La Laguna, La Laguna 1905, p. 121 ff . (Spanish, reprint of the 1604 edition).
  3. ↑ Lope de Vega: Los guanches de Tenerife y conquista de Canaria . Ed .: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Viuda de Alonso Martin de Balboa, Madrid 1618 (Spanish, [2] [accessed November 12, 2017]).
  4. ^ Alfredo Mederos Martín, Gabriel Escribano Cobo: Los aborígenes y la prehistoria de Canarias . Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2002, ISBN 84-7926-382-2 , p. 183 (Spanish, [3] [accessed September 10, 2016]).
  5. ↑ Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 , p. 297 (Spanish, [4] [accessed June 28, 2016]).

literature

  • Alfredo Mederos Martín, Gabriel Escribano Cobo: Los aborígenes y la prehistoria de Canarias . Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2002, ISBN 84-7926-382-2 (Spanish, [5] [accessed September 10, 2016]).
  • Mariano Gambín García: Un rey guanche en la corte de los Reyes Católicostras los pasos de don Enrique Canario, el último mencey de Icod . In: Revista de historia canaria . No. 185 , 2003, p. 125–158 (Spanish, [6] [accessed June 20, 2016]).
  • Antonio Rumeu de Armas: La conquista de Tenerife 1494-1496 . Ed .: Aula de Cultura de Tenerife. Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1975, ISBN 84-500-7107-0 (Spanish, [7] [accessed June 28, 2016]).