Canary Islands / Canárias

Opinions about the discovery of the Canary Islands vary, with some authors affirming that these islands were discovered three times, the last time being in the late 14th or early 15th century. Father Antonio Cordeiro says in the Insulana History that they were discovered for the 'third time in the year 1417 by their kings Betencores; and the island of Madeira having been discovered and populated in 1420, and immediately gaining great fame, finally moved the aforementioned second king of the Canary Islands to sell the four; in which he reigned, to our Lusitanian and Most Serene Infante D. Henrique..., and in fact he sold them for certain goods that the infante gave him in the said island of Madeira, to where (and nearby) the said king of the Canary Islands moved, and finally without a reign, he stayed in Madeira, and the Betencores' descendants still endure today...'. There is already a vast bibliography that deals with the discovery of this archipelago, its early colonization, the rights that the Portuguese claimed to have to its possession, and the issues that arose between Portugal and Castile for this reason. Despite the communication difficulties, relations between the neighboring archipelagos of the Canary Islands and Madeira were relatively frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries.