Barlovento: the fresh air of Tagaragre

Barlovento is one of many nautical terms that permeate the toponymy of the archipelago -a legacy of the intense maritime activity of Spain and Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as the seafaring nature of the first settlers. At that time, the word barlovento referred both to the starboard side of a vessel- its right-hand side when facing from stern to bow- and to the side from which the wind was received. These nautical terms eventually extended their meaning to land, which is why the northern part of La Palma has been known by this name since the 16th century.

The etymology of barlovento, composed of barloa and vento, reflects the influence of Nordic languages on European navigation. Barloa (“a cable used to secure a ship to a dock or another vessel”) comes from the French expression venir par lof (“to come alongside”), with *lôf meaning “wind” in Old Scandinavian. This expression was adapted into Spanish as venir de barloo, giving rise to the verb abarloar (“to come alongside or dock a ship”).

At the time of its conquest, Benahoare -the indigenous name of La Palma- was divided into twelve cantons, each governed by a captain. Eleven of them stretched from the coast to the summit, a banded arrangement that allowed the benaoharitas to access a wide variety of resources and to manage their livestock seasonally.

Moving clockwise, these cantons were called Tagaragre, Adeyahamen, Tenagua, Tedote, Tigalate, Ahenguareme, Guehebey, Tihuya, Aridane, Tijarafe, and Tegalgen. At the heart of the island lay the canton of Aceró, which occupied what is now the Caldera de Taburiente. All these place names suggest a Berber origin for the language of the island’s indigenous people, whom historical chronicles referred to as palmeros or palmeses.

The present-day municipality of Barlovento corresponds to the former canton of Tagaragre. This name may be related to the Berber word *tighargharen (“the flatlands”), referring to the level terrain found above the mountains and cliffs on its eastern slope. Especially between the ravines of Salto and La Herradura, these plateaus were ideal for grazing—the main activity of the benaoharitas of Tagaragre.

After the conquest of La Palma (1492–1493) ended with the capture and death of Tanausú -the defiant captain of Aceró- the adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugo left a garrison on the island and set off to conquer Tenerife. Upon hearing the news, the islanders rose in rebellion, putting Castilian control at risk.

This crisis required the urgent intervention of Captain Diego Rodríguez de Talavera in 1494. Commanding thirty soldiers from the adelantado’s finest troops, Talavera landed at a small natural harbor in Barlovento and reorganized the local militias. After fierce clashes in which both sides suffered heavy losses, the Castilians managed to dismantle the resistance. This episode was immortalized in the place name Puerto de Talavera, a site that commemorates the captain who ultimately secured the island’s pacification.