A Brief History Befitting a lush, tropical island stranded in the middle of the ocean, Madeira’s origins are shrouded in mystery and fanciful legend. Some claim that the archipelago is what remains of Plato’s lost Atlantis, or part of a landmass that once fused the continents of Europe and America. The Portuguese Step Ashore Recorded history of the volcanic archipelago begins in relatively recent times: 1418, just as the golden age of Portuguese discovery was erupting. Under the leadership of Henry the Navigator, caravels set out from the westernmost point of the Algarve, in southern Portugal, in search of foreign lands, fame, and wealth. João Gonçalves Zarco, sailing in the service of Prince Henry, made the first of many famous Portuguese discoveries, which would culminate a century later in Magellan’s historic circumnavigation of the globe. Zarco happened upon a small volcanic archipelago 1,000 km from Lisbon. Perhaps Zarco knew precisely where he was heading, having learned of the existence of Madeira from a Castilian source. After all, the waters of the Canary Islands, only 445 km (275 miles) to the south, had occupied busy shipping lanes for very nearly a century, and Genovese maps from the mid-14th century depict both Madeira and Porto Santo. More likely, Zarco was heading for Guinea and storms forced him onto the beach of Porto Santo. If so, then he was extremely fortunate, for he managed to land on the only large, sandy beach for hundreds of miles around. Little wonder he subsequently named it Porto Santo (Holy Port). The following year Zarco returned to claim the larger island he had seen from Porto Santo, and with him went Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo. They officially became the first men to set foot on the heavily forested island, naming it Ilha da Madeira, “Island of Timber. ” The Portuguese Crown, delighted with its first important discovery, immediately embarked on a program of colonization. Zarco and Teixeira were appointed co-go­vern­ors of Madeira, while Perestrelo was awarded Porto Santo. Starting from Scratch Whoever first stepped ashore on Madeira discovered no signs of previous habitation — no Stone-Age natives, as the Spanish found on the Canary Islands, and no mysterious monuments to the past, as on the Balearics. Occupation of Madeira began in the early 1420s as a decidedly minimalist project: colonists arrived with only as much as they could carry from mainland Portugal. They found plenty of water pouring down from the mountains, and more timber than anyone knew what to do with. So they set about clearing the land for agriculture, setting fire to massive tracts of forest. Legend says that a great fire burned for seven years on the island, leveling it of all its trees. The fire pro­vided the soil with a rich ash fertilizer, which complemented the luxuriant growing conditions of tropical sun and plentiful water. The Portuguese saw valuable economic opportunity in their new possession and ordered Malvasia grapes from Crete and sugar cane from Italy in an effort to seed the island’s first cash crops. The project was not a simple one. Colonists had to locate enough level ground to grow crops on and solve the issue of irrigating them. Brute strength, without aid of machinery, carved flat surfaces out of the mountains, and settlers built the terraces — still seen today — on the steep slopes. The problem of watering crops was solved by the irrigation system known as levadas — simply-designed water channels that wound down from water sources on the verdant mountain tops. The levadas were largely built by slave laborers from Africa, whose primary employment was on sugar plantations. New Madeirans traded sugar, the era’s dominant luxury item, with Britain and Flanders, and they proved skillful in the art of winemaking. The island’s burgeoning economic significance propelled population growth, and by the middle of the 15th century Madeira was home to 800 families. A 1514 census recorded 5,000 inhabitants. In 1478 Madeira welcomed a visitor who would greatly assist the island’s future wine trade. Christopher Columbus, not yet a sailor of any renown, sailed to Madeira on an assignment to buy sugar cane. His sojourn was unsuccessful, as money failed to arrive for part of the shipment. Yet Columbus (Columbo in Portuguese) returned six years later, by which time evidence suggests that he had become an experienced sugarcane merchant. His later discovery of the New World brought prosperity to the Madeiran economy: the island’s strategic location on the great East-West trading route meant that ships anchored and took on food, water, and the valuable trading commodity of Madeira wine. Columbus had his eye on more than sugar in Madeira. He married Dona Filipa Moniz (Perestrelo), the daughter of Porto Santo’s first governor, and lived on the island for a period, fathering a son there. Even today, there are those on Porto Santo who will tell you that it was due to his time spent there that Christopher Columbus learned navigation techniques and the ways of the ocean, and found the inspiration to undertake his voyage of 1492. Invaders In 1566 Madeira suffered its worst disaster. Well aware of the island’s burgeoning wealth and repository of supplies, the French pirate Bertrand de Montluc sailed into Funchal harbor with his 11-galleon armada and 1,300 men. He unleashed a 16-day reign of terror that left 300 Madeirans dead, stocks of sugar destroyed, and the island plundered. By the time Lisbon mounted a rescue mission, the pirates had long fled (though Montluc himself had been killed during the raid). As a result of the attack, Porto Santo, which had also been scourged by these villains of the seas, went on to build castles and early warning systems, which allowed the citizens to defend themselves or flee if necessary. On the mainland, an invasion of even greater significance followed in 1580, when Philip II of Spain proclaimed himself king of Portugal and marched his armies across the border. The Spanish remained for another 60 years, and Madeira became a Spanish territory. In the 16th century, Madeira surrendered its dominance of the sugarcane industry to another, much larger, Portuguese colony, Brazil. Sugar cane had taken a hefty toll on the Madeiran soil; exhausted plantations were supplanted by less-demanding grape vines. Although sugarcane continues to be grown today (for molasses and the brandy-like aguardente), it has long ceased to be the island’s major crop. The British Are Coming! Britain’s political and economic connections to Madeira can be traced to the 17th century. In 1662 Charles II married Portugal’s Catherine of Bragança. A provision written into the bride’s dowry granted special favors to British settlers on Madeira; had Charles been more aggressive still, perhaps the Portuguese would have agreed to hand over the island to Britain in its entirety. Both Madeira and Britain benefited from a new regulation that governed the shipment of Madeira wine and made it the only wine that could be exported directly to the British possessions in the Western hemisphere (providing, of course, it was carried by a British vessel). All other wines had to be shipped to the Americas via a British harbor. Such trading rights attracted more Britons to the island, who founded dynastic families that in some cases still constitute the island’s economic elite. Wine profits were huge, and by 1800 exports had reached nine million bottles per year. Many of the grand country quintas (villas) that still dot the island today have their roots in the early Madeira wine industry. British troops arrived on the island in 1801 to protect against possible invasion by the French, but they were with­drawn following the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. In 1807 the Treaty was put in jeopardy and the troops returned, re­main­ing until 1814. Many of the garrison remained and settled per­ma­nently on the island. War and Pestilence The second half of the 19th century on Madeira was plagued by natural disaster. In 1852 the island’s precious vines were blighted by mildew, wiping out an estimated 90 percent of the total crop. Just four years later, cholera claimed the lives of up to 7,000 Madeirans, and in 1873 the dreaded disease phylloxera destroyed the remainder of the vineyards. Potato and sugar crops were also badly affected during this period. Portugal took up arms during World War I, siding with the British and French. Madeira’s strategic position for Atlantic shipping did not escape the notice of the German High Command, and in December of that year a German submarine bombarded the Funchal harbor and sank three French ships. Modern Times As mainland Portugal lurched into a political and economic crisis that would bring down the country’s republican government, many miles away Madeira was busy looking after distinguished visitors and its developing tourist trade. In fact, Madeira had been a sought-after destination since the middle of the 19th century, attracting wealthy British sun-lovers, minor royalty, and aristocrats from many countries. The celebrated Reid’s Hotel had opened its doors in 1890, and seaplane service started operating from Lisbon in 1921. Madeira was awarded further cachet when the last of the Austro-Hungarian emperors, Charles I of Austria (also Charles IV of Hungary), chose Madeira as his home in exile after the war. In 1932 Portugal gained a new ruler and dictator, ex-Minister of Finance Dr. António Salazar. Following a bloodless coup in 1974 called the “Carnation Revolution,” Salazar’s successor, Dr. Marcelo Caetano, was overthrown and free elections were held. Madeira was then granted autonomy, in addition to the right to determine its own taxes and send a deputation to the Portuguese government. In 1986 Portugal joined the European Economic Com­munity (now the European Union, or EU). Funding from the EU has been heavily invested in the island’s infrastructure and fishing industry. The nonstop construction of roads and tunnels and the massive expansion of the Funchal airport seem to indicate that Madeira plans to see the tiny island accommodate as many people as possible. For several decades tourism has dominated the island’s economy, but Madeira’s enduring appeal lies in preserving it as a sublime tropical retreat far removed from the rest of the world.