Tanausu

Tanausu (also Tanausú and Atanausu) (died 1493) was the

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 ...

ruler of Aceró, on the island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

(known to the original population as Benahoare), whose defeat by the Castilians marked the final conquest of that island. 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 ...

, conquered in 1495, was the last of 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 ...

to fall under European control. His name has been translated as "The obstinate" or "He who has kidneys."{{cn, date=January 2025 ''Aceró'', whose name is said to mean "strong place" in

, has been identified with the area now known as ''La Caldera de Taburiente'', which indeed lends itself to a strong defense. He was the last king of La Palma to submit himself to the Castilian forces led by

Alonso Fernández de Lugo Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma (1492–1493) and Tenerife (1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the Canary Islan ...

. The Castilians had failed twice in their attempts to penetrate the region known as La Caldera. A truce, with a promise of gifts and good treatment, was arranged by Fernández de Lugo through Juan de Palma, a relative of Tanausu who had converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. The truce, to which Tanausu had agreed, led to the king's capture in an ambush. He was convinced to come out on the pass known as Adamacansis, and was ambushed on the spot now known as El Riachuelo, near present-day La Cumbrecita. Tanausu was taken away to be presented to

Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile () and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the '' de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, ...

. In defiance, Tanausu is said to have refused to eat during the voyage to

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 ...

, and he died without seeing land again. The scholar Harald Braem wrote a book called ''Tanausu, König der Guanchen'' ("Tanausu, King of the Guanches", available in German and Spanish, editorial Verena Zech, Tenerife 2005). 1493 deaths People from La Palma Guanche Guanche people Year of birth unknown