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Gran Canaria land is of volcanic origin, with a surface area of 1,560 km and a maximum altitude of 1,949 meters. It has a characteristic round shape with an estimated diameter of just about 50 km.
The first inhabitants of this island were said to be the Guanches (also known as Guanchis or Guanchos) of around 3000 BC. Guanchinet originally means "man of Tenerife" but was later manipulated by Spaniards into "Guanchos." Back then, the island was called Tamarán by the natives. It was later named to how it is known now when the Spain eventually claimed the region in the 15th century.
The first inhabitants of Gran Canaria are also the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands and the primitive inhabitants of Tenerife as well. The origin of the Guanches can still not be traced up until now. Their culture has literally vanished into thin air though a few traces have spawned and established assumptions about them. What is only known for certain is that this people were still living in the manner of the Stone Age, during the Middle Ages.
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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was founded on the 24th of June, 1478. The city has its origins around the present Ermita de San Antonio de Abad, in the district of Vegueta. Its civic center was eventually moved to the Plaza de Santa Ana. In here, the most important religious, administrative and political organizations in the archipelago were established. The oldest part of the city dates back to as late as the 16th century, but this remained static until around the late 19th century.
However, the much sought for development was finally realized in the shoots of the sugar cane. Exports for this crop stimulated the first important progress of Las Palmas, which consequently turned the city into an active commercial center.
With this development though came the call of danger, this time in the form of pirates. When Las Palmas de Gran Canaria grew rich out of the sugar canes, it immediately attracted the pirates seafaring the oceans at that time. In October 1595, the city gathered enough strength to finally fight back a large English pirate fleet commanded by Francis Drake and John Hawkins. Unfortunately, four years later, the Dutch Van der Does sacked and burned the city.
Nevertheless, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria did not die down together with the ashes. Its new birth took place in the 19th century, with the construction of the engine Puerto de La Luz. This paved way for the transformation of the village into a booming trade center that eventually became a universal capital city open to the entire world.
Perhaps it could be said that Las Palmas de Gran Canaria got lucky with its strategic location, being in close proximity to the port. Development was not that hard to achieve, being placed in the middle of negotiations and trade, which is where the city lies - right in the middle of the transatlantic trade routes. Because of this, it enabled greater and more successful dealings for Europe, thus significantly increasing its foreign trade.
This is also the why reason a lot of people from different backgrounds calls this city home. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, up until now, remains an open and universal society, with respect to its many peoples. Since the beginning, the population of this city has been varied: Spaniards, Portuguese, Aragonese, Genoese, Frenchmen and Flemish, different peoples in quest for free and fertile land. Because of the construction of the port of La Luz, the city became a tri-continental base where crowds coming from everywhere in the world arrived. And, from the discovery of America, it became a port of call for European merchants who are on the way to the Indies.
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