The erroneous name of Gran Canaria, in the order of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands on the restrictions due to COVID, resuscitates the debate about the treatment of the round island. The document, signed by six magistrates, names Gran Canaria as ‘Isla de Las Palmas’, an island that does not exist and has never existed and on which, therefore, the guidelines contained in said order may not be applicable. .
A mistake that has been repeated for years, when the city of ‘Las Palmas’ changed its name to ‘Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’. “The confusion is logical due to the toponymy that has been changing throughout history”, explains Germán Santana, professor of Modern History at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
According to the teacher, the confusion between the name of the Island, with that of the Province and the City; It began in the 1930s when the island’s capital changed its name. “The capital was founded as the Real de Las Palmas, because there was an important palm grove. In 1515 it was given the title of town with the name of Las Palmas and it remained that way until the beginning of the 20th century, “says the historian who adds that” at the end of the Civil War, the capital was part of the municipality of San Lorenzo and was given the official name of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to distinguish it from the Province that is Las Palmas “.
A little geography
Since 1927, the Canary Islands have two provinces that are named after their two main cities, which are currently co-capitals of the Autonomous Community. The provinces of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; which integrates the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro; and that of Las Palmas, which takes the name that the city had at that time. This province brings together the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa. The island of Gran Canaria, which is often mistakenly called Las Palmas, is the most populated in the province of Las Palmas. In it is the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which is also often mistakenly called Las Palmas.
In addition to this, the island of Las Palmas, which does not exist, is sometimes confused with the island of La Palma or with the city of Palma de Mallorca, which is not even found in the Canary Islands but in the Balearic Islands. , about 2,000 kilometers away.
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