Alfred Diston
English, 1793-1861
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Alfred Diston was a British merchant and writer on a wide variety of subjects who lived in Puerto de la Cruz (former Puerto Orotava), Tenerife, between 1810 and 1861.
His illustrated manuscripts, his notebooks, and his watercolours and drawings represent a valuable documentary source to learn about many aspects of the society and the natural environment of Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands during the first half of the 19th century.
His relevance to the culture of the Canary Islands lies in the fact that he contributed in many disciplines, especially in those related to the knowledge and study of Canary Islands’ traditional clothing and customs of the time.
His major role in the introduction of the Cavendish banana in the Canary Islands was also very significant, and some of its cultivars are known today as “plátano de Canarias” (Canary Islands banana). The expansion of its cultivation throughout the islands and its export to England from 1870 to 1878 had an enormous impact on the economy of the Canary Islands for more than a century until the consolidation of mass tourism.