Güímar was one of nine menceyatos guanches

Guanches

Guanches is the name given to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is believed that they migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE or perhaps earlier...

 (native kingdom) that was divided island of Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

 (Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

) at the time of the arrival of the Castilian conquerors. Occupied an area significantly greater than the actual municipality of Güímar

Güímar

Güímar is the name of a municipality, town, and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife...

, including part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...

, El Rosario

El Rosario

El Rosario may refer to:*El Rosario, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands*El Rosario, Morazán, El Salvador*El Rosario, a lake located in El Rosario National Park in Guatemala*El Rosario, Baja California, Mexico*El Rosario, Michoacán, Mexico...

, Candelaria, Arafo

Arafo

Arafo is a municipality of the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife , on the Canary Islands. The city is also a suburb of Santa Cruz city....

 and Fasnia

Fasnia

Fasnia is the name of a municipality, town, and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The municipality is located in the southeastern end of the island, and extends for from the mountainous...

, himself and perhaps a small part of the town of Arico

Arico

Arico is the name of a municipality, village, and valley in the southeastern part of the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The municipality is located in the southeastern end of the island, and extends for 178,76 square kilometers from the...

.

In Güímar saw the appearance of the image of the Virgin of Candelaria

Virgin of Candelaria

The cult of the Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria , popularly called La Morenita, celebrates an apparition of the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands . The center of worship is located in the city of Candelaria in Tenerife. She is depicted as a Black Madonna...

 (patroness of the Canary Islands). Hence, this city played an important role in the evangelization

Evangelization

Evangelization is that process in the Christian religion which seeks to spread the Gospel and the knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world. It can be defined as so:-The birth of Christian evangelization:...

 of the whole archipelago. It is believed that the first Mencey of Güímar could have been Acaymo, later succeeded by his son Añaterve. The latter who would reign in time of the conquest of Tenerife by Alonso Fernandez de Lugo

Alonso Fernández de Lugo

Javier Alonso Luis Fernández de Lugo was a Spanish military man, conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma and Tenerife for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered by Europeans. He was also the founder of the towns...

.