Arrecife

Arrecife

Understand "Arrecife" means reef, the line of coastal volcanic rock that acts a breakwater, a barrier to larger ships but one that small craft could shelter behind when pirates hove into view. Those pirates would loot or burn whatever they could and take prisoners to be sold as slaves. There was a small fishing settlement here from the 15th century, and the Castillo de San Gabriel was built on an islet at the end of the 16th century. There was always trade with mainland Spain but more lucrative were the routes to Spanish colonies in the Americas. The church of San Ginés was built around 1630 and the fortress of San José was built around 1770. Arrecife gained the status of a city in 1812, and in 1852 it became the island's capital, replacing Teguise.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.