Canary Islands Sale Proposal: Forum User Suggests Auctioning Territories
A forum user proposes auctioning the Canary Islands by lots, citing maintenance costs, migration pressure, and the historical precedent of 1898.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Selling the Canaries to the Highest Bidder: From 1898 to Lot-by-Lot Auction
The idea is not original. In the late 19th century, the United States repeatedly attempted to buy Spain's last Caribbean colonial holdings at a price that, according to proponents of this argument, would have funded industrialization on the peninsula. No deal was reached. Then came 1898, defeat, and, according to figures cited in this narrative, some 80,000 casualties, plus additional debt. From that disaster emerges the skeleton of the argument now applied to the Canary Islands: if you cannot defend them, sell them before they are taken from you.
On this basis, a specific proposal has been developed: putting the archipelago up for auction by lots. One island to Germany, another to Russia, another to the United States, another to China. The destination of the funds raised is also debated: one participant claims, without evidence, that it would be used to "destroy Spain faster" rather than improve the country. It is a forum provocation, agreed, but it appears repeatedly in the thread without anyone fully dismissing it.
Why propose selling the Canaries and not other areas?
Because the archipelago combines two arguments fueling the proposal: maintenance costs and migration pressure on its coasts. Some describe the territory as an "occupied" space whose expenses are borne by Spain while arrivals do not stop.
It is at this intersection that the tone becomes bitter. The conversation jumps from economics to demographics, and then to positions that openly defend homogeneity and reject mixing. These viewpoints—which this media outlet does not share—appear frequently and explain much of the acrimony surrounding the issue. It is advisable to separate them from the strictly economic core, which is different and can be discussed with numbers.
How much does it cost to sustain a territory a thousand kilometers away?
The real cost of maintaining the islands is never quantified. What circulates is the comparison with other European overseas territories: the case of French Guiana is mentioned, which France maintains far away and, according to that argument, without the problems attributed to the Canaries. The comparison thus functions as an analogy, not as proof of viability.
There is missing data that would resolve the debate. Without a figure for what each island costs per year, the discussion remains based on impressions. The precise calculation, broken down item by item, is precisely what never appears when selling is proposed.
Migration: the most significant factor
Migration pressure is the most cited trigger. There is talk of arrivals by small boats and transfers to the mainland that one participant estimates at 200 per day via air bridge. The magnitude, it is argued, makes any control unsustainable.
These are figures handled in the thread without source or breakdown, just like the rest of the estimates exchanged in the debate.
What alternatives to selling the Canaries have been proposed?
The most repeated is getting rid of other territories before the archipelago: the thread proposes selling Ceuta and Melilla. Conversely, another participant argues that what should be done is claim the former Spanish Sahara, not sell it.
On the opposite side is the pure territorial argument: a nation does not negotiate with its map, especially for money. This is the stance that closes the door without entering into discussions about amounts. None of these currents have moved beyond slogans to formal proposals.
Who would buy and why no one has set a price
The list of potential buyers is pure wishful thinking. Germany, Russia, the United States, or China appear as hypothetical bidders, but there is no formal offer nor a market where sovereignty is quoted. Regarding who would prevent it, the thread responds with another question: whether it would be the UN or the EU, and whether Spain retains sovereignty or has already sold it.
And that is the point where the analysis gets stuck. There is no buyer willing to assume the diplomatic cost nor a figure on the table that rises above the noise. The lot-by-lot auction remains a metaphor.
With these elements, the fundamental question remains unanswered. What started as a provocation about the price of the islands has ended in a clash of narratives about what Spain is and who can decide on its territory. The economic calculation, which was the hook, gets lost along the way. And there it stays, exactly where it began.
The idea is not original. In the late 19th century, the United States repeatedly attempted to buy Spain's last Caribbean colonial holdings at a price that, according to proponents of this argument, would have funded industrialization on the peninsula. No deal was reached. Then came 1898, defeat, and, according to figures cited in this narrative, some 80,000 casualties, plus additional debt. From that disaster emerges the skeleton of the argument now applied to the Canary Islands: if you cannot defend them, sell them before they are taken from you.
On this basis, a specific proposal has been developed: putting the archipelago up for auction by lots. One island to Germany, another to Russia, another to the United States, another to China. The destination of the funds raised is also debated: one participant claims, without evidence, that it would be used to "destroy Spain faster" rather than improve the country. It is a forum provocation, agreed, but it appears repeatedly in the thread without anyone fully dismissing it.
Why propose selling the Canaries and not other areas?
Because the archipelago combines two arguments fueling the proposal: maintenance costs and migration pressure on its coasts. Some describe the territory as an "occupied" space whose expenses are borne by Spain while arrivals do not stop.
It is at this intersection that the tone becomes bitter. The conversation jumps from economics to demographics, and then to positions that openly defend homogeneity and reject mixing. These viewpoints—which this media outlet does not share—appear frequently and explain much of the acrimony surrounding the issue. It is advisable to separate them from the strictly economic core, which is different and can be discussed with numbers.
How much does it cost to sustain a territory a thousand kilometers away?
The real cost of maintaining the islands is never quantified. What circulates is the comparison with other European overseas territories: the case of French Guiana is mentioned, which France maintains far away and, according to that argument, without the problems attributed to the Canaries. The comparison thus functions as an analogy, not as proof of viability.
There is missing data that would resolve the debate. Without a figure for what each island costs per year, the discussion remains based on impressions. The precise calculation, broken down item by item, is precisely what never appears when selling is proposed.
Migration: the most significant factor
Migration pressure is the most cited trigger. There is talk of arrivals by small boats and transfers to the mainland that one participant estimates at 200 per day via air bridge. The magnitude, it is argued, makes any control unsustainable.
These are figures handled in the thread without source or breakdown, just like the rest of the estimates exchanged in the debate.
What alternatives to selling the Canaries have been proposed?
The most repeated is getting rid of other territories before the archipelago: the thread proposes selling Ceuta and Melilla. Conversely, another participant argues that what should be done is claim the former Spanish Sahara, not sell it.
On the opposite side is the pure territorial argument: a nation does not negotiate with its map, especially for money. This is the stance that closes the door without entering into discussions about amounts. None of these currents have moved beyond slogans to formal proposals.
Who would buy and why no one has set a price
The list of potential buyers is pure wishful thinking. Germany, Russia, the United States, or China appear as hypothetical bidders, but there is no formal offer nor a market where sovereignty is quoted. Regarding who would prevent it, the thread responds with another question: whether it would be the UN or the EU, and whether Spain retains sovereignty or has already sold it.
And that is the point where the analysis gets stuck. There is no buyer willing to assume the diplomatic cost nor a figure on the table that rises above the noise. The lot-by-lot auction remains a metaphor.
With these elements, the fundamental question remains unanswered. What started as a provocation about the price of the islands has ended in a clash of narratives about what Spain is and who can decide on its territory. The economic calculation, which was the hook, gets lost along the way. And there it stays, exactly where it began.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (180 replies).
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