Dancing with Lions
Module · Genetics & History

The Guanche
Ghost

Berber DNA in the Atlantic. A people who forgot the sea.
Europe's first colonial genocide.

7
islands. 94 years of conquest.
~80,000
Guanche at first European contact
0
distinct Guanche population remaining
16–55%
of modern Canarian DNA is Guanche

Sometime around the first millennium BCE, Berber-speaking peoples from North Africa reach a chain of volcanic islands 100 kilometres off the Moroccan coast. They bring goats, sheep, barley, and pottery. They do not bring metal. They do not bring wheels. They do not, apparently, bring the ability to build seagoing boats — or if they do, they lose it. Over the next two thousand years, they are marooned. Seven islands, each developing its own dialect, its own governance, its own way of burying the dead. They have no contact with the mainland. They do not know the rest of the world exists.

In 1341, a Genoese captain named Nicoloso da Recco maps the archipelago. He brings four islanders back to Lisbon. European merchants see an easy source of slaves. In 1402, the invasion begins. By 1496, every island has fallen. By 1600, the Guanche — as a people, as a language, as a culture — are gone.

Their DNA survived. Their mummies survived. A whistled language survives on one island, now carrying Spanish instead of Guanche. A toasted grain flour called gofio survives in every kitchen. And the E-M183 haplogroup — the same Berber marker found at 80–98% in Moroccan Amazigh populations — survives in 8.3% of modern Canarian men. The ghost is in the blood.

The Archipelago

Seven islands, one by one

Fell early (1402–1405)
Fell mid-conquest (1478–1493)
Last to fall (1496)
Morocco (origin)
LanzaroteTiterogaka · Majos
1402
846 km²

First island conquered. Jean de Béthencourt, a Norman mercenary backed by Castile, landed on 1 July 1402. Built a fortress and began raiding. The population was small and weakened by prior slave raids. Fell quickly.

FuerteventuraErbania · Majoreros
1405
1,660 km²

Second to fall. Béthencourt used alliances with some native leaders against others. Divided, the Majoreros could not resist. Fell by 1405.

El HierroEsero · Bimbaches
1405
269 km²

Smallest island. The Bimbache population was estimated at only 1,000–2,000. Taken by Béthencourt with minimal resistance. Many enslaved.

La GomeraGomera · Gomeros
1488
370 km²

Not conquered by battle but incorporated through agreements — and then betrayed. Repeated uprisings. In 1488, Hernán Peraza the Younger was killed by Gomeros. His widow called in Pedro de Vera, who killed 200 rebels and sold many into slavery. Columbus stopped here in 1492 to resupply before crossing the Atlantic. The Guanche were still holding out on other islands when he left.

Gran CanariaTamarán · Canarios
1483
1,560 km² · ~30,000 pre-conquest · 2 menceyatos

The wealthiest and most densely populated island. Five years of brutal war (1478–1483). Pedro de Vera led the conquest. The guanarteme (king) Fernando Guanarteme eventually surrendered and was baptised. Mass enslavement followed. Indigenous ancestry in modern Gran Canarians: 16–31% autosomal (Rodríguez-Varela et al. 2017).

La PalmaBenahoare · Auaritas
1493
706 km²

Alonso Fernández de Lugo conquered it with treachery. The last chief, Tanausú, was lured to a supposed peace negotiation and captured. He refused to eat on the ship taking him to Spain and died. Modern La Palma shows 41% indigenous autosomal ancestry — second highest in the archipelago.

TenerifeAchinet · Guanches (stricto sensu)
1496
2,034 km² · ~15,000–30,000 pre-conquest · 9 menceyatos

The last island to fall. Nine menceyatos (kingdoms). Alonso Fernández de Lugo invaded in 1494. At the First Battle of Acentejo (31 May 1494), the Guanche ambushed the Castilians in a valley — only one in five Spanish soldiers survived. Lugo returned with southern mencey allies and defeated the northern kingdoms at the Second Battle of Acentejo (1495). Bentor, last Mencey of Taoro, threw himself from a cliff rather than surrender. Tenerife fell in 1496. The ninety-four-year conquest was complete.

Tenerife

The nine kingdoms

Tenerife — the last island — was divided into nine menceyatos, each ruled by a mencey (king) advised by a tagoror (council of elders). When the Spanish came, some allied. Some resisted. Both were destroyed.

Taoro
resistance · Bencomo (then Bentor)
La Orotava Valley

The most powerful menceyato. Bencomo led the resistance at the First Battle of Acentejo. His son Bentor threw himself from a cliff rather than submit after the final defeat. "Vacaguaré" — he reportedly cried, meaning "I want to die" in Guanche.

Anaga
resistance · Beneharo
Anaga peninsula

Rugged mountain territory. Beneharo joined Bencomo in resistance. The terrain made conquest difficult.

Tegueste
resistance · Tegueste II
Modern Tegueste / La Laguna

Guerrilla fighters. The terrain of ravines and forests favoured ambush tactics.

Tacoronte
resistance · Acaymo
Modern Tacoronte

Joined the northern alliance against the Spanish.

Icod
resistance · Pelicar
Modern Icod de los Vinos

Northwestern menceyato. Held out with Taoro.

Daute
neutral · Romen
Modern Buenavista

Western coast. Position unclear during the final battles.

Güímar
alliance · Añaterve
Modern Güímar

Allied with the Spanish. The mencey of Güímar was baptised and cooperated with Lugo. This is the pattern: some accept, some resist. Both are destroyed.

Abona
alliance · Adjona
Southern Tenerife

Southern menceyato. Allied with the Spanish.

Adeje
alliance · Pelinor
Modern Adeje

Southwestern coast. Cooperated with the invaders.

The DNA

The men were replaced. The women survived.

The genetic signature of colonisation is sex-biased. In the Canary Islands, as in the Americas, indigenous male lineages were destroyed — killed in battle, enslaved, deported — and replaced by European ones. Indigenous female lineages survived at much higher rates, absorbed through forced marriage and sexual violence. The genome records what the chronicles do not.

Autosomal (whole genome)
16–31% indigenous
69–84% european
Paternal (Y-DNA)
~14% (E-M81 + E-M78) indigenous
~67% (R1b + I + J + G) european
Maternal (mtDNA)
~20% (U6 + L haplogroups) indigenous
~80% european
Indigenous ancestry by island: La Gomera 55.5% · La Palma 41.0% · Gran Canaria 16–31% · Tenerife 22.0% · El Hierro 0%
E-M183 (E-M81)paternal · The Berber marker
Ancient: ~27% of ancient Guanche males → Modern: ~8.3% of modern Canarian males

The same haplogroup found at 80–98% in Moroccan Berber populations. Three ancient Guanche males sequenced all carried E-M183. Modern Canarian males show 8.3% — meaning male Guanche lineages have been largely replaced by European ones. The men were killed or displaced. The women survived.

E-M78paternal · Northeast African
Ancient: ~23% of ancient Guanche males → Modern: Low

Second most common Guanche paternal line. Found across North Africa, the Balkans, and southern Europe. Confirms northeastern African connections.

J-M267paternal · Middle Eastern / North African
Ancient: ~17% of ancient Guanche males → Modern: Low

Also found in Berber populations. Part of the North African male genetic package.

R1bpaternal · European
Ancient: ~10% of ancient Guanche males → Modern: ~50.6% of modern Canarian males

The dominant European male lineage — now 50.6% of Canarian men. Was present at low levels even before conquest, suggesting earlier Mediterranean contact. After 1496, it replaced indigenous lineages.

U6b1amaternal · Canary Islands endemic
Ancient: Present in ancient remains → Modern: Present in modern Canarians

A mitochondrial lineage hypothesised to be endemic to and a founder lineage of the Canary Islands. Found in ancient Tenerife and Gran Canaria remains. Not found in mainland African populations — it evolved in isolation on the islands.

U6bmaternal · North African
Ancient: Common in ancient Guanche → Modern: ~14% U6 total in modern Canarians

The phylogenetically closest ancestor of U6b1a, found in North Africa. Present in Guanche remains but NOT in modern Canary Islands — meaning the mainland lineage was replaced by U6b1a on the islands over centuries of isolation.

H1, H3, J1c3, T2c1maternal · West Eurasian / North African
Ancient: Present in ancient remains → Modern: Common

Standard West Eurasian maternal lineages also found in North Africa. The female Guanche genetic signature survived the conquest at much higher rates than the male one.

What Survived

The ghost in the blood, the whistle, the flour

Silbo Gomeroalivelanguage

A whistled language that carries up to 5 km across volcanic ravines. Invented by the Guanche, adapted to Spanish in the 16th century after the original Guanche language died. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2009. Taught in all La Gomera schools since 1999. Over 22,000 speakers. Six sounds — two vowels, four consonants — expressing more than 4,000 words. The only surviving whistle of a dead people, now carrying the language of their conquerors.

Gofioalivefood

Toasted grain flour — barley, wheat, or maize — mixed with water, milk, or honey. The Guanche staple food. Still eaten daily across the Canary Islands. Found in every supermarket, every restaurant, every home. The conquerors killed the culture but kept the recipe.

Lucha canariaalivesport

Canarian wrestling. Two opponents in a sand circle (terrero), grip each other's shorts, try to force any part of the body above the knee to touch the ground. Pre-Hispanic origin. Still practised competitively across the islands. Official sport of the Canary Islands.

Salto del pastoralivesport

Shepherd's leap. Using a long wooden pole (astia/lance) to vault across ravines and descend cliffs. Guanche herders invented it to navigate volcanic terrain. Now a competitive sport and tourist attraction.

Guanche languageextinctlanguage

Extinct since the 17th century. A few hundred words survive — mostly place names, proper nouns, and terms recorded by Spanish chroniclers. Believed to be related to the Berber/Tamazight language family based on vocabulary and numeral comparisons. No grammar survived. No texts. No speakers.

Mummificationextinctpractice

The Guanche embalmed their elite dead using pine resin, dragon tree sap, aromatic herbs, and goat-skin wrappings. On Tenerife, mummies were placed in hidden caves — one cave reportedly held 1,000 bodies. Only ~20 complete mummies survive. Many were ground into pharmaceutical powder ("mummia") in Europe. CT scans show some preserved organs intact, including brains — better preserved than Egyptian equivalents.

Pottery (El Cercado)alivepractice

Women in the village of El Cercado on La Gomera still make pottery using Guanche techniques — without a wheel, coil-built, fired in the open. The only place in the Canary Islands where pre-Hispanic pottery methods survive unbroken.

Guanche DNAalivedna

E-M81 and E-M183 in modern Canarian men. U6b1a in modern Canarian women. 16–55% autosomal ancestry depending on island. Found in Puerto Rico at ~15% via Canarian emigration to the Americas. The Guanche crossed the Atlantic twice — once to the islands, once inside the blood of their conquerors' descendants.

Place namesalivelanguage

Tenerife (from Achinet), Taoro, Tegueste, Güímar, Anaga, Adeje, Abona, Icod, Daute, Tacoronte, Gomera, Benahoare. The names outlasted the people who gave them.

Beñesmen (August festival)tracebelief

The Guanche harvest festival, held in August, coincided with the worship of Chaxiraxi (mother goddess). After conquest, it was absorbed into the Catholic feast of the Virgin of Candelaria on August 15. The date, the place, the celebration — all survive. The meaning was overwritten.

Timeline

From arrival to erasure

~1000 BCE
settlement
First settlers arrive

Berber-speaking peoples from North Africa reach the Canary Islands, likely via Phoenician or early Mauretanian vessels. They bring goats, sheep, barley, pottery — but no metals, no wheels, no maritime knowledge. Over time, they lose the ability to build boats. They are marooned.

~5th c. BCE
settlement
Earliest archaeological evidence

Radiocarbon dates on charcoal, seeds, and domestic animal bones confirm human habitation from the 5th century BCE onward. Each island develops separately — different dialects, different governance, different customs.

~50 BCE
contact
Juba II sends expedition

King Juba II of Mauretania (modern Morocco/Algeria) sends an expedition. Pliny the Elder records they found ruins of great buildings but no current inhabitants on some islands. The Guanche and the mainland have lost contact.

1st–4th c. CE
contact
Roman contact

Roman artifacts found on Lanzarote and surrounding islets. Sporadic contact during Roman North Africa. No permanent settlement.

1341
contact
Recco expedition maps the islands

Genoese captain Nicoloso da Recco leads a Portuguese-sponsored expedition. Maps 13 islands. Records the first description of the Guanche language. Brings four natives back to Lisbon. European interest in slave-raiding begins immediately.

1402
conquest
Béthencourt invades Lanzarote

Norman mercenary Jean de Béthencourt, backed by Castile, lands on Lanzarote on 1 July 1402. Builds a fortress. Begins the conquest. Mohamed Adhikari calls this "Europe's first overseas settler colonial genocide."

1405
conquest
Fuerteventura and El Hierro fall

Béthencourt uses alliances and division to conquer the eastern islands. Hundreds enslaved and sold in Spanish markets.

1478–1483
conquest
Conquest of Gran Canaria

Five years of war. Pedro de Vera leads the campaign. The wealthiest island fights hard. Guanarteme Fernando Guanarteme eventually surrenders and is baptised. Mass enslavement follows. Slave markets established in Las Palmas.

1488
conquest
La Gomera uprising

Hernán Peraza the Younger is killed by Gomero rebels. His widow calls in Pedro de Vera. 200 rebels executed. Many sold into slavery.

1492
conquest
Columbus stops at La Gomera

Columbus resupplies at La Gomera before crossing the Atlantic. The Guanche are still holding out on Tenerife and La Palma. The template for the Americas — enslavement, disease, deportation, sugar plantations — is already running in the Canaries.

1493
conquest
La Palma conquered by treachery

Alonso Fernández de Lugo lures the last chief Tanausú to a peace negotiation and captures him. Tanausú starves himself to death on the ship to Spain.

31 May 1494
conquest
First Battle of Acentejo — La Matanza

The Guanche of Tenerife ambush Lugo's forces in a valley. Four out of five Spanish soldiers are killed. The town is still called La Matanza — "the slaughter." Lugo barely escapes. It is the Guanche's greatest victory.

1495
conquest
Second Battle of Acentejo

Lugo returns with allied southern menceys and fresh troops. Defeats the northern menceyatos. Bentor, last Mencey of Taoro, refuses to surrender. He climbs a cliff and jumps. "Vacaguaré" — "I want to die."

1496
conquest
Tenerife falls. Conquest complete.

The Peace of Los Realejos. After 94 years, all seven islands are under Castilian control. The sugar economy begins. The template is exported to the Caribbean.

1498
aftermath
Catholic Monarchs order Guanche freedom

Isabella and Ferdinand order the freeing of enslaved Guanche who have been baptised. Encomienda (forced labour) replaces outright slavery. The distinction is legal, not practical.

~1520
aftermath
Last enslaved Guanche freed

Guanche encomienda ends. Replaced by African chattel slavery on the sugar plantations. The Canaries become a waystation in the Atlantic slave trade.

~1600
aftermath
Guanche effectively extinct as a people

Disease, slavery, deportation, forced conversion, and intermarriage have eliminated the Guanche as a distinct cultural group. The language survives in fragments. The DNA survives in the population. The culture is overwritten.

17th c.
aftermath
Last Guanche speakers die

The language is extinct. Only recorded words, place names, and personal names survive. Silbo Gomero adapts to Spanish, preserving the whistle but losing the original tongue.

2004
modern
First ancient mtDNA study

Maca-Meyer et al. analyse ancient Guanche mitochondrial DNA. Confirm North African/Berber origin. Discover U6b1a as an endemic Canary Islands lineage.

2009
modern
Silbo Gomero: UNESCO heritage

UNESCO declares Silbo Gomero an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 22,000 speakers. Taught in every school on La Gomera. The whistle survives.

2017
modern
First genome-wide Guanche study

Rodríguez-Varela et al. publish the first autosomal ancient DNA from Guanche remains. Confirm closest genetic affinity to modern Northwest African Berbers. Estimate 16–31% Guanche ancestry in modern Gran Canarians. E-M183 found in all three sequenced males — the Berber marker, 100 km off the African coast.

The Template

Before the Americas, there were the Canaries

The Cambridge World History of Genocide devotes an entire chapter to the Canary Islands. Not because the death toll was the largest — it was not. But because it was the first. Enslavement, deportation, disease, sugar plantations, forced conversion, sexual violence, the replacement of indigenous male lineages by European ones — every tool of New World colonialism was prototyped here, on seven volcanic islands 100 km off the Moroccan coast, between 1402 and 1496.

Columbus stopped at La Gomera in 1492 to resupply. The Guanche were still fighting on Tenerife. He watched the template running and then carried it across the ocean. The encomienda system used on the Canaries was exported directly to Hispaniola. The sugar economy built on Guanche and African slave labour was replicated in Brazil. The model worked. They scaled it.

And the Guanche? A people who shared DNA with every Berber in the Atlas Mountains. Who mummified their dead in volcanic caves. Who governed by council, wrestled in sand rings, and communicated across ravines with a whistle that carries five kilometres. Who held out for ninety-four years against mounted soldiers with swords and arquebuses, using stones and wooden spears. Whose last king jumped from a cliff rather than kneel.

They are in the gofio on every Canarian table. They are in the E-M183 of every eighth Canarian man. They are in the U6b1a of the women. They are in the whistle of La Gomera — six sounds, two vowels, four consonants, 4,000 words, UNESCO heritage, taught in every school, carrying Spanish now because the language it was built for is dead.

The people are gone. The ghost remains.

Sources

Rodríguez-Varela, R., Günther, T., Krzewińska, M. et al. (2017). "Genomic Analyses of Pre-European Conquest Human Remains from the Canary Islands Reveal Close Affinity to Modern North Africans." Current Biology, 27(21), 3396–3402.

Maca-Meyer, N., Arnay, M., Rando, J. et al. (2004). "Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches." European Journal of Human Genetics, 12, 155–162.

Fregel, R., Gomes, V., Gusmão, L. et al. (2009). "Demographic history of Canary Islands male gene-pool: replacement of native lineages by European." BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9, 181.

Adhikari, M. (2017). "Europe's First Settler Colonial Incursion into Africa: The Genocide of Aboriginal Canary Islanders." African Historical Review, 49(1), 1–26.

Conversi, D. (2020). "The Spanish Destruction of the Canary Islands." In The Cambridge World History of Genocide, Vol. II, pp. 594–621.

Crosby, A. W. (2004). Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900. Cambridge University Press.

UNESCO (2009). "Whistled language of the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands), the Silbo Gomero." Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Pliny the Elder. Natural History, Book VI.

Sources: Rodríguez-Varela et al. (2017), Maca-Meyer et al. (2004), Fregel et al. (2009), Adhikari (2017), Conversi (2020), UNESCO (2009).

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