{"id":1420,"date":"2015-10-28T08:06:36","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T08:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fuertecharter.com\/?p=1420"},"modified":"2015-10-28T08:22:18","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T08:22:18","slug":"historia-casa-coroneles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fuertecharter.com\/en\/historia-casa-coroneles\/","title":{"rendered":"History: The colonels\u2019 house, power and splendour in la Oliva"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting and emblematic buildings in Fuerteventura, with a great historical meaning as much for this majorera island as for the whole Canary Archipelago, is the colonels\u2019 house; a feudal building, located in the malpa\u00eds of \u2018La Arena\u2019, in the outskirts of La Oliva, standing out not just because of its history but because of its architecture too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a civic and military building that started to be built in the second half of the XVII Century, ruled by the S\u00e1nchez-Dumpi\u00e9rrez family, and it surprises us because of its great dimensions, making a contrast with the desert landscape and the plains where it is located. The S\u00e1nchez-Dumpi\u00e9rrez Family held repeatedly the office of Colonel of the Provincial Militias, which was held for life and it was hereditary. They created a military aristocracy extremely mighty, and they would dominate the island at the end of the XVIII century.<\/p>\n

\"Excursiones<\/p>\n

Why does the figure of the colonel have so much power in comparison to that of feudal lords?<\/strong>
\nOnce that Fuerteventura takes part in the Catillian Crown dominions are established, and the family Arias de Saavedra held the title of Fuerteventura\u2019s lords. The crown is aware that their power to control their own territories is weakening, as the lands are under the rule of lords that govern their own way. So, the crown decides to create a military regiment under the rule of a colonel that would take control of the island little by little. In 1708 the militia\u2019s regiment is settled, and their colonel holds the office and duties of \u2018Governador de Armas\u2019; the mission of this office will be to undermine the power of the island\u2019s lords.<\/p>\n

First of all they take away their military power, and little by little colonels become the true landowners, ruling the island from their fortress houses: the colonels\u2019 house. Fuerteventura\u2019s lords lived in Betancuria, but colonels settle in La Oliva, so Betancuria loses interest, and political, economic and social development starts in La Oliva, living at that time its biggest splendour.<\/p>\n

La Oliva becomes thus the most important major city in Fuerteventura; the colonel orders the building of La Oliva\u2019s church (the biggest one in the island) and creates and important market; the first colonel even buys the sculpture of the \u2018Virgen de la Candelaria\u2019, thus undermining that of the \u2018Virgen de Betancuria\u2019. They became the richest family in the Canary Islands. The power the colonels got was so great that they started to live as proper lords- there was a splendorous social and artistic refinement. Among the payslips found in the house there was that of a pianist brought from France, which shows the refinement and artistic sensitivity they had. Painters of a great reputation went to this house and gave expression to portraits of La Oliva\u2019s colonels.<\/p>\n

The architectural complex of the Colonels\u2019 house clearly shows the power that this family enjoyed. It is a building inspired in the rustic houses of nobility in the Canary Islands (like those that at that time were built in Tenerife\u2019s Lagoon, but improved). It was made of several areas or buildings, each one with a different function: the main square, the cistern, the stables, the ceremony area, the agricultural area\u2026. Within this complex you also find the doctor\u2019s house, the chemistry, the administrator\u2019s area, the carpenter\u2019s workshop, the blacksmith\u2019s\u2026 and in the central area, as a powerful castle, the building where the colonel and his family lived. Colonels get their full splendor in the XVIII C, but all through the XIX C. the new economic, political and social situations bring the military power in Fuerteventura to a slow deterioration.<\/p>\n

Populations like Puerto de Cabras and Antigua gain importance as demographic segments. Colonels will lose their political and military power, not the economic one though, which they will keep even after the colonles\u2019 office disappeared.<\/p>\n

Nowadays The Colonels\u2019 house is a museum that hints at the power that Fuerteventura held in the past.<\/p>\n

FuerteCharter Team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Excursiones
\u00a9 Ayuntamiento de La Oliva<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting and emblematic buildings in Fuerteventura, with a great historical meaning as much for this majorera island as for the whole Canary Archipelago, is the colonels\u2019 house; a feudal building, located in the malpa\u00eds of \u2018La Arena\u2019, in the outskirts of La Oliva, standing out not just because of its history … Continue reading History: The colonels\u2019 house, power and splendour in la Oliva<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[64],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n