Maritime culture and insular imaginary in the historical construction of the identity of the islands of Macaronesia

Abstract

Throughout the centuries, a myth had been established around the Macaronesian islands. With the passage of time, this construction has adapted to the different paradigms and hypotheses about the origin of the island world of the Atlantic. This research is focused on the analysis of mythical and historical perception which among the islanders constitute their insular and Atlantic imaginary with the goal of understanding the peculiar significance of the composition of modern Macaronesian society from the experience acquired by the islanders. This study examines the paradigm of space conceptualization with the aim of proposing a method of supranational observation of the islands. Hence, the research approach different stories with the purpose of focusing the analyse from distinct levels that leads to an integral study of the maritime culture of the islands of Macaronesia.