Santa Cruz of Tenerife
Santa Cruz of Tenerife is a Spanish city located in the island of Tenerife, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Province of Santa Cruz of Tenerife, as one of the two capitals of the Canary islands (second is Las Palmas of Gran Canaria). It is located at the North-East of the island, in the Bahía of Tenerife (Bay of Tenerife). It is a city which depends much on the economic sector of tourism, but the industrial sector is also developed, especially in the fields of chemistry and the refining. Santa Cruz of Tenerife is also one of the most important ports of Spain. Festivals, like the Carnival, and the climate make city one of most important and known of the country.
History
At the time of the Guanches, Santa Cruz of Tenerife belonged to the kingdom of Anaga. The island of Tenerife was located in a so ideal way on the way towards the new world that Spanish with the conquest of America did not want to longer leave this ground to the hands of the aboriginals.
After having already conquered the other islands of the archipelago of the Canaries, the Andalusian Alonso Fernández de Lugo unloaded in 1494 in the Bahia de Ananza . It made there build the fort Agaete which was used to him as a basis at the time of its combat against Guanches. It is only at the end of two years that he managed to subject the first inhabitants of the island. As a sign of victory it made set up a cross of wood which gave its name to the city.
During XVIe S. the economic rise of the important port city located on the road of Americas was still reinforced thanks to the commercial exchanges with England. English wanted to then adapt the island. They carried out, under the command of the admirals Blake, Jennings and Nelson three massive attacks remained unfruitful against Tenerife between 1657 and 1797. And it is with pride that one exhibe today in the old fortress the gun El Tigre which drew the ball which tore off the arm of Nelson, the future winner of the Bataille of Trafalgar.
In 1723 Santa Cruz of Tenerife became the capital of the island in the place of Laguna and in 1812 it was even named capital of Tenerife. It counts then, according to Jean-Baptiste Bory of Saint-Vincent approximately 8.397 hearts. Very deep, the roads are rather roomy and can contain ten to twelve men-of-war.
The city in itself disappoints the traveller, who describes it by writing that “ Holy-Cross is the bunch of the cheappest rabble; half of its habitans, half-naked or vêtus of let us haillons, wound the eyes by their dirty impudicity; lost girls block the streets, and of the monks fill the cabarets and the evil hauntes”
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