{"id":158497,"date":"2025-10-17T08:56:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canariaslife.com\/?p=158497"},"modified":"2026-10-24T08:39:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T07:39:46","slug":"the-indomitable-canary-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canariaslife.com\/en\/la-isla-canaria-indomable\/","title":{"rendered":"La Palma: the indomitable Canary Island that resisted the Roman Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The indomitable Canary Island: history and mystery<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a volcanic, green, and rugged island that always remained out of reach of the great power of Antiquity. La Palma was never Roman. Classical authors referred to the Fortunate Islands almost as if they were a mythical place, and the island of the Benahoaritas followed its own path until the Castilian conquest at the end of the 15th century. We tell you what we know about that history and where you can discover it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient texts and silences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Authors such as Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy mentioned the Fortunate Islands, a distant archipelago that the Romans knew more from stories than from direct experience. Pliny recorded news of an expedition sent by Juba II, king of Mauretania and ally of Rome, who spoke of islands with large dogs, mountains, and difficult coasts. Some names from those sources, like Junonia, have been attempted to be associated with specific islands, but no mention clearly identifies La Palma, which its inhabitants called Benahoare<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rome never occupied the Canaries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rome did not conquer or colonize any Canary Island. Archaeology has found evidence of occasional contacts, especially in the eastern islands, such as the purple dye workshop on the islet of Lobos, off Fuerteventura, or amphorae found in the sea. In La Palma, however, the record is almost nonexistent. This does not prove that no ship ever arrived, but it does indicate that there was no Roman administration, garrisons, or settlements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Rome looked the other way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n