It was in Tazacorte where the Castilian conquerors landed in 1492 and built the first settlements in the Aridane Valley, as this was the location of the most fertile lands, the Tazacorte River and La Caldera, the only watercourse, and a coastline that provided accessible communications with overseas. Sugarcane soon became the main crop of the Hacienda de Abajo, located in Tazacorte, which is the first, the oldest, the richest and the most productive sugar plantation in La Palma, as evidenced by Professor Jesús Pérez Morera.