Prior to European colonization, the Canary Islands were populated by the native Guanches which are thought to be distant relatives to the Berbers of North Africa. At the start of the 15th century, the Guanches faced conquest by the Normans, Portuguese, and Castilians, and were pressed into slavery. By the end of the century, the Canarian Archipelago had become part of the newly emerging Spanish Empire. During the 1490s to 1520s, immigrants from Galicia, Castile, Catalonia, Basque Country, Portugal, and Italy helped to populate the Canary Islands. By the late 16th century, the island of Tenerife was covered in vineyards, and already by the mid-17th century, export of its wines to England (including its colonies in North America) and Spanish America had become crucial to the economy of the Canary Islands.