Between the 16th and 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Canarians emigrated to Venezuela. Canarians call this country the "8th island," a nickname that says more than anything else about the scale of this diaspora.
Venezuela is often presented to Canarians as the "8th island" of the archipelago. This nickname says it all: in certain villages in northern Tenerife, there were more people in Venezuela than at home. Entire families remade their lives there for generations.
Canarians first left for Venezuela during the colonial period, then in large numbers in the 19th century when the young Venezuelan Republic went through crises. A new surge followed in the 20th century, under the Franco dictatorship and during years of strong economic appeal from Venezuela.