The history of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

spans the entire length of the history of Madeira itself. The

history of Madeira The history of Madeira begins with the discovery of the islands by Portugal in 1419. There is no record of anyone living on the islands at that time. Portugal began populating the island in 1420. Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purpl ...

begins with the discovery of the islands by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 1419. Madeira is presently officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (''Região Autónoma da Madeira''), and is one of the two

autonomous regions of Portugal The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal from 1999 ( pt, Regiões Autónomas de Portugal) are the Azores (''Região Autónoma dos Açores'') and Madeira (''Região Autónoma da Madeira''). Together with Continental Portugal (''Portugal Continenta ...

(along with the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

). It is an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

situated in the north

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, southwest of

. Its total population was estimated in 2016 at 289,000. The capital of Madeira is

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

, which is located on the main island's south coast. Jews have been associated with Madeira from the era of

Crypto-Jews Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...

to World War II evacuees. Like the Jews of mainland Portugal, Madeira Jews are mainly related to

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

history, a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. There was once a

Synagogue of Funchal The Building at 33 Rua do Carmo is an historical building located at 33 Rua do Carmo, Funchal, Madeira. It has been suggested that it could have been projected to be a synagogue. History Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in ...

, which is now disused.

Menasseh Ben Israel Manoel Dias Soeiro (1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh ben Israel (), also known as Menasheh ben Yossef ben Yisrael, also known with the Hebrew acronym, MB"Y or MBI, was a Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, writ ...

was born in Madeira in 1604. Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in the cloth and wine trades. The Abudarham family from

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

were involved in the

Madeira wine Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet wines usually consumed ...

industry from the early 1860s onward. The Jewish community on the island of Madeira expanded in 1940, due to the

Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II The British Government's decision to enforce a mass evacuation of the civilian population during the Second World War from the Crown colony of Gibraltar, in order to increase the strength of The Rock with more British Armed Forces personnel, mea ...

to Madeira, which included a number of Jews, who attended the

. Some of these evacuees were buried in the

Jewish Cemetery of Funchal The Jewish Cemetery of Funchal is a Jewish cemetery located in Rua do Lazareto, Funchal, Madeira. Sephardi Jews as well as Ashkenazi Jews are buried here. History The cemetery was built in 1851, the last burial took place in 1976. Jews from M ...

Tito Benady Mesod Benady MBE (born 17 July 1930) is a Gibraltarian historian of Sephardic Jewish descent. He currently lives in Grendon, Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. Benady was involved in local politics during the seventies; he contested the 1 ...

, a historian on Gibraltar Jewry, noted that when some 200 Jews of the 2000 evacuees from

were evacuated as non combatants to Funchal, Madeira, at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, they found a Jewish cemetery (Jewish Cemetery of Funchal) that belonged to the Abudarham family. The same family after whom the Abudarham Synagogue in Gibraltar was named. The

is a Jewish cemetery located in Rua do Lazareto,

. Sephardi Jews as well as Ashkenazi Jews are buried there. Gibraltar-Madeira

In 2008, a monument was made in Gibraltar and shipped to Madeira, where it has been erected next to a small chapel at Santa Caterina park, Funchal. The monument is a gift and symbol of everlasting thanks given by the people of Gibraltar to the island of Madeira and its inhabitants. The city of Funchal and Gibraltar were twinned on 13 May 2009 by their then mayors, the mayor of Funchal

Miguel Albuquerque Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque (born 4 May 1961) is a Portugal, Portuguese politician of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the current Presidents of the Regional Government of Madeira, President of the ...

and the mayor of Gibraltar, who had been an evacuee from Gibraltar to Madeira

Solomon Levy Solomon "Momy" Levy MBE JP (26 October 1936 – 22 December 2016), was a Gibraltarian estate agent and the Mayor of Gibraltar. He held office from 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2009. A member of the Gibraltarian Jewish community, Levy was the ne ...

, respectively. The mayor of Gibraltar then had a meeting with the then president of Madeira

Alberto João Jardim Alberto João Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim, Order of Christ (Portugal), GCC, Order of Infante D. Henrique, GCIH (, born 4 February 1943) is a Portuguese politician who was the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Portugal, from 1978 to 20 ...

. In 2013, a

Passover Seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...

was held in Madeira sponsored by

Shavei Israel ''Shavei Israel'' ( he, שבי ישראל, ''Returners of Israel'') is an Israel-based Jewish organization that encourages people of Jewish descent to strengthen their connection with Israel and the Jewish people. Founded by Michael Freund in 2 ...

and was attended by

Bnei Anousim Anusim ( he, אֲנוּסִים, ; singular male, anús, he, אָנוּס ; singular female, anusáh, , meaning "coerced") is a legal category of Jews in ''halakha'' (Jewish law) who were forced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically ...

References

{{Africa topic, History of the Jews in

History of Madeira

See also

References