Society and drought in an insular territory (Island of El Hierro, Canaries) .

Abstract

By socioeconomic reasons, the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands) has been considered like a marginalized territory, “the Cinderella of the Canary Archipelago” for some authors. This opinion has been based on an interpretative model of its socioeconomic delay centered of a preferential way in the lack of water, in particular on the impossibility to obtain rainwater or climatic drought. This particular hydric version of its evils is retouched, in some interpretations, with the addition of its geologic youth, from the moment at which statistically it is verified that their pluviometric values are similar to those of other islands and that these display different socioeconomic developments. The aim of this work is to propose an explanation to the social and geographic reality of the island of El Hierro from a critical approach, focusing attention on certain social behaviors of appropriation and arbitrary use of the natural resources like authentic protagonists of its historical socio-territorial stagnation.