Message #8005

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Canary Islands

The Canary Islands IPA/kəˈnæɹɪ ˈaɪləndz/ (Spanish Islas Canarias /ˈis.las kaˈnarjas/) (28° 06'N, 15° 24'W) are an archipelago of the Kingdom of Spain consisting of seven islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. They are located off the north-western coast of Africa (Morocco and the Western Sahara). They form an autonomous community of Spain.

The Canary Islands have been known since antiquity. Some accounts estimate the islands to be 30 million years old.[1] They had an indigenous population called the Guanches whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians and linguists.

The islands were presumably visited by the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians. According to Pliny the Elder, the 1st century AD Roman author and philosopher, when visited by the Carthaginians under Hanno the Navigator the archipelago was found to be uninhabited, but that they saw ruins of great buildings.[2] This may suggest that the islands were inhabited by other peoples prior to the Guanches.

In the Middle Ages the islands were visited by Arab and European sailors.