290 



I shall not enter into any discussions of poli- 

 tical economy relative to the importance of the 

 Canary islands to the trading nations of Europe. 

 Having- long employed myself in statistical re- 

 searches on the Spanish colonies, and being on 

 terms of intimacy with persons who had held places 

 of importance at Teneriffe, I had an opportunity, 

 during my abode in Caraccas and at the Havan- 

 nah, of collecting considerable information re- 

 specting the commerce of Santa Cruz and Oro- 

 tava. But several distinguished persons having 

 since visited the Canaries, they have obtained 

 the same means of information as myself ; and 

 I do not hesitate to strike out from my narra- 

 tive, what has been explained, with greater pre- 

 cision, in works that have preceded mine. J shall 

 here confine myself to a few considerations, 

 which will terminate the sketch I have just given 

 of the Archipelago of the Canaries. 



These islands have undergone the same fate as 

 Egypt, the Crimea, and many other countries, 

 respecting which travellers, who are anxious to 

 elevate and surprise by contrasts, have been ex- 

 travagant both in their praise and their blame. 

 Some, landing at Orotava, describe TenerifFe as 

 the garden of the Hesperides, and celebrate the 

 amenity of the climate, the fruitfulness of the soil, 

 and the richness of the cultivation ; others, forced 

 to sojourn at Santa Cruz, behold nothing in these 

 Fortunate Islands but a country, naked, barren, 



