Canary Islands under Francoism and Early Tourism

From the 1950s, improved air and sea connections began to transform the Canary Islands into a major winter destination for northern European visitors. Hotels and holiday development expanded around older ports, fishing settlements and agricultural districts.

This growth took place within Franco’s authoritarian Spain, where political control and economic modernisation existed together. Tourism brought foreign currency, outside customs and new employment, but development was uneven across the islands.

The Wind Off the Small Isles uses this early tourist era as the setting for a story of islands, manuscripts and personal secrecy. The contrast between visiting outsiders and established island communities supports the collection’s atmosphere of distance and discovery.