Bentor ( 1463 – February 1495), sometimes also called Ventor, Bentore, Benytomo, or Bentorey, was the last mencey or king of Taoro from November 1494 until his suicide in February 1495. A native

Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language, an extinct language, spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century *''Conus guanche ''Conus guanche'' is a species of sea snail, a marine ga ...

prince in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

during the second half of the 15th century, Bentor was the eldest grandson (in some sources, son) of

Bencomo Bencomo (; 1438 – 1495) was the penultimate ''mencey'' or king of Taoro, a Guanche ''menceyato'' on the island of Tenerife. He fought in the First Battle of Acentejo, a victory for the Guanches against the invading Castilians, after having refu ...

, the penultimate mencey (or king) of Taoro. Taoro was one of nine menceyatos, or kingdoms, on the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

in the

before the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

conquest of the islands. Bentor's mother was probably named Hañagua, although this is unclear. He succeeded his grandfather as mencey upon his father's death in November 1494, and led the kingdom until his own death by suicide four months later, in February 1495. Bentor had five siblings: one sister ( Dácil) and four brothers (Ruiman, Rosalva, Chachiñama, and Tiñate).

Biography

Bentor was born in about 1463, in Tenerife to

Adjona Adjona, also written Adxoña or Atxoña was the Guanches, Guanche mencey (king) of the Menceyato de Abona at the time of the conquest of Tenerife in the fifteenth century. Adjona normally lived in Vilaflor, in the territory of Abona, although the ...

. Bentor, then the Crown Prince, participated in many battles against the invading Spanish in 1495 alongside his father Bencomo, Mencey of Taoro. Bencomo was killed during the

Battle of Aguere The Battle of Aguere, or Battle of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, was fought between forces of the Crown of Castile, led by the Adelantado (military governor) Alonso Fernández de Lugo, and the natives of Tenerife, called Guanches. The battle took pl ...

in November 1495, and Bentor, being the eldest son, was chosen as his successor. His uncles, Tinguaro and

, may also have participated in the battle, however, Adjona, unlike Tinguaro, did not perish, and lived on until 1507. Shortly after the Battle of Aguere,

Alonso Fernandez de Lugo Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. The original Visigothic name ''Alfonso'' suffered the phonetic change of the phoneme /f/ into the mute /h/ in the Early Middle Ages (around 9th Century), w ...

sent

Fernando Guanarteme Fernando Guanarteme (born Tenesor Semidan) was a Guanches, Guanche King and ally of the Spain, Spaniards who assisted them in their conquest of the Canary Islands during the late fifteenth century. He was originally from Gran Canaria. He travele ...

to negotiate with Bentor, but he refused to hand over the territory. Memoria bentor

Death and legacy

Following the disastrous Second Battle of Acentejo which occurred in December 1494, the Guanche forces were severely decimated. The forces took refuge on the slope of Mount Tigaiga after the battle. It was at that Bentor committed suicide, in February 1495, by jumping off of the hill and tumbling down the mountainside (it was seen as a way to keep one's honor instead of surrendering). As a consequence, the Guanche resistance completely collapsed and the remaining menceys surrendered in the Peace of Los Realejos. The

are now a Spanish

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

. The Hotel Rural Bentor on the island of Tenerife is named after him.

References

{{reflist, 30em 1460s births 15th-century Berber people People from Tenerife History of the Canary Islands Guanche people 1496 deaths

Biography

Death and legacy

See also

References