AHC: Guanche culture survives

[Night Gaul]

Your challenge is to have the culture of the Guanches - the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands - survive to the present day.

 

[Arkenfolm]

Roman conquest of Mauretania south of their OTL conquests there (anytime into the early 3rd century perhaps) leading to more contact and trade with the Canaries and eventually a more maritime Guanche culture. These Canarians would end up more like the Irish, being drawn into the periphery of the Roman system. Maybe they'd be converted to Christianity if Rome still converts. It's possible their seafaring may see colonization of Madeira or Cape Verde or even the Azores. But in any case, these alt-Canarians are much more incorporated into the region and even in a worst-case scenario would survive as much as OTL Irishmen or for that matter Berbers have.

 

[Jürgen]

Earlier contact by Christian missionaries and voluntary conversion.

 

[chornedsnorkack]

So how could you end up have Guanches under Spanish rule but majority Guanche speaking the way Basque provinces had their fueros but stayed majority Basque speaking?

 

[Musadutoe]

So how could you end up have Guanches under Spanish rule but majority Guanche speaking the way Basque provinces had their fueros but stayed majority Basque speaking?

IMO, this is a roll of the dice. What gave the Basque the ability to maintain their language where so many other cultures lost theirs?