Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the largest City in the European Union lying outside the European continent just 150 kilometers off the northwestern coast of Africa. It is the fifth most populous urban area in Spain exceeding a censured population of over 724 thousand people in 2012, and the ninth largest city in Spain.A little bit of history …
The city was founded by Juan Rejón on 24 June 1478, with the name “Real de Las Palmas”; Juan Rejón was head of the invading Castilian army, before engaging in war with the local Guanches (aboriginal people of the Canary Islands). In 1492, Christopher Columbus anchored in the Port of Las Palmas, and spent some time on the island on his first trip to the Americas. The Casa de Colón museum in the Vegueta area of the city is named after him. In 1595 Francis Drake failed to plunder the island. The raid and partial destruction of Las Palmas by the Dutch under Vice Admiral Pieter van der Does in 1599 is considered a major event in the city’s history. In 1927, Las Palmas was designated the premier capital of the Canary Island by decree of 30 November 1833.
The Las Palmas seaport, Puerto de la Luz, known internationally as La Luz Port, benefited greatly from the closure of the Suez Canal during the Arab-Israeli conflict. Due to its situation as nexus of two continents and its importance as a tourist destination, many foreign workers have migrated to the city.Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a sister city of San Antonio, Texas in the United States, which was founded in 1718 by about 25 Canary Islanders.
It was founded as a city in 1478, considered the de facto only capital of the Canary Islands until the seventeenth century. Today, the city is capital of Canary Islands with Santa Cruz and home to the Canarian Ministry of Presidency (shared in a 4-year term with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), home to half of the Ministries and Boards of the Canarian Government, and home to the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands. It is the judicial and commercial capital of the Canary Islands, and is also home to a great share of the executive power.
