Abel Galindo: “For centuries, the Canary Islands suffered attacks from pirates who came to plunder the towns”
Young people between 9 and 15 years old learn the history of attacks by sea, through games in a Scape Room of puzzles to get a treasure
The Canary Islands suffered, as has been documented in history, they suffered for several centuries from attacks by pirates who came to plunder the towns, events that young people between 9 and 15 years old are recreating and getting to know on the campus organized by the Maspalomas Summer University.
During this week, the Campus Scape Room 'Una de Piratas' will turn Tony Gallardo Park into an intrepid field of games and adventures, where young people have to solve puzzles to get the final prize: a water game.
The week began with the resolution of a 'Tetris' type game, in which it was necessary to gather and locate each piece to compose the secret word, which will be the key to continue the search, while experts in the history of the Canary Islands explain to the students participants the peculiarities of each historical event reported.
The first day was dedicated to the figure of the pirate Van Der Does, who led an attack on Gran Canaria, as well as other historical figures, such as Francis Drake and Admiral Nelson. But above all, they are learning details about two Canarian pirates: Arraes Ali 'the Canary' and Amargo Pargo. According to history, the first was born in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, in Tenerife, and was captured in the bay of Las Isletas, in Gran Canaria, and transferred to Tunisia, as a slave, until he managed to buy the freedom of he. “He was a very outstanding character, who managed to lead the largest fleet of his time, with more than 65 ships,” commented Abel Galindo Rodríguez, workshop coordinator, archaeologist and professor of History at the ULPGC.
"There has never been a fleet like it in this part of the Atlantic. He became a Barbary pirate, like the Ottoman Turks, and carried out his actions mainly in Mediterranean waters. His greatest feat was kidnapping the governor of Seville and demanding a ransom for his release. Then he retired,” commented the historian and head of the workshop.
Attacks that marked history
"For centuries, the Canary Islands were invaded by frequent attacks by pirates and each invasion left atrocious results for the population of the Island because they entered plunder, especially when they had no information about the place, and took everything they could, after destroy the cities, especially in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where Van der Does, for example, took the bells from the Cathedral,” Galindo explained.
In fact, even the configuration of the cities on the Islands responds to the need to protect themselves from these attacks, with enclaves far from the coast. "If we look, except for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the other municipalities on the Island were born in inland locations, despite being located on an island."
The workshop, taught by Abel Galindo, has the support of the coordinator Silvia Alvarado, members of Arkeós Arqueología and who repeat as speakers at the Maspalomas Summer University.
