What if Juba II colonizes the Canary Isles?

A Short History of Lichen Dyeing

“A number of dyes have been obtained from lichens and the use of lichens to produce dyes has a long history. Dyeing is also the commercially most valued application of lichens and lichen dyes had high monetary value for many centuries until the discovery of synthetic dyes in the latter half of the 19th century.

Lichens were used for the dyeing of wool and silk in ancient times and probably the most famous are the lichens known collectively in ordinary English as the orchil lichens. These were known as the sources of 'purple' dyes to the classical Greeks and Romans though the most famous (and most expensive) 'purple' dye was obtained from sea snails and gave an intense colour 'Tyrian purple'. A significant difference between the orchil and mollusc dyes was that the mollusc dye was fast whereas the orchil dye would fade in bright sunlight. The orchil dyes were at times used as a ground colour for the cloth which was then further dyed with a lesser amount of mollusc dye. In this way the use of the lichen dye allowed a given amount of mollusc dye to be used for a larger amount of cloth.

The use of lichens as a source of purple dye was well-established in parts of the Mediterranean by Greek and Roman times. You'll often see it written that the fall of the western Roman empire saw the loss of orchil technology from western Europe until its rediscovery by a Florentine merchant, around 1300. Some dispute this, since various purple-yielding lichens are found in many parts of the western Mediterranean as well as near the coasts of northern Europe. It is possible that with the fall of the western Roman empire lichen dyes were less important as an item of trade but could still have supported cottage industries in various regions......”

Short Biography of Juba II

Juba II was an Ancient Libyan (Berber) prince from North Africa. He was the only child and heir of King Juba I of Numidia; his mother's identity is unknown. In 46 BC, his father was defeated by Julius Caesar (in Thapsus, North Africa). Numidia became a Roman Province. His father had been an ally of the Roman General Pompey.

Juba II was brought to Rome by Julius Caesar and he took part in Caesar’s triumphal procession. In Rome he learned Latin and Greek, became romanized and was granted Roman citizenship. Through dedication to his studies, he is said to have become one of Rome's best educated citizens, and by age 20 he wrote one of his first works entitled Roman Archaeology. He was raised by Julius Caesar and later by his great-nephew Octavian (future Emperor Caesar Augustus). While growing up.

Juba II and the Canary Islands

When Juba II and his queen moved to Mauretania, they renamed their new capital Caesaria (modern Cherchell, Algeria), in honor of Augustus. The construction and sculpture projects at Caesaria and another city, Volubilis, display a rich mixture of Egyptian, Greek and Roman architectural styles. Cleopatra is said to have exerted considerable influence on Juba II's policies. Juba II encouraged and supported the performing arts, research of the sciences and research of natural history. Juba II also supported Mauretanian trade.

The Kingdom of Mauretania was of great importance to the Roman Empire. Mauretania traded all over the Mediterranean, particularly with Spain and Italy. Mauretania exported fish, grapes, pearls, figs, grain, wooden furniture and purple dye harvested from certain shellfish, which was used in the manufacture of purple stripes for senatorial robes. Juba II sent a contingent to Iles Purpuraires to re-establish the ancient Phoenician dye manufacturing process. He dispatched a naval contingent to re-open the dye production facility at Mogador in what is now western Morocco in the early first century Common Era. That same naval force was subsequently sent on an exploration of the Canary Islands, using Mogador as their mission base.

The Question

All taken together Juba II seems to be an ideal candidate to exploit the canary isles as a source of valuable lichen dye. In this process he could very well discover the more hospital islands. Why this didn’t happen in OTL I am not sure.

But assuming that Juba II colonizes these islands what effects would this have in the longer term. Especially if viable self sufficient colonies are established.

Sources
wikipedia
https://www.anbg.gov.au/lichen/lichens-people-dyeing.html
 
Well.
The records we have of Juba's expedition, IIRC, show no sign of contact with the *Guanche who lived in the islands, but it looks like they were already there: archaeological evidence appears clear enough that the Canaries were probably settled from modern Morocco sometime around mid first millennium BCE and continously albeit relatively thinly inhabited ever since. Locals had a generally calcolithic tech, except they were seemingly somewhat literate. Intermittent contact with the continent is attested archaeologically, and some Phoenician, Mauretanian, possibily Greek, and Roman sailors seem to have frequented the islands on occasion, but they never found much of value. Naval tech was relatively shitty for the trip (the Atlantic is not forgiving for Med ships of the era, and some of the Roman remains may be wrecks). The islands are also relatively poor in useful resources from a Classical Med perspective, except dyes. Soil is poor, and the opposite continental coast is barren.
 
Well.
The islands are also relatively poor in useful resources from a Classical Med perspective, except dyes. Soil is poor, and the opposite continental coast is barren.

While there is nothing that can change the bad atlantic weather (except for ASB), at least for the problem quoted above there might be a solution. Maybe if the canary natives developed a more interesting trading package consiting of dye, candle wax and palm syrup before the expedition of Juba II arrives, there is an incentive for him to establish a long term presence on the islands.


Miel de palma (lit. palm honey, also palm syrup) is an edible sweet syrup produced from the sap of a number of palms. It is produced in the Canary Islands and coastal regions of South America. In the Canary Islands, palm syrup (miel de palma) is produced from the Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis)

The process of collecting sap from the palm and concentrating it into syrup is similar in many ways to the process used for maple syrup.The sap, known as guarapo or garapa, is collected from a bowl-shaped depression cut into the crown of the tree. As guarapo spoils quickly in sunlight, the harvesting is done overnight. Every evening during the harvesting season, the guarapero (farmer) prepares each tree. He climbs to the top of the tree, often using a ladder, uses a sharp knife or chisel to trim the bowl to remove surface crust and open the pores, and hoists a bucket into place beneath a pipe or channel leading from the bowl. Early the next morning, he returns and collects the filled buckets, containing ten or more litres from each tree.

The harvested guarapo is then brought to, or collected by, a local processing plant, or may be processed on site. Processing involves boiling the guarapo for several hours until it is reduced by about 90% to a dark brown syrup that is rich and sweet. It is then packaged, typically in glass jars. Palm syrup will tend to thicken and crystallize over time.

Morella faya (Faya; syn. Myrica faya) is a species in the bog-myrtle family Myricaceae. It is native to Macaronesia (Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira) and southern Portugal. It is abundant in the upper cloud forest zone of the Atlantic islands, where, together with Erica arborea (Brezo), it forms the fayal-brezal ecozone on exposed ridges above the laurisilva ecozone and below the pinar (Pinus canariensis) ecozone. Fayal-brezal habitats also commonly develop in the laurisilva ecozone where the original laurisilva forest has been destroyed by cutting or fire.

Faya is a large shrub or small tree growing to 8 m (rarely to 12 m) tall with evergreen foliage, The leaves are 4-11 cm long, with an entire to crenate margin. The flowers are inconspicuous catkins, the fruit a fleshy dark purple drupe 6-8 mm in diameter containing 1-5 seeds, with a rough waxy coating, produced in clusters.The fruit is edible, though of limited palatability; the fruit wax can also be used for production of candles. Historically, the seeds have also been ground into flour as a famine food.
 
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