Near the equator, 115 kilometers from the coast of North Africa, located in the Canary Islands. From the Atlantic coast of Africa is visible from a distance the top of the Peak de Teide is the highest (3718 m) active volcano these Islands. About the Islands is known from time immemorial. For example, already Ptolemy mentioned region "Gannaria prom.", located North of the Cape nun, at the latitude of the Western Canary Islands.

The first visitors can be called prigradskih seafarers, residents of the Aegean archipelago (descendants whom the Greeks then called the Pelasgians and laleham), long before the Phoenicians sailed the area of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. But the modern map of the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic coast is very little resemblance to the one that was in ancient era. As a result of natural and planetary cataclysms were sataline Islands of Aegean basin, the level of the Mediterranean sea has increased significantly, Canary and more to the West of the island and probably the Causeway connecting them with each other and with one of the continents, have plunged into the ocean. In ancient times, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Egyptians and Greeks, swimming along the coast of Africa, could not fail to notice the archipelago.

Arab pirates also knew the Canary archipelago and called him "the Happy Islands" (Jazair-al-Calida). In the middle ages these Islands repeatedly "opened" European explorers and became the object of attack and harassment of corsairs all sorts of origin: the Genoese, the Normans, the Normans, the Portuguese, Spanish, immigrants from Castile and from the shores of the Bay of Biscay. Maritime piracy in the Canary Islands is widely known in history. 've been in the Canary Islands and the great travelers Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, stocking here water, firewood and food before a long voyages.

Of ancient population of the Canary Islands from ancient authors remained the most controversial and unexpected information. But still nobody knows where three thousand years ago there appeared the first settlers, the Guanches - high white blue-eyed people with fiery red hair. Perhaps they are the only people in the world who have not had the time of arrival of Europeans, even primitive fleet. They were excellent swimmers and could swim from one island of the archipelago to the other, as amphibians. The name ' Guanches ' is not the name of the local tribes, as revised in Spanish local word "wandhi" (singular "wandhs") - "people; local natives"other sources "children of the volcano". They called themselves on local names of the Islands where they lived. The Guanches were called basically only residents acting Tenerife, and the rest of the islanders were called "Canarios or Guanches". In their ancient legends can find references that the people of the tribe came out of the bowels of the Teide - volcanic island mountains - the highest volcano in the Canary Islands. Geologists believe that this volcanic archipelago, consisting of 13 large and small Islands, was previously part of the African continent and the Islands away from the mainland as a result of tectonic activity and movement of earth's crust.

It is known that the inhabitants of the island worshipped the Sun, the residents Lanzarote - the God-man, and residents Palma - God-dog. The population consisted of several ethnic groups. A smaller part was black-haired people of low growth, close to the Mediterranean type. The main and the most numerous population was high strong light-skinned people are more than two meters with blue eyes, blond, brown and reddish hair. Their anthropologists call the descendants of CRO-magnon, and atlantaga come with sunken Atlantis. It is known that the Guanches lived in caves, which are hollowed out in the rocks (they now may examine any person), and went to a small capes goat or completely naked, because the climate on the Islands was always comfortable for people. But despite such a simple life, the Guanches cared about the education of their children. However, the education of the younger generation was understood to be the original inhabitants of the Islands is very unique. All the young girls they were sent to a special institution - Monts, in order to prepare them for marriage. Training was only that girls fatten up stabilograms weight. More slender bride in the Canaries the suitors successful not used. It was believed that only a woman can give birth to healthy and strong baby. Not knowing the plow, the Canarian people were grown cereals and baked magnificent cakes, and your diet was supplemented with fruits, mushrooms and sea fish. In the villages still guanche cakes "gofio" (gofio) remain the favorite dish. The Guanches knew not the Potter's wheel, but made pottery technology, which is still used by modern inhabitants of the Canary Islands and Berbers. The Guanches were not recognized or gold or silver or precious stones. Only their treasures were island Paradise. But these treasures was too attractive for Europeans. About the language of the Guanches is known only, that on each island had its own dialect, and they were all developed by the Spanish settlers, so it is still a local variant of the Castilian language (a dialect of Spanish) contains a lot of "Kyarizov", so to understand the local people, even knowing well Spanish, is not easy.

The first sailors stranded in the Canary Islands, were impressed by the language with which the Guanches were talking to each other. Being near, people just silently moved his lips and knew each other, and on distance communicated using... whistling. The conqueror Islands French-normandes Baron Jean de Betancourt wrote in one of his diaries: "La Gomera Island is the birthplace of high people who own the most remarkable of all languages. They say with his lips, as if they had no language at all. These people there is a legend that they are innocent, severely punished a Governor ordered to cut off their languages and send to the island. Judging by the way they talk, in this legend can be trusted". Unbelievable but true - gomery could speak with whistling at a distance of 15 kilometers! And these were not some prearranged signals, but a real spoken language in which it was possible to talk infinitely long and about anything. Of course only with each other, and not with "dumb", in the opinion of the islanders, the aliens (sailors, Spanish, tourists etc). The Guanches are gone, but the language of the whistle alive still, and their descendants - the current population uses it when necessary. Can even peresvistyvayas as Canaries, amazing numerous tourists. The language of their whistle received by linguists called "silbo La Gomera," because the language-the whistle preserved only the residents of ogoori.

In addition to its amazing "wheezing" language Guanches were famous that, in addition to sheep, goats and pigs were bred huge dogs Bardino (berdinas), of which became modern and already smaller mastiffs. The dogs were large protruding eyes and nasty temper. They are well defended the cattle of their hosts from the encroachments of unfriendly neighbors. By the way, unlike the Guanches dogs still thrive on the Islands, with great success protecting private property and not miss opportunities to set a good beating uninvited guest or unwary tourists. Maybe so, struck a terrible kind and mores of these dogs, ancient historians (for example, Pliny the Elder) brought the name of the Islands from the Latin word "canis" (dog).

Each headed Canary the tribe was the leader, who was called "Mensa" (mencey). Conquistadors called him a king. The society of the Guanches were divided into two classes - the people of noble origin and plebeians. A separate category were the so-called clergy - the caste of priests. The priests wore clothes and headdresses, like Babel. They embalm the dead, as the Egyptians, and buried them in a domed tombs, as Mycenaean Greeks, or in special burial mounds (tumuli - tumuli). Elliot Smith in the book "Migration of early cultures" also points to the amazing similarity of their ways ancient Egyptian mummification: "When a person dies, they keep his body in the following way. Attribute it to the cave, rasplachivat on a flat stone and open, then take out the insides, washed prepared salt water and smeared with a mixture of sheep's fat, humus pine tar, crushed pumice and Bush Bresse. Prepared the body is dried in the sun for 15 days and when it dries and becomes almost weightless, wrapped in sheepskin, leather pull straps and placed in a special caves, located next to the living quarters. Due to the fact that in the caves kept at a constant temperature, mummy perfectly preserved until our days.

Other witnesses of that time add that the Guanches were still stuffed body herbs

and incense, sprinkled before placing the grottoes of the red juice "dragon tree", known for its antiseptic effect. This method of making mummies reminiscent of ancient Egyptian and Peruvian. Among herbs, which was stuffed mummy found rare herbs, for example, chenopodium ambrosiodes used for mummification and the Peruvian by the Incas. Now some of the Canary mummies can be seen in the Museum, Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife.

According to Western scientists tribes of the Canary Islands at the time of arrival of the Spaniards were at the stage of the "middle Neolithic, or very similar to the "average, the Neolithic. About the origin of ancient civilization on the Islands show Pyramid Chaconne, discovered on the island in the valley Guitar (Guimar). But the Canarian people had its writing, remaining in the cliff inscriptions. Most of rock carvings and drawings are preserved in the West of the Canary Islands, on the threshold of the New world - Hierro (ferro). Their inscriptions remind progresista, Cretan, drevnerusskie, Phoenician and Numidian letters. Some researchers, pointing to their resemblance to the letter of the Tuareg, based drevnerusskoe letter, determined their approximate age is not less than 2 thousand years. By this time, are mentioned by ancient authors about staying on the Islands of the ancient Libyans. One Spanish chronicler wrote down the words of one of their last guanche about his people: "our Fathers have said that God settling of us on this island, then forgot about us. But one day he will return with the Sun (East!), which he ordered to be born every morning and which we were created (they are worshippers!)". In our time we found mummies identified a group of blood, making them masters of the ancient population of North-Western Europe, and among those tools and utensils is items related to the Chalcolithic Liguria, i.e. the European Mediterranean.

The Guanches knew no metal, no firearms but its wooden and stone (long and sharp blades made of volcanic stone) weapons could repulse any enemy. The monks, who accompanied Betancourt, who decided to create on the Islands of his Kingdom, wrote: "a lot of People here, but they are very tall and strong and difficult to take alive... They decisive and merciless, if you take someone in captivity, kill". However, others suggest that, initially, the Guanches were distinguished by exceptional peacefulness, sworn enemies can again recognize friends behaved nobly and even freed prisoners. To arms tried to avoid, but quarreled with neighbors, simply cut off from them by a stone wall. For example, acting on Fuerteventura ("the Great adventure") this wall divided in half the entire island. It is a pity that these walls are not saved the island from the pirates and the conquistadors. Later, based on this evidence, the Spanish poet Antonio de Viana wrote: "They were virtuous, honest and brave, they combined all the best human qualities: generosity, agility, courage, athletic strength, firmness of soul and body, friendly faces, inquisitive mind, ardent patriotism, love of freedom...". Dreaming of his Kingdom Baron Jean de Betancourt at the beginning of the XV century intervened in the war of the islanders with Spain and with each other. Cunning and using converted to Christianity of the Canarian people, he won several Islands and to become for a while unofficial ruler of the Canary Islands, the real ruler of the Islands was the Spanish king.

In 1360 the Bay Gando on one of ogran Canaria ("Grand Canaria") archipelago includes two Spanish ship. The local population, having learned them pirates began to throw in the aliens stones. Delve deep into the island of newcomers they have captured. Frightened by the Spaniards left the Bay. The captives were treated very humanely, because, writes Abreu de Galindo, they had the custom to do so with a conquered enemy. Spanish invaders during 134 years fought with the indigenous population of the Canary Islands. Armed only with spears, bows and arrows Yes stone knives and axes, the Guanches resisted the invaders stubborn resistance, they always fought to the end, and if surrendered, only for the sake of women and children. The forces were unequal. During 80 years of the war only "Grand island" army of the Guanches decreased from 14 thousand to 600 people. In the cruel battles, being surrounded by superior enemy forces, most of the Guanches rushed into the abyss, leaving the Spanish thousands of women, children and the elderly. The latter was very much impressed by the acting Tenerife, the inhabitants of which were considered the most rebellious and aggressive. Its mountains guerrilla war lasted until the end of 1495. After the capture of the island only in some places in the caves has preserved a handful of people great once tribe, but they soon died recorded by Europeans plague, raging throughout Europe. The surviving residents deprived of all rights and their land became the territory of Spain. The Spaniards built there Hacienda, where they were forced to work as labourers descendants proud nation.

More "lucky" people agomira, converted to Christianity residents recognized the authority of Betancourt and was on the protection of the Spanish crown. Later for atrocities committed by the inhabitants of the island of new vicar Peraza Herrera was even called in Madrid and subjected to life imprisonment. Coming after this new settlers mingled with the natives and gave birth to a new nation - today the population of the island. Queen Isabella has saved thousands sold into slavery islanders and the other Islands. But they came all the new fans of cruelty and easy money, and the extermination of the Guanches continued.

As a result of the XVII century from more than 20 thousand of the Guanches, known at the time of the capture of the island, most of the population was exterminated, sold as slaves in the slave markets of Spain and the Maghreb. Last thousand islanders mixed with the Franco-Spanish colonists and lost their language. But they first conquered by the conquistadors Nations gained full of Spanish nationality. Although this was too little to clean to maintain their racial type, its original culture. So ceased to exist blue-eyed giants to communicate among themselves on the sibilant language tropical birds and who buried their dead in the caves near the housing, but managed for more than 150 years to provide decent resistance armed to the teeth with the invaders. After the seizure of the Islands brutal Spaniards destroyed and profaned even the burial of the Guanches with hundreds and thousands of mummies...

The language of the Guanches gradually sinking into oblivion, inscriptions and not deciphered, much of their history is unclear. But modern Canarian believe that the blood of the ancient Guanches is still flowing in their veins. "The real Canarian people are those whose ancestors lived here not less than five hundred years, they say scientists and tourists. - And if you meet on the Islands tall red-haired man with blue eyes, do not hesitate - you see the true Guanche!".