El Hierro Travel Guide
Travel to El Hierro - The Meridian Island
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Few places in the world conserve their true nature and natural beauty like the island of El Hierro, the smallest of the Canaries and one of the most attractive of all Atlantic Islands. In an area covering just a little over 278 square kilometres, visitors will discover a continuous contrast of very different landscapes, where they can can admire lava flows, volcanic cones, green pinewoods, gentle meadows, and laurel woodland known as laurisilva, together with rocky coasts of colossal cliffs which plunge down into the area clear and blue waters.
The name of the island is derived from the Guanche language toponym Hero, which by the process of folk-etymology was transformed into "Hierro," meaning "iron" in Spanish, due to its similarity to that word. Thus, Ferro (Latin ferrum, "iron") was and is used as an alternative name for the island.
The ancient natives of the island, called bimbaches, were conquered by Jean de Béthencourt. The latter had as his ally and negotiator Augeron, brother of the island's native monarch. Augeron had been captured years previously by the Europeans serving as mediator between the Europeans and the Guanches. In return for control over the island, Béthencourt promised to respect the liberty of the natives, but he eventually broke his promise, selling many of the bimbaches into slavery. Many Frenchmen and Galicians subsequently settled on the island. There was a revolt of the natives against the harsh treatment of the governor Lázaro Vizcaíno, but it was suppressed.
Places to Visit in El Hierro
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