The islands were known to the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and are mentioned in a number of classical sources.
When the Europeans began to explore the islands they encountered several indigenous populations living at a Neolithic level of technology. Although the history of the settlement of the Canary Islands is still unclear, linguistic and genetic analyses seem to indicate that at least some of these inhabitants shared a common origin with the Berbers of northern Africa. The pre-colonial inhabitants came to be known collectively as the Guanches, although Guanches was originally the name for the indigenous inhabitants of Tenerife.

There are claims that the Portuguese had discovered the Canaries as early as 1336, though there appears to be little evidence for this. In 1402, the Castilian conquest of the islands began, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle, nobles and vassals of Henry III of Castile, to the island of Lanzarote. From there, they conquered Fuerteventura and El Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands, but still recognized King Henry III as his overlord.

In 1448 Maciot de Béthencourt sold the lordship of Lanzarote to Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, an action that was not accepted by the natives nor by the Castilians. A crisis swelled to a revolt which lasted until 1459 with the final expulsion of the Portuguese. Finally, in 1479, Portugal recognised Castilian control of the Canary Islands in the Treaty of Alcaçovas.

The Castilians continued to dominate the islands, but due to the topography and the resistance of the native Guanches, complete pacification was not achieved until 1495, when the Canaries were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile.
The city of Las Palmas de Gran Canary became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the New World. This trade route brought great prosperity to some of the social sectors of the island but also invited attacks by pirates and privateers.

In the 19th century the sugar-based economy of the island faced stiff competition from Spain's American colonies. Crises in the sugar market caused severe recessions on the islands. A new cash crop, cochineal (cochinilla), came into cultivation during this time, saving the islands' economy.

These economic difficulties spurred mass emigration, primarily to the Americas, during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. From 1840 to 1890, as many as 40,000 Canary Islanders emigrated to Venezuela alone. Also, many thousands of Canarians emigrated to the shores of Cuba as well.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British introduced a new cash-crop, the banana. The rivalry between the elites of the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canary and Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the capital of the islands led to the division of the archipelago into two provinces in 1927. In 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War. Franco quickly took control of the archipelago, though there was never a proper war in the islands.

After the death of Franco and the establishment of a democratic constitutional monarchy in Spain, autonomy was granted to the Canaries, by a law passed in 1982. In 1983, the first autonomous elections were held
Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg begann auch ein neuer Wirtschaftszweig zu florieren, der besonders ab 1945 wirtschaftliche Gewinne abwarf - der Tourismus. In dieser Zeit wurden wöchentliche Routen nach England und dem spanischen Festland aufgenommen und besonders zwischen.

Schon 1923 und 1930 legten besonders viele Kreuzfahrtschiffe im Hafen von Las Palmas an. 1939 wurde der Flughafen Gando eröffnet und regelmäßige Flugverbindungen zum Festland wurden aufgenommen. Der touristische Boom begann aber in den sechziger Jahren, als u.a. Deutsche und Skandinavier nach Gran Canaria kamen. Fanden Touristen bis dahin ihre Unterkünfte in Las Palmas und Santa Brigida, so begann nun die urbane Entwicklung des Südens. Playa del Ingles, der „Strand der Engländer" entwickelte sich in der Folgezeit vom Ausflugziel zum touristischen Zentrum der Insel.

After the 2. World war began to flourish a new industry which started in the early 20th - the tourism. In this time weekly routes to England and the Spanish mainland taken up after already between 1923 and 1930 many cruise ships moored in the port of Las Palmas. 1939 were opened the airport Gando and regular airline connections to the mainland were taken up. The touristic boom began however in the sixties, as among other Germans and Scandinavians came to Gran Canary. Up to then tourists found their accommodations in Las Palmas and Santa Brigida only, now the urbane development of the south began. Playa del Ingles, „the beach of the Englishmen "developed from a day trip goal to the touristic centre of the island.