In the XVI century, several attempts at invasion took place on the islands, due to the presence of pirates searching for riches coming from America.

The invaders were many, among them was Sir Francis Drake. In 1599, the Dutch pirate Van der Does penetrated the island of Gran Canaria, and in 1618 a new invasion of the Canary Islands, this time by the Turks, centred on the island of Lanzarote.

In Tenerife in the middle of the XVII century, Sir Robert Blake tried to take hold of the Spanish fleet coming from America, and during the XVIII and XIX century the English, French and Dutch pirate attacks continued, among which the most notable was the attack by Admiral Horace Nelson in 1797, in which attempting to take the city, he lost an arm due to a cannonball from a tiger cannon. This defeat took place on July 25 th, the day of Santiago, patron saint of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and is celebrated in the local festivities.