Casa Silvia...Tu Hogar en Fuerteventura

start

the house

outside and
surroundings

decorate
the house

price and
availability

contact

____________________________________________________

HISTORY OF
FUERTEVENTURA
__________________________________________________
PRE-HISTORY

According to history we cannot say much about the first inhabitants of the island. It is supposed they came from the cavemen from the North of Africa. History says that they were strong complexion, tall and the face was wide and short. They were coming from the Paleolithic times and they expanded around West Europe.
The term "Guanche" is used to define the native population of the Canary Islands (from the Spanish Pre-conquer), although Guanches were the native inhabitants in Tenerife, technically speaking. The term "majorero" is used as the name of the inhabitants of Fuerteventura and this term is coming from the word "majos" which is a special shoe made of goat leather. This shoe was wear by the native people of the island.
There is a debate about the origin of the origin of population from the island, but the probably truth is that the inhabitants from the island were coming from the North of Africa, they were the Bereber.
These native people from the island were living in caves, but they built basic stone structures as houses.
There are not a lot of archeological remains however there are some caves and places which remains the steps of history for example in Tindaya where we can find 100 foot print fossilized.
The island was found by the first europeans. And they found it divided in two different sides:Maxorata and Jandia. They were divided by La Pared (the wall literally). This wall is totally destroyed nowadays and there are not remains.

ISLAND NAME

Fuerteventura was known as "Herbania" because of the great number of plants that they were growing in the old times(however now is very dry and desert), but it is easier to belive that it is coming from the bereber word "bani" that means "wall".

There was a wall which was around the narrower part of the island, it was from "La Pared" till the east coast of Fuerteventura.these were the two different sides of it.
In 1339 b.c appears the island in a map. This was because of Angelino Dulcet and it was written as "Forte Ventura".
The meaning of the name is not very easy to defined because there are a lot of different expalnations. Everybody agrees that the word "Forte/Fuerte" means "strong" but about the word "Ventura" there are a lot of opinions, you can choose the one you prefer in between "Fortune, Happiness, Wind, Adventure..."!

SPANISH CONQUERING OF ISLAND

In 1405 the island was conquered by the Spanish inhabitants altough it was known in Europe in 1339.
Fuerteventura is the second island in between all the Canary Islands which was defeated by the Spanish Army. The normand aristocrat Jean de Bethancourt was the head of this Army.
The first settled villages were in Vega de Rio Palmas and Betancuria ( it was the 1st capital of the island). There were around 1200 inhabitants in de 40´s decade according to documents of 1440.
Fuerteventura was suffering a lot of attacks from pirates in the year 1593. Jaban de Arraez was controlling the island for some months and he destroyed Betancuria church and the documents of it.
I the XVII century the island was under the power of "los Coroneles", an army group who founded "la Oliva".this group was abolished in 1843.