18 + 19th century Lanzarote

During the second half of the eighteenth century the cultivation of cosco or barrilla (Messembryantemun nodiflorum or fructiferum), was introduced. Cosco is a creeping plant that is rich in alkali that is used for the manufacture of soap and to obtain soda. The plant was exploited to the point that the Church wanted to establish a tithe on it.

This, in part, left Lanzarote with only the pattern of grain production that had characterized its economy since the conquest. The export of barrilla is the cause of the gradual growth of the port of Arrecife.

Moreover, Timanfaya eruptions, which created irreparable damage to the fertile plains of the southwest of the island, eventually enabled the cultivation of grapes to be introduced in Lanzarote. The dry weather of Lanzarote was not conducive to this crop, however, the peasant islanders managed a planting system in which the mantle of volcanic ash was used to preserve the abundant moisture deposited during the calm nights.

From the eastern Mediterranean vineyards came the grapes to produce Malvasia wine, the wine of choice of Shakespeare’s character, Falstaff. In addition, American culture came to Lanzarote in the form of the cochineal tuner, potato and tomato. Cochineal, for some time, had been one of the leading industries of the island.

Plantations can still be seen in the villages of Mala and Guatiza. As for fishing, this was always an inshore and offshore art. Major fishing activity was not carried out until the early twentieth century, and Cape Blanco is the area favored by sailors.

Since the mid-eighteenth century, Lanzarote abandoned its previous economic model of cereal production, earning the title “granary of the Canary Islands” throughout the Modern Age.

Lanzarote instead became dedicated to a new export of products, notably of barrilla and wine and spirits, after the eruptions of Timanfaya and areas like Geria were accommodated for growing grapes. These changes lay the groundwork for a new model for the island, which underpins the mid-nineteenth century.

The advances seen the most in contemporary Lanzarote are: the emergence of a new export mono-culture, of primarily cochineal; the rise of Arrecife as the main village and population center; the end of the manor system; and the increasing interest of certain sectors of society in the political evolution of the Canary Islands, which was at the time marked by the so-called insular lawsuit.