Betancuria is a small town and a municipality in the western part of the island of

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO i ...

in the

Province of Las Palmas The Province of Las Palmas (, ; ) is a province (Spain), province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, capital city of this p ...

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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The population is 811 (2013),Instituto Canario de Estadística
, population and the area is . It is situated in a mountainous region, west of

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and southwest of the island capital Puerto del Rosario. By population it is the smallest municipality in Fuerteventura as well as all of the Canary Islands. Betancuria is named after

Jean de Béthencourt Jean de Béthencourt (; 1362–1425) was a French explorer who in 1402 led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote. From there he conquered for Castile the islands of Fuerteventura (1405) and El H ...

, who founded the town in 1404 with Gadifer de La Salle. It was the original capital of the Kingdom of the Canary Islands, and later capital of Fuerteventura. In 1424 Pope

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

erected in Betancuria brief Bishopric of Fuerteventura, which encompassed all the

except the island of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

.El Cisma de Occidente y el Obispado de Fuerteventura
/ref> The origin of this bishopric is directly related to the events that occurred after the Great Schism (1378-1417). This was because the bishop of San Marcial del Rubicón in

(only diocese at the time of the Canary Islands) did not recognize the papacy of Martin V, as this bishop was a supporter of anti-Pope Benedict XIII. The Bishopric of Fuerteventura was based in ''Parish of Santa María de Betancuria'', for it to rank high cathedral. After the reintegration of the Diocese of San Marcial del Rubicón in the papacy of Martin V, the Bishopric of Fuerteventura was abolished only seven years after it was created in 1431. It was razed by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s in 1593, but remained capital of Fuerteventura until 1834, when

became capital. In Vega de Rio Palmas is the hermitage of the Virgen de la Peña, the patron saint of the island of Fuerteventura.

Gallery

File:+ Betancuria war früher die Hauptstadt der Insel Fuerteventura. 06.jpg File:+ Betancuria war früher die Hauptstadt der Insel Fuerteventura. 29.jpg File:+ Betancuria war früher die Hauptstadt der Insel Fuerteventura. 12.jpg File:In Betancuria.jpg File:08.03.07 090.jpg File:Vega del Río Palmas, La Ermita 2.jpg File:+ Betancuria war früher die Hauptstadt der Insel Fuerteventura. 26.jpg

References

{{Authority control 1404 establishments Populated places established in the 1400s Municipalities in Fuerteventura Capitals of former nations 15th-century establishments in Castile

Gallery

See also

References