Bencomo and the First Battle of Acentejo: Guanche Resistance

Bencomo: The Mencey of Taoro

Bencomo was the mencey (king) of Taoro, a Guanche menceyato on the island of Tenerife. He fought in the First Battle of Acentejo, a victory for the Guanches against the invading Castilians, after having refused the terms of Alonso Fernández de Lugo. He may have perished on the heights of San Roque during the Battle of Aguere, alongside his brother Tinguaro.

The First Battle of Acentejo

The first Battle of Acentejo took place on the island of Tenerife between the Guanches and an alliance of Spaniards, other Europeans, and associated natives on May 31, 1494, during the Spanish conquest of the island. It resulted in a victory for the Guanches of Tenerife.

Advancing to the interior of the island, Fernández de Lugo confirmed his friendship with the Bandos de Paz (the factions friendly to the Castilians) and attempted to reach the same arrangement with the different menceyatos. Bencomo, the ruler of Taoro, refused Fernández's terms and instead began to form his own alliance against the Castilians, composed of the menceyatos of Tacoronte, Tegueste, and others.

The Defeat of the Castilian Forces

In a state of war, Fernández advanced to the area known as Acentejo. The Castilians committed the terrible blunder of walking blindly into the ravine now called Barranco de San Antonio, in Acentejo, which led to their defeat.

Tactics and Terrain

• Despite being protected with armor and shields and armed with blunderbusses and cannons, the Spaniards could not defeat the Guanches.
• The Guanches, who fought with minimal armor, attacked from the slopes of the ravine using stones and spears of hardened wood.
• Unable to maneuver their horses due to the thick, arboreal brush, the Castilians were overwhelmed.

The Guanches, who numbered some 3,300 men under the leadership of Bencomo and his half-brother Tinguaro (chief of the comarca of Acentejo), made use of their mobility and intimate knowledge of the terrain to gain the upper hand. While Tinguaro with 300 men ambushed the vanguard of the Castilian forces, Bencomo arrived at the battle with 3,000 men, attacking the rearguard of the dispersed Europeans. It is believed that four out of five Spanish soldiers fell in this battle, leaving 900–1,000 dead on the battlefield out of the initial 1,120.