Portuguese seafarers brought the banana to Canary Islands from West African Guinea. At first it was planted as an exotic ornamental shrub, and taken by the Spanish conquerors to Mexico and Caribbean. However, it was not until the second half of the 19th century that is was exploited economically by English businessmen in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, when planted a dwarf banana in 1878. The export business was soon flourishing and the banana has been the most important crop and the main commercial product of the archipelago for over hundred years.
By Tapas Together Edinburgh
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