An Apostle to the Guanche and the Canary Islands

What if Christianity reached the Canary Islands early on, basically? The islands were not entirely isolated from the world, and the Guanche had occasional had occasional trade with the Roman Empire and others. So let's say that in the 2nd-4th century AD, some Christians arrive on the islands and preach to the natives. And eventually, one island after another converts to Christianity.

What would this mean for the later history of the Canaries? Do they begin to have even more contact with the world? Is there more state formation on the islands, and maybe even eventually a unification of the islands? Does it mean that Guanche culture and language(s) can avoid extinction? If they have more contacts with the world, would they get invaded during the Migration Period?
 
What if Christianity reached the Canary Islands early on, basically? The islands were not entirely isolated from the world, and the Guanche had occasional had occasional trade with the Roman Empire and others. So let's say that in the 2nd-4th century AD, some Christians arrive on the islands and preach to the natives. And eventually, one island after another converts to Christianity.

What would this mean for the later history of the Canaries? Do they begin to have even more contact with the world? Is there more state formation on the islands, and maybe even eventually a unification of the islands? Does it mean that Guanche culture and language(s) can avoid extinction? If they have more contacts with the world, would they get invaded during the Migration Period?

By analogy with Ireland: Yes, No, No, Just about, Definitely.
 
By analogy with Ireland: Yes, No, No, Just about, Definitely.

If we used an analogy with Ireland, then Canarian Christianity would become hyper-influential within a few centuries and we'd have a grand tradition of Canarian monasticism. I don't think an analogy with Ireland is the best here, though, even though the situation of the two regions is comparable.
 
There is a legend in the canaries that an image of Mary reached the islands before colonisation and that some of the natives worshipped this image as it "cried" blood. This is a legend however and probably initiated by the colonisers in order to justify their endeavours. I'm trying desperately to find the book I read this in.....
 
By analogy with Ireland: Yes, No, No, Just about, Definitely.

I don't think they'd get invaded during the Migrations Period, actually -- they were/are pretty out of the way, and AFAIK they don't have any important natural resources that would draw invaders.
 
One thing I thought--an early Christianisation of the Canaries would be very plausible if the Romans (maybe in the 2nd century) conquered more of Mauretania, and by that I mean conquering the Atlas Mountains down to southernmost Morocco. This would set the Roman borders at the Sahara throughout North Africa (aside from Egypt), and establish Roman rule over the majority of Berbers. With some more attention paid to that region, there is more development there, and more Christian communities. For the Guanche/Canarians (the Guanche were originally only one group of Canarians), there is more contact with the Romans, and more political development in the islands. I don't know how developed this would make the Canarians, although if they followed the Irish path and emerged as pirates in North Africa that would be interesting. Rome would probably not bother to conquer them, since even with more development, there isn't anything of interest in the islands they can't get in Mauretania. And during the 4th or 5th century, some North African Christians who are later revered as saints go to the islands and convert many of the people and thus Christianise the islands.

I don't think they'd get invaded during the Migrations Period, actually -- they were/are pretty out of the way, and AFAIK they don't have any important natural resources that would draw invaders.

They are out of the way, but we're presuming that they have more trade links with the Roman world and that there might be monasteries with some wealth there. It might be worth a visit from the Vandals or any other seafaring "barbarian" group.
 
It would also be interesting if the Canaries (or at least one island) became the first Christian country in the world thanks to this hypothetical missionary/future saint.
 
A bit of a belated bump, but I recently learned about tagasaste, a plant native to the Canary Islands, which is nowadays used as an important fertiliser tree to assist in ranching. It is useful to prevent desertification, and is great for raising sheep and goats. If we have the Canaries more incorporated into the Roman world, can tagasaste spread into North Africa and thus improve agriculture there, including preventing the loss of grazing land to desert which in turn put pressure on the farming land? This would result in an increase in North African population (even despite droughts), an increase in the region's prosperity, and thus ensure it remains the "breadbasket of Rome"? I'm sure an early introduction of tagasaste would also be useful in parts of Spain, Italy, the Near East, Greece, and Anatolia.
 
While North Africa could remain more of a breadbasket, IMO the introduction of the heavy plough to northern Europe will mean that the center of agricultural gravity still shifts north to the more well-watered parts of Europe away from the Mediterranean.

That said, that might be for the best. A North Africa which has a higher population and more productive farmland but is still considered a lesser prize during Rome's civil wars and the migration period may see more peace as well as more prosperity, leading to a politically stable region which may be able to fight off invasions ITTL, whether Germanic or Arab.

EDIT: Might be getting my timeline a little mixed up here, now that I think about it...oh well, post is still food for thought.
 
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