History
The conquest of La Gomera started in the early 15th century, led by Norman knight Juan de Bethencourt, although the process was more of an absorption than a conquest, as it was totally bloodless, which meant that the aboriginal population conserved their social and economic peculiarities for many years. In fact, some of their cultural features and certain racial characteristics can still be seen today. When the conquest of the Canary Islands was completed, in 1494, La Gomera became part of the Crown of Castile, as the feudal manor of the Peraza family, who established an authoritarian system on the island that lasted up until the first third of the 19th century.
One important event in the history of the 15th century, apart from the feat of Christopher Columbus, was the death of Hernan Peraza. Lord of the Island, at the hands of a Guanche native called Hautacuperche. Hernan Peraza was a despot with his subjects, whilst keeping a beautiful native shepherdess named Iballa, as a lover. The plot was led by Hupolupo, the spiritual chief of the native aborigines, who took advantage of a visit by Hernan Peraza to the cave of Guahedun, accompanied by Iballa, to kill him. Peraza was murdered by the lovely Iballa's fiancé, who killed him with a dart.
News of the death of the Lord of La Gomera was quickly spread throughout the island in the language of whistles that echoed and were repeated from valley to valley and from mountain to mountain. Peraza’s death led to massacres of the natives throughout the island. This did not, however, break the spirit of the islanders at any time during the feudal rule, with periodic reactions against the feudal lords, especially in the north of the island, in Hermigua and in Vallehermoso. La Gomera played an important role in the discovery of America, as the island was the last known land-fall for Admiral Christopher Columbus before setting off on the adventure of discovering the New World. During his stopover on the island, he laid in large quantities of general provisions, water, wood and food, before setting sail from the bay of San Sebastian de La Gomera on the 6th of September 1492.