Before the island’s conquest, there were thought to have been at least 10,000 Guanche inhabitants. Ten years later less than 100 were left, the rest having been killed or sent into slavery, mostly to southern Spain and the Azores Islands. De Vera proceeded to Gomera, while Alonso de Lugo went on to La Palma. The Gomerans had risen against their overlord, grandson of Fernin Peraza and bearing his name, and killed him in 1488, while his widow, Beatriz de Bobadilla, sought refuge in the Torre del Conde, a small fortress built by the elder Peraza. De Vera lured the natives to a peace meeting, then slaughtered or deported them as slaves – men, women and children.

Alonso de Lugo gathered a force of men and landed at Tazacorte in 1491. He met surprisingly little opposition at first, but his despotic ways soon caused the Guanches to rise against him. Through a combination of superior weapons and treachery, the Spaniards finally suppressed them in 1493.

Now only Tenerife remained to be conquered. In 1464, Diego de Herrera had arrived in northern Tenerife and built a fort at the port of Anazo (now Santa Cruz), but the Guanches had beaten him back and destroyed his fort. Thirty years on, Alonso de Lugo tried again. Landing at Anazo, he made his way across the island towards the valley of La Orotava. There he and his men were ambushed, suffering heavy losses, and forced to retreat. The site of this ambush is now the village of La Matanza de Acentejo (The Massacre of Acentejo).

The following year de Lugo returned with more troops and weapons. He first engaged the Guanches at Sao Miguel Island, killing Bencomo, chief of the Guanches. Led by Bencomo’s son, the islanders retreated into the hills to regroup while de Lugo planned his final assault. The last battle took place only a few miles from La Matanza, in bloody revenge, the Spaniards slaughtered the Guanches at La Victoria de Acentejo (The Victory of Acentejo). Apart from mopping up operations, that was it. After almost a hundred years, the Conquest of the Canary Islands was complete.