Plaza Weyler, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Weyler Square in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, owes its name to the Spanish general Valeriano Weyler, a military man who was Captain General of the Canary Islands under whose command the Palace of the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands located next to the aforementioned square was built.

Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau was a Spanish military man and politician, mainly known for his position as Captain General of Cuba during the Cuban War of Independence. He was famous for his reviled policy of Reconcentration in Cuba. One of his measures was to intern the rural inhabitants in concentration camps in order to deprive the rebels of the support of the peasantry. It is estimated that some 100,000 Cubans were left to die in these concentration camps due to hunger and disease.

The square was built in 1893 by Vicente Armiño, promoted by the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, by the General Captaincy of the Canary Islands and by the Constructora de Edificios Urbanos. With a surface area of 3,600 m², this square is located right in the centre of the city, leading off Calle del Castillo, which is the most commercial street in Santa Cruz.

Originally, this square was designed as an ante-plaza of the neoclassical building of the General Captaincy, being also framed by a discontinuous wall. In addition, at the beginning, it had a circular basin, which was moved when the City Council acquired the current central fountain.