Coat of arms of the Canary Islands Coat of arms of the Canary Islands The coat of arms of the Canary Islands is the central device of the flag of the Canary Islands. It reads "Oceano". The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community (Organic Law 10/82) on 10 August 1982. The coat of arms displays on top the Spanish royal crown. The seven gray islands represent the Canary Islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. The supporters are dogs from which the islands may derive their name, possibly from the Latin term "Insula Canaria", meaning Island of the
Canary Islands in pre-colonial times Canary Islands in pre-colonial times The Canary Islands have been known since antiquity. Until the Spanish colonization between 1402 and 1496, the Canaries were populated by an indigenous population, whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians and linguists. The islands were visited by the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians. According to the 1st century CE Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, the archipelago was found to be uninhabited when visited by the Carthaginians under Hanno the Navigator in 5th century BCE, but ruins of great buildings were seen. This story may suggest that the islands