Brief History of Las Palmas

Before I officially arrive on the island, I felt that it wouldn't hurt to give myself a brief history on the island itself. As I did some research, I had come to figure out that Las Palmas may have the most city/like traits out of all of Gran Canaria.

First and foremost, officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a city capital of Gran Canaria island, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. To a surprise, it is considered the tenth most populous metropolitan area in Spain. It is located in the northeastern part of the island of Gran Canaria, slightly off the Moroccan coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Historically, there is a lot of myth and legend surrounding the early history of the Canary Islands, with many early inhabitants believing them to be the lost land of Atlantis. Others considered the islands to be the site of the magical, mystical fortunate islands, the blissful paradise of both Celtic and Greek mythology.

The city was officially founded in 1478, and considered the capital of the Canary Islands until the seventeenth century. In 1492, Christopher Colombus anchored in the port of Las Palmas and spent some time on the island on his first trip to the Americas. He also stopped there on the way back to Spain. The Colon House museum in the Vegueta area of the city is named after him. ( I will make a visit to this museum at some point!).

Climate is one of the major traits of Las Palmas that make it very unique. It has a desert climate with warm dry summers and warm enough winters to classify it as a Tropical climate. The average temperature during the day is 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and around 64 degrees at night, and large fluctuations in the weather are very rare. It also only rains on average 22 days a year, and has no record of snow of any kind. According to research on climatology, Las Palmas enjoys "the best climate in the world". I am curious to understand how much climate can affect one's mood and overall fulfillment.

Las Palmas has received waves of immigrants from mainland Spain and countries from every continent. The majority of the population is Spanish, although large North and sub-Saharan African and Latin American communities exist as well as important historical minorities such as Indians and Koreans and a growing Chinese population.

This is just a short history on what Las Palmas is about - but I think its key to understand its history to understand its overall culture on the island.