The pearl of the atlantic

The Portuguese navigators Tristão Vaz Teixeira, Bartolomeu Perestrelo and João Gonçalves Zarco discovered the island of Porto Santo in 1418, after a storm on the high seas, the vessel was removed from its route, and diverted to the African coast. After many days adrift on the high seas, they spotted a small island they called Porto Seguro, Porto Santo, as it saved Zarco's crew from a fateful fate.

The island of Madeira was later discovered by them in 1419, who nicknamed the island 'Madeira' due to the abundance of this raw material.

Around 1425, the settlement of the islands began by order of King D. João I. From 1440 onwards, the regime of captaincies was established, with Tristão Vaz Teixeira appointed as captain-donee of the captaincy of Machico; six years later, Bartolomeu Perestrelo becomes captain-donatário of Porto Santo and, in 1450, Zarco is appointed captain-donatário of the captaincy of Funchal.

The first settlers were the three captain-donatories and their respective families, a small group of people from the gentry, people of modest means and some former prisoners of the Kingdom.

At the beginning of its settlement, some agricultural crops were introduced, such as sugar cane, which quickly gave the Funchal metropolis a clear economic prosperity. This fact led to the fact that in the second half of the 15th century, the city of Funchal became a mandatory port of call for European trade routes. For example, Christopher Columbus first visited the island of Madeira in 1478, with the task of buying 2,400 arrobas (~36000 Kg) of sugar.

In the 16th century, sugarcane cultivation declined due to surplus production and soil exhaustion, as well as competition from sugar coming from Brazil at more competitive prices. The 17th and 18th centuries were marked by the emergence of a new culture that would boost Madeira's economy again: wine. The land used to grow sugarcane was converted into vineyards. During that century foreign settlers continued to arrive in Madeira. Among these, Simão Acciaioly stands out for having introduced the Malvasia Babosa variety.

The Madeira wine trade only started when King João ordered his ships on their way to Brazil to dock on the island and take Madeira wine to the colonies. When Charles II of England married Alfonso VII's sister, Infanta Catarina, he issued a decree in 1665 forbidding the export of European products to the English colonies. This decree excluded Madeira, which allowed shipowners on the island to create a monopoly of trade in the Americas and the Caribbean, and Madeira wine became a favored beverage in the West Indies and America.

Historical records show that the production and export of Madeira wine tripled, in the 17th century, bringing many foreign exporters, mainly British, to the island.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Madeira flourished for the birth of the tourist sector, quickly becoming an obligatory reference for the European aristocracy that took up temporary residence here, attracted by the natural therapeutic qualities of the island.

In 1976, Madeira became an Autonomous Region of the Portuguese Republic, thus gaining legislative power.