The island of Lanzarote was vaguely known to the ancient world. Perhaps it was visited by the Phoenicians, who sought orchilla , a lichen that grows on rocks facing north of the island and the red dye was obtained. The Romans had knowledge of the existence of Canary does seem more accurate, as among the classical authors relate notably to Pliny the Elder . Already in medieval times, around 1312 , the Genoese Lanceloto Malocello rediscovered the island of Lanzarote for Europe and gave its present name, which first appears on the map portulano of Angelino Dulcert in 1339 . During the next fifty years are organized several expeditions, rather raids, seeking slaves, skins and dyes. It begins with the decline of the native population. In 1377 the Biscayan Ruiz de Avendaño , commander privateer Spanish fleet, sank in a storm on the island of Lanzarote, where he was received by King Zonzamas, offering hospitality with queen bed Fayna. This relationship is born Princess Ico , white and blonde, mother of the last king of Lanzarote,Guadarfia . In 1393 , the Castilian nobleman Almonaster arrived in Lanzarote. When you return to the mainland carries native and some agricultural products.
The first European expeditions of plunder in search of slaves disembark first to Lanzarote for being the closest island to the Iberian Peninsula. This contributed to a decline in population during the fourteenth century , so that when the first expeditions of conquest the population was in clear decline.
The final conquest of the island takes place with the issue of mercenaries and adventurers Normans Juan de Bethencourt and Gadifer de la Salle , in the service of Henry III of Castile . When you arrive on the island in 1402 establishing the Rubicon Coast , in the south of the island, as chronicled Norman conquest of the Canaries, entitled Le Canarien . It is said that what is now a desert area called
