Canary Islands La Gomera taking 1000 captives to be sold as slaves. Another noteworthy attack occurred in 1797, when Santa Cruz de Tenerife was attacked by a British fleet under Horatio Nelson on 25 July. The British were repulsed, losing almost 400 men. It was during this battle that Nelson lost his right arm. The sugar-based economy of the islands faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Low prices in the sugar market in the 19th century caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal ("cochinilla"), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy. During this time
La Palma tsunami, so it would only be a megatsunami locally in the mid Atlantic. An underwater eruption that began in September 2011 south of the island of El Hierro, gave rise to more speculation about the possibility of a megatsunami. As each island in the archipelago is an independent edifice often several tens of kilometres away from the adjacent island it is geologically impossible that volcanic activity on one island will influence the other islands. El Hierro lies about 100 km south of La Palma, over 100 km south-west of Tenerife. La Gomera – extinct since about 4 million year BP,