Jean de Béthencourt (; 1362–1425) was a French explorer who in 1402 led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote. From there he conquered for Castile the islands of Fuerteventura (1405) and El Hierro, ousting their local chieftains (majos and bimbaches, ancient peoples). Béthencourt received the title Lord of the Canary Islands ("Señor"), named himself King of the Canary Islands, but recognized King Henry III of Castile, who had provided aid during the conquest, as his overlord.

Background

The Canary Islands were apparently known to the Carthaginians of Cadiz. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder called them "the Fortunate Islands". Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello is credited with the rediscovery of the Canary Islands in 1312. In 1339, Majorcan Angelino Dulcert drew the first map of the Canaries, labeling one of the islands "Lanzarote". The proposal by the doge was presented as a crusade. As such it would give prestige to its participants, a moratorium on their debts, immunity from lawsuits, and papal indulgence. The French force, consisting of 1,500 knights under the leadership of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, lay siege to Mahdia in Tunis.

The French were unfamiliar with the terrain, lacked heavy siege equipment, underestimated their enemy, and became embroiled in internal quarrels. Here too, he again met up with Gadifer de la Salle, whom he had known previously during service under the Duke of Orléans, and who would accompany him to the Canaries.

Expedition to the Canary Islands

At that time the Canary Islands were mainly frequented by Spanish merchants. To finance his expedition he sold his house in Paris valued at 200 gold francs and some other small pieces of property in December 1401. His cousin, Robert de Bracquemont, French ambassador to Castile, loaned him 7,000 pounds against a mortgage of Bethencourt's estate.

At this time a power struggle had broken out on the island between Gadifer and Berthin de Berneval, another officer. Berthin spread dissention between the Normans of Béthencourt and the Gascons of Gadifer. Local leaders were drawn into the conflict and scores had died in the first months of Béthencourt's absence. During this time, Gadifer had managed to conquer Fuerteventura and to explore other islands. It was only with the return of Béthencourt in 1404 that peace was restored to the troubled island. De la Salle and Béthencourt founded the city of Betancuria (as capital of the island of Fuerteventura) in 1404. A power struggle broke out between the two men, and his lieutenant De la Salle was forced to return to France.

In 1418, he agreed that Maciot de Béthencourt sold the Lordship of the Canary Islands to the Spanish nobleman Enrique Pérez de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Niebla on his behalf. Maciot de Béthencourt remained administrator of the islands.

He died in 1425 and was buried in the church of Grainville-la-Teinturière.

Some of his distant family had great power and fortune in the islands. Including Ginés de Cabrera Béthencourt, famous for building the Casa de Los Coroneles (House Of The Colonels) in the municipal area that would nowadays be known as La Oliva.

Two accounts of the expedition survive in Le Canarien.

Béthencourt surname

To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among Canary Islanders and people of Canary Islander descent, in spite of his death without issue, thanks to the practice of baptising the natives with his surname and to the offspring of his nephew Maciot de Béthencourt who succeeded him as king of the islands.

See also

  • Roccella tinctoria

References

  • History of the Canaries
  • EFEMÉRIDES DE LA NACIÓN CANARIA: UNA HISTORIA RESUMIDA DE CANARIAS