The Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Tenerife was founded in the second half of the eighteenth century, during the period known as ‘The Enlightenment’, with the aim of stimulating improvement in all aspects of public life and in all areas of knowledge, from social and experimental sciences to music and literature.
The Society’s purpose, in line with the direction that marked its beginning, is to provide a place for generating ideas to the benefit of everyone with a concern for cultural well-being, without discrimination as to whether the ideas come from business, social or political organisations, to analyse proposals, suggest improvements, and to provide a venue for academic training.
As a result of continuous activity for more than two hundred years the Institution has come to possess one of the most important privately-owned documentary and photographic archives in the Canary Islands.
The growth of the collection is ongoing, thanks to the donations it receives, and it is complemented by a wonderful library. All of this exists for the express purpose of providing the good service that distinguishes the Real Sociedad, by making all its activities and resources available to the public for national cultural well-being.
