Santa Cruz de Tenerife used to go by the name Anazo, and prior to the invasion of Spanish fleets under Fernando de Lugo, it had been inhabited by a native group of Gaunches in the area that is now known as the Barranco de Santos.  

In the early 1500’s, Santa Cruz had become a prime target for numerous marauders and neighboring armies returning from the New World, and, as such, was fortified so as to permit its future blossoming as a major port town.  Additional shielding walls were built around its docks and harbors in subsequent centuries, a process that carried on through to the 1800’s.

It was in the nineteenth century, in fact, that Santa Cruz de Tenerife enjoyed its greatest prosperity as a port town, and the city’s commercial success encouraged cultural and infrastructural growth, not to mention the emergence of a smattering of churches and other religious institutions.  

The city was soon the capital of all the Canaries, and only lost this title when the Islands were split into two provinces.  Santa Cruz de Tenerife remains the capital of its provincial namesake, as well as of Tenerife Island .