The Mercedes Medina Díaz Association continues with its commemorative program for its tenth anniversary, and this Monday it held the conference “Canarias and the sea”, by the former rector of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Manuel Lobo Cabrera, Doctor in History and professor at the university.
“For me, teaching has never been work, it has always been fun.” This is how Manuel Lobo Cabrera began his conference, who referred to the “specific character in the idiosyncrasy of the islander”, also referencing “the different quotes that over time different authors have made about the way of being of society, its marked character and seafaring vocation, and the influence of the ocean itself.” Lobo quoted the words of the Marquis of Villanueva del Prado, who said that “the sea is for the Canary Islands as the canals are for Flanders. The sea, the Atlantic, in an enormous expanse of water that rocks us to the rhythm of the swaying of its waves and that has marked the course of our events, has shaped our feelings and devotions, has inspired our creative and scientific work. The ocean has given destiny and meaning to our personal and collective life as islanders.”
The speaker added that “neither better nor worse, but always different, and this has been reflected by a multitude of authors throughout history, because we are islanders, and these conditions mark their mark on us.” In this sense, Lobo emphasized the figure of the sea, which “constrains us and makes us fear the dangers it sends us, such as piracy, both French, English or Dutch, and Berber, and at the same time connects us commercially due to our strategic position in the mid-Atlantic, being both a border and a port that opens us to the world.” Regarding the natives of the islands, he quoted a British consul when speaking of “the way of being and the slyness”, adding that “it is a quality that all kinds of islanders have very developed, you never know if they are speaking seriously or laughing at you.”
When referring to the benignity of the winds, the speaker maintained that “it is not surprising that mythology called them Fortunate”, or that it is located in the earthly paradise of “El Bosco”. In addition, Lobo emphasized some quotes, among which those of Bartolomé Cairasco de Figueroa stand out.
At the end of the conference, the former rector and professor was surrounded by a large group of former students from his first promotions as a teacher in teaching since 1975.
Manuel Lobo Cabrera has been Vice-Rector of Campus of the University of La Laguna, Vice-Rector of Research of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Rector of the latter between 1998 and 2007, with a curriculum of more than 250 articles and 30 books. His main line of research is the modern history of the Canary Islands in its social, economic and cultural aspects, highlighting among others, Slavery in the Eastern Canary Islands in the 16th century, Canary European trade in the reign of Felipe II, Don Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, Marquis of Lanzarote, Don Gonzalo de Saavedra and Doña María de Muxica, Lords of Fuerteventura, and The Moors in the Canary Islands, from slaves to natives.
Among other merits of his professional career, he is the director of the El Museo Canario Magazine, Corresponding Academic of the Royal Academies of History, of the Seville Academy of Good Letters, and of the Portuguese Academy of History, and is director of the Anuario de Estudios Atlántico Magazine.
