The Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Gran Canaria is founded in Las Palmas.

On 4 February 1776, the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country was founded in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, promoted by Bishop Fray Juan Bautista Cervera amid the Enlightenment. It is the oldest civil society in the Canary Islands and one of the longest-lived in Spain. Dedicated to fostering progress, education and the wealth of the island, it promoted scientific and cultural projects from its earliest years — including Gran Canaria's first drawing school, opened in 1787 — and remains active more than two and a half centuries after its foundation.