La Gomera is one of the most beautiful of the volcanic islands in the archipelago.

And although it is the 3rd youngest of the Canary Islands, the volcano is extinct. It stopped erupting about 3 million years ago.

To this day, scientists cannot agree on where the original inhabitants of La Gomera came from. This leaves a lot of room for hypothetical and phantasmal explanations. Legends are still abundant about the island of the blissful.

One thing that we can be sure of, is that the Phoenicians, coming from what is known today as Cadiz, were bold sailors, who explored the Atlantic Ocean between 1100-800 B.C. and very probably were the ones to discover every one of the Canary Islands.

From 5000 B.C., the first settlers landed on La Gomera. It is unclear as to whether they came from north African Berlan Tribes or if they were part of the megalithic culture. It is also still unknown, if the settlement was part of a specific migration.

It is assumed that the ancient inhabitants of the island, also known as “Guanches”, had neither contact to Africa nor to the neighbouring islands.

They lived a peaceful life in a stone-age culture. Mostly they were farmers and shepherds, who also sustained themselves by fishing.

The social structure of the Ancient Canarians, which was based on the principal of equality, is seen as highly developed.

Spain’s conquest of La Gomera began in 1404, after the Norman aristocrat Jean de Bethencourt annexed Lanzarote and Fuertaventura to the Spanish Crown.

In 1404, Bethencourt tried to invade La Gomera, but failed because of the bitter resistance of the natives. An attack at a later time managed to subdue two of the four tribes.

The Spanish authority changed many times, until Hernan de Peraza, together with the beautiful Beatriz de Bobadilla, ruled over La Gomera in 1447.