The island became part of Norman seigneurial expansion early on and later entered the broader dynamics of the archipelago while keeping a small demographic scale. Its relative isolation shaped its own rhythms of settlement, economy and mobility until very recent times.
The island became part of Norman seigneurial expansion early on and later entered the broader dynamics of the archipelago while keeping a small demographic scale. Its relative isolation shaped its own rhythms of settlement, economy and mobility until very recent times.
Among its main reference points are Myth of the edge, Biosphere Reserve, Energy innovation, which connect landscape, memory and everyday life. This historical reading connects settlement, conquest, economy, institutions, migrations and cultural memory rather than reducing the island to isolated dates.
Key points
Los bimbaches
La poblacion prehispanica de El Hierro (bimbaches) vivía en una pequeña comunidad ganadera y pastoril; el Garoé, árbol sagrado que capturaba niebla, era el centro de su vida ritual.
Conquista pacifica (1405)
El Hierro fue la primera isla conquistada sin resistencia armada, mediante un tratado con el rey bimbache Armiche; el proceso se integró en la conquista señorial de Bethencourt.
El meridiano de El Hierro (1634-1884)
Los cartógrafos europeos usaron El Hierro como meridiano de referencia durante 250 años por ser el punto más occidental de Europa conocido; su nombre en latín, Insula Meridiana, refleja este papel.
Aislamiento y emigración
La lejanía y la escasez de recursos empujaron a muchos herreños a emigrar a Cuba y Venezuela en el siglo XIX; el regreso de americanos aporto recursos y redes que transformaron la sociedad insular.
Municipalities of El Hierro
See all →- El Pinar de El HierroEl Pinar de El Hierro is a municipality of El Hierro, presented through settlement, landscape, local memory and its links with the rest of the island.
- FronteraFrontera is a municipality of El Hierro, presented through settlement, landscape, local memory and its links with the rest of the island.
- ValverdeValverde is a municipality of El Hierro, presented through settlement, landscape, local memory and its links with the rest of the island.