Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Canary Islands Links to the World Cup Final Four
With Spain out and many people's World Cup choice, Brazil, defeated too, which country will a Canary Islands resident be shouting for in these final days of the championship? Yes, for those of you who are sick of it, it is nearly over! :)
There really is no easy choice here, with links, of varying degrees, to all four of the remaining teams at the semi-final stage of World Cup 2006.
Germany
In the present day, the Canary Islands' foreign resident league table is led by 28,957 Germans, against 15,044 Italians, which could place a little bias on the local flag waving for tonight's clash, Germany v Italy.
German holiday makers to the island of Tenerife only make up for 14.2% of the total. The largest number of temporary visitors are British (31.7%).
They and we 25,013 English expats in the Canary Islands will find 10 uses for an unwanted England flag here. It's a pity Scotland didn't get through instead, because the Tenerife flag and the Scottish flag seem pretty interchangeable to me. Actually, have you noticed that if you were to add an England flag to a Tenerife flag, you'd end up with a Union Jack, but I digress ... :)
Italy
In olden times, Italy would have won hands down on numbers of local supporters. From the 14th century onward numerous visits were made by sailors from Genoa. Genoan merchant, Cristóbal de Ponte paid for the conquest of Tenerife and his Italian blood has coursed through the veins of the island's dynasties for centuries. Another Italian, Lancelotto Malocello had settled on the island of Lanzarote in 1312, even having the island named after him.
And, of course, that other famous Italian, Christopher Columbus, dallied here (with medieval nymphomaniac, Beatriz de Bobadilla) on numerous occasions, though history does not record that he left any blood ties in the archipelago.
(Which reminds me, Wayne Rooney's girlfriend, caused heads to turn on the beach and has had her share of raucous nights out in Tenerife.)
Portugal
Portugal discovered the Canary Islands in 1341. Unfortunately, they were not the first to do so. Nevertheless, in 1433, the pope, who was asked to mediate in the Portuguese-Castilian conflict over the Canaries, decided for Portugal.
Three years later, in 1436, the pope reversed his decision and awarded them to Castile. (Canary Islands, 1402-1496) The matter was finally sorted out, in writing, in Spain's favour, by the Treaty of Alcaçovas, in 1479.
(I wonder which way a football playing pope would have decided?)
There seems to have been little love lost over the issue, because the Portuguese traded here, introduced plantations and Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese maritime explorer, dropped in from time to time.
And, we should not forget that Portugal are the neighbours, with the Canary Islands being part of Macaronesia, along with Portuguese owned Azores, Madeira and Savage Islands, as well as Portuguese speaking Cape Verde.
Another thing that could get Portugal some local support is that Portugal's Luís Figo is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both teams are supported, with equal rivalry, here on the islands. Although, Figo is doubtful for tomorrow's game.
Those who, on Spain's exit, had changed allegiance to Brazil, could just as easily turn it towards Portugal, now that Scolari is coaching the Portuguese team.
France
In 1402, the conquest of the Canary Islands began, with the expedition of French explorers Juan de Bethencourt, Gadifer de la Salle and other Norman nobles. To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among Canary Islanders and people of Canary Islander descent, giving ample reason for favouring France instead, in the Portugal v France game tomorrow.
Ignoring the obvious tie with Spanish team, Real Madrid, by far the oldest blood tie that could get those tricolore waving is the shared ancestry that islanders have with French captain, Zinedine Zidane, who is of Kabyle (Berber) descent.
At the time of their discovery by Europeans, the Canary Islands were inhabited by a variety of indigenous communities. The pre-colonial population of the Canaries is generically referred to as Guanches, although, strictly speaking, Guanches were originally the inhabitants of Tenerife.
The origins of these Canarian indigenous people have been - and indeed still are - the subject of long debates. Today, archaeological and ethnographic studies have led most scholars to accept the view that the pre-colonial population of the Canaries were descendants of North African Berber tribes.
Conclusion
Whoever any Canary Islands' resident (or temporary visitor) chooses to support, out of the final four in this World Cup, you can be sure that there is some reason, tenuous or otherwise, to back it up. And, let's face it, whoever wins on Sunday, there's also reason enough to claim that they were your choice all along! :)
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias, World Cup
From: Secret Tenerife | Tenerife Daily Photo
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