)
, 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 state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...
, subdivision_name=
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 ...
, established_title=
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discover ...
, established_date=1418-1419
, established_title2=Settlement
, established_date2=c. 1425
, established_title3=Autonomous status
, established_date3=30 April 1976
, named_for = en, wood ( pt, madeira)
, official_languages=
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, demonym= en, Madeiran ( pt, Madeirense)
, capital =
Funchal
Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's 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 its high ...
, government_type=
Autonomous Region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...
, leader_title1=Representative of the Republic
, leader_name1=Irineu Barreto
, leader_title2=
President of the Regional Government of Madeira
Presidents of the Regional Government of Madeira are the Head of government, heads of government for the autonomous local authority of Madeira, since the Carnation Revolution that installed the Democracy, democratic Third Portuguese Republic. The ...
, leader_name2=
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 ...
, leader_title3=President of the Legislative Assembly
, leader_name3=José Manuel Rodrigues
, legislature=
Legislative Assembly
, national_representation=National and European representation
, national_representation_type1 =
Assembly of the Republic
, national_representation1 = 6 MPs (of 230)
, national_representation_type2 =
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, national_representation2 = 2 MEP (
of 21 Portuguese seats)
, area_km2=801
, elevation_max_m=1,861
, elevation_max_point=
Pico Ruivo
Pico Ruivo is the highest peak on Madeira Island. It can be reached only by foot, usually either from Pico do Arieiro (3rd highest) after a strenuous hike, or from Achada do Teixeira via a shorter, easier trail. There is an additional trail leadin ...
, elevation_min_m=0
, elevation_min_point=
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 ...
, population_census= 250,769
, population_census_year=2021
, population_density_km2=313
, GDP_nominal_year=2023 (
Fitch)
, GDP_nominal_per_capita= $27,493
, GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank=
, currency=
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
(€)
, currency_code=EUR
, timezone=
WET
, utc_offset=±00:00
, timezone_DST=
WEST
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, utc_offset_DST=+01:00
, date_format=dd/mm/yyyy (
CE)
, drives_on=right
, calling_code=
+351 (291)
, postal_code_type =
Postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
, postal_code = 90nn-94nn
, iso_code=
PT-30
, website
www.madeira.gov.pt, blank7_name_sec1=Usual abbreviation
, blank7_info_sec1=RAM
, cctld=
.pt
.pt is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Portugal and is managed by Associação DNS.PT.
It has the following second-level domains:
* .com.pt: no restrictions; online registration
* .edu.pt: education
* .gov.pt: Governmen ...
Madeira ( , , ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira ( pt, Região Autónoma da Madeira), is one of two
autonomous regions
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...
of
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 ...
, the other being 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 an ...
, in a region known as
Macaronesia
Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...
, just under to the north of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and west of the
Kingdom of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
.
Madeira is geologically located on the
African Tectonic Plate, notwithstanding being culturally, sociologically, economically and politically European as is its southern archipelago neighbor.
Its population was 251,060 in 2021. The capital of Madeira is
Funchal
Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's 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 its high ...
, which is located on the main island's south coast.
The archipelago includes the islands of
Madeira,
Porto Santo, and the
Desertas
The Desertas Islands ( pt, Ilhas Desertas, , "Deserted Islands") are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago.
The archipelago is located off the coast of Morocco. Deserta Grande Island is loca ...
, administered together with the separate archipelago of the
Savage Islands
The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands. . Roughly half of the region's population lives in its capital,
Funchal
Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's 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 its high ...
. The region has political and administrative autonomy through the
Administrative Political Statute of the Autonomous Region of Madeira provided for in the
Portuguese Constitution
The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...
. The autonomous region is an integral part of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
as an
outermost region
The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside ...
. Madeira generally has a
very mild and moderate subtropical climate with
mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
summer droughts and winter rain. Many
microclimates
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squa ...
are found at different elevations.
Madeira, originally uninhabited, was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince
Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
.
It's a popular year-round resort, particularly for fellow Portuguese, but also British (148,000 visits in 2021), and Germans (with 113,000 visits in 2021). It is by far the most populous and densely populated Portuguese island. The region is noted for its
Madeira wine,
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
,
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
, with its pre-historic
laurel forest classified as
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. The main harbour in Funchal has long been the leading Portuguese port in cruise liner dockings, an important stopover for Atlantic passenger cruises between Europe, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and North Africa. In addition, the
International Business Centre of Madeira The International Business Center of Madeira (IBCM) or Madeira International Business Centre (MIBC), formally known as the Madeira Free Trade Zone, is a set of tax benefits authorised by Decree-Law 500/80 in 1980, legislated in 1986, and amended t ...
, also known as the Madeira Free Trade Zone, was created formally in the 1980s as a tool of regional economic policy. It consists of a set of incentives, mainly tax-related, granted with the objective of attracting foreign direct investment based on international services into Madeira.
History
Ancient
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
in his ''
Parallel Lives
Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...
'' (''Sertorius'', 75 AD) referring to the military commander
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...
(d. 72 BC), relates that after his return to
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
, he met sailors who spoke of idyllic Atlantic islands: "The islands are said to be two in number separated by a very narrow strait and lie from Africa. They are called the
Isles of the Blessed
The Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blessed ( grc, μακάρων νῆσοι, ''makárōn nêsoi'') were semi-legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabit ...
."
Archaeological evidence suggests that the islands may have been visited by the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s sometime between 900 and 1030.
Accounts by
Muhammad al-Idrisi
Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الإدريسي القرطبي الحسني السبتي; la, Dreses; 1100 – 1165), was a Muslim geographer, cartogra ...
state that the Mugharrarin came across an island where they found "a huge quantity of sheep, the meat of which was bitter and inedible" before going to the more incontrovertibly inhabited
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
. This island, possibly Madeira or
Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populati ...
, must have been inhabited or previously visited by people for livestock to be present.
Legend
During the reign of King
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
, lovers
Robert Machim and Anna d'Arfet were said to have fled from England to France in 1346. Driven off course by a violent storm, their ship ran aground along the coast of an island that may have been Madeira. Later this legend was the basis of the naming of the city of
Machico
Machico () is a municipality, parish and city in the southeast part of the island of Madeira, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The easternmost municipality on the island, it is also the third-most populous area with a population of 21,828 in ...
on the island, in memory of the young lovers.
European exploration
![Corbitis Atlas (p](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Corbitis_Atlas_%28p.4%29.jpg)
Madeira is described in various medieval manuscripts: the
Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms
The or ''Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms'', also known as the ''Book of All Kingdoms'', is an anonymous 14th-century Castilian geographical and armorial manual (dated to ca. 1385).
It is written in the form of imaginary autobiographical tr ...
of early
14th century, the
Medici-Laurentian Atlas of
1351, in Soleri Portolani of
1380 and
1385 and
Corbitis Atlas The Corbitis Atlas (sometimes called the Corbizzi or Combitis) is a late 14th-century atlas of four portolan charts, composed by an anonymous Venetian cartographer, and currently held by the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, Italy.
Backgro ...
of late 14th century; under names such as ''Lecmane'', ''Lolegname'' and ''Legnami'' (the isle of wood); ''Puerto'' or Porto Santo; ''desierta'', ''deserte'' or deserta. It is widely accepted that knowledge of these Atlantic islands existed before their more documented and successful settlement by the
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...
.
![Funchal ( Portugal )13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Funchal_%28_Portugal_%2913.jpg)
In 1418, two captains under service to Prince
Henry the Navigator,
João Gonçalves Zarco
João Gonçalves Zarco ( 1390 – 21 November 1471) was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator.
Life
Zarco was born in Portugal ...
and
Tristão Vaz Teixeira
Tristão Vaz Teixeira (c. 1395–1480) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who, together with João Gonçalves Zarco and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, was the official discoverer and one of the first settlers of the archipelago of Madeira (1419–14 ...
, were driven off course by a storm to an island they named
Porto Santo (English: ''holy harbour'') in gratitude for divine deliverance from a shipwreck. The following year, an organised expedition, under the captaincy of Zarco, Vaz Teixeira, and
Bartolomeu Perestrello
Bartolomeu Perestrello (, in Italian ''Bartolomeo Perestrello''), 1st Capitão Donatário, Lord and Governor of the Island of Porto Santo ( 1395 – 1457) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer that is claimed to have discovered and populated ...
, traveled to the island to claim it on behalf of the Portuguese Crown. Subsequently, the new settlers observed "a heavy black cloud suspended to the southwest." Their investigation revealed it to be the larger island they called Madeira.
Settlement
The first Portuguese settlers began colonizing the islands around 1420 or 1425.
The first settlers were the three captain-donees and their respective families, a small group of members of the gentry, people of modest conditions and some former inmates of the
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
.
The settlement involved people from all over the kingdom. It was from the
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
that some of the early settlers set out. Many came with the important task of the landlord system employment. Servants, squires, knights and noblemen are identified as the ones who secured the beginning of the settlement. Later on, settlers came from the
north of Portugal, namely from the region of
Entre Douro and Minho, who intervened specifically in the organization of the agricultural area.
Majority of settlers were fishermen and peasant farmers, who willingly left Portugal for a new life on the islands, a better one, they hoped, than was possible in a Portugal which had been ravaged by the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
and where the best farmlands were strictly controlled by the nobility.
To have minimum conditions for the development of agriculture on the island, the settlers had to chop down part of the dense forest and build a large number of water channels, called “levadas”, to carry the abundant waters on the north coast to the south coast of the island.
Initially, the settlers produced wheat for their own sustenance but later began to export wheat to mainland Portugal.
In earlier times, fish and vegetables were the settlers' main means of subsistence.
Grain production began to fall and the ensuing crisis forced
Henry the Navigator to order other commercial crops to be planted so that the islands could be profitable. These specialised plants, and their associated industrial technology, created one of the major revolutions on the islands and fuelled Portuguese industry. Following the introduction of the first water-driven sugar mill on Madeira, sugar production increased to over 6,000 ''arrobas'' (an ''arroba'' was equal to ) by 1455,
using advisers from
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and financed by
Genoese capital. (Genoa acted as an integral part of the island economy until the 17th century.) The accessibility of Madeira attracted Genoese and
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
traders, who were keen to bypass
Venetian monopolies.
Sugarcane production was the primary engine of the island's economy which quickly afforded the Funchal metropolis economic prosperity. The production of sugar cane attracted adventurers and merchants from all parts of Europe, especially
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
,
Basques,
Catalans
Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...
, and
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
. This meant that, in the second half of the fifteenth century, the city of Funchal became a mandatory port of call for European trade routes.
Slaves were used during the island's period of sugar trade to cultivate sugar cane alongside paid workers, though slave owners were only a small minority of the Madeiran population, and those who did own slaves owned only a few. Slaves consisted of
Guanches
The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa.
It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...
from the nearby Canary islands, captured Berbers from the
conquest of Ceuta and West Africans after further exploration of the African coast.
Until the first half of the sixteenth century, Madeira was one of the major sugar markets of the Atlantic. Apparently it is in Madeira that, in the context of sugar production, slave labour was applied for the first time. The colonial system of sugar production was put into practice on the island of Madeira, on a much smaller scale, and later transferred, on a large scale, to other overseas production areas.
Later on, this small scale of production was completely outmatched by
Brazilian and
São Tomean plantations. Madeiran sugar production declined in such a way that it was not enough for domestic needs, so that sugar was imported to the island from other Portuguese colonies. Sugar mills were gradually abandoned, with few remaining, which gave way to other markets in Madeira.
In the 17th century, as Portuguese sugar production was shifted to Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe and elsewhere, Madeira's most important commodity product became its wine. Sugar plantations were replaced by vineyards, originating in the so-called ‘Wine Culture’, which acquired international fame and provided the rise of a new social class, the
Bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
.
With the increase of commercial treaties with England, important English merchants settled on the Island and, ultimately, controlled the increasingly important island wine trade. The English traders settled in the Funchal as of the seventeenth century, consolidating the markets from North America, the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
and England itself. The
Madeira Wine became very popular in the markets and it is also said to have been used in a toast during the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
by the
Founding Fathers.
![Sé_do_Funchal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/S%C3%A9_do_Funchal.jpg)
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Madeira stands out for its climate and therapeutic effects. In the nineteenth century, visitors to the island integrated four major groups: patients, travellers, tourists and scientists. Most visitors belonged to the moneyed
aristocracy
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At t ...
.
As a result of a high demand for the season, there was a need to prepare guides for visitors. The first tourist guide of Madeira appeared in 1850 and focused on elements of history, geology,
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
,
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
and customs of the island.
Regarding hotel infrastructures, the British and the Germans were the first to launch the Madeiran hotel chain. The historic
Belmond Reid's Palace
Belmond Reid's Palace (a.k.a. Reid's Palace) is a historic hotel located to the west of Funchal Bay in Madeira, Portugal, in an imposing position looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel has beautiful sloping gardens. The hotel's complex i ...
opened in 1891 and is still open to this day.
Barbary corsairs from North Africa, who enslaved Europeans from ships and coastal communities throughout the Mediterranean region, captured
1,200 people in Porto Santo in 1617.
The
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
first amicably occupied the island in 1801 whereafter Colonel
William Henry Clinton
General Sir William Henry Clinton (23 December 1769 – 15 February 1846) was a British general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well as the First Miguelist War. He was also the grandson of Admiral George Clinton and elde ...
became governor. A detachment of the
85th Regiment of Foot under Lieutenant-colonel
James Willoughby Gordon
General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, 1st Baronet (21 October 1772 – 4 January 1851) was a general officer in the British Army. He notably served as most long-standing Quartermaster-General to the Forces, holding the position for some 40 years.
...
garrisoned the island.
After the
Peace of Amiens, British troops withdrew in 1802, only to reoccupy Madeira in 1807 until the end of the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
in 1814.
In 1846
James Julius Wood
James Julius Wood (1800–1877) was a 19th-century Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland 1857/8.
Life
He was born in Jedburgh on 4 September 1800 the son of Dr William Wood MD and ...
wrote a series of seven sketches of the island. In 1856, British troops recovering from
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
, and widows and orphans of soldiers fallen in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, were stationed in Funchal, Madeira.
World War I
During the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on 3 December 1916, a
German U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
, , captained by
Max Valentiner
Captain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner (15 December 1883 – 19 July 1949) was a German U-boat commander during World War I. He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his achievem ...
, entered
Funchal
Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's 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 its high ...
harbour on Madeira. ''U-38'' torpedoed and sank three ships, bringing the war to Portugal by extension. The ships sunk were:
* CS ''Dacia'' (), a British cable-laying vessel. ''Dacia'' had previously undertaken war work off the coast of
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
and
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
. It was in the process of diverting the German South American cable into Brest, France.
*
SS ''Kanguroo'' (), a French specialized "heavy-lift" transport.
* ''Surprise'' (), a French
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
. Her commander and 34 crewmen (including 7 Portuguese) were killed.
After attacking the ships, ''U-38'' bombarded Funchal for two hours from a range of about . Batteries on Madeira returned fire and eventually forced ''U-38'' to withdraw.
On 12 December 1917, two German U-boats, ''
SM U-156'' and ''
SM U-157
SM ''U-157'') and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''., group=Note was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.
''U-157'' was engaged in the naval ...
'' (captained by
Max Valentiner
Captain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner (15 December 1883 – 19 July 1949) was a German U-boat commander during World War I. He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his achievem ...
), again bombarded Funchal. This time the attack lasted around 30 minutes. The U-boats fired 40 shells. There were three fatalities and 17 wounded; a number of houses and Santa Clara church were hit.
Charles I (Karl I), the last Emperor of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, was exiled to Madeira after the war. Determined to prevent an attempt to restore Charles to the throne, the Council of Allied Powers agreed he could go into exile on Madeira because it was isolated in the Atlantic and easily guarded. He died there on 1 April 1922 and his coffin lies in a chapel of the
Church of Our Lady of Monte
The Church of Our Lady of the Mount () is the main church in the civil parish of Monte, in Funchal, Madeira island.
History
In 1470 a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Incarnation was built on this mount by Adão Gonçalves Ferreira, the f ...
.
Geography
![BicaDaCana2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/BicaDaCana2.jpg)
The archipelago of Madeira is located from the African coast and from the European continent (approximately a one-and-a-half-hour flight from the Portuguese capital of
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
). Madeira is on the same parallel as
Bermuda
)
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a few time zones further west in the Atlantic. The two archipelagos are the only land in the Atlantic on the
32nd parallel north. Madeira is found in the extreme south of the Tore-Madeira Ridge, a bathymetric structure of great dimensions oriented along a north-northeast to south-southwest axis that extends for . This submarine structure consists of long geomorphological relief that extends from the abyssal plain to ; its highest submersed point is at a depth of about (around latitude 36°N). The origins of the Tore-Madeira Ridge are not clearly established, but may have resulted from a morphological ''buckling'' of the lithosphere.
Islands and islets
*
Madeira (), including Ilhéu de Agostinho, Ilhéu de São Lourenço, Ilhéu Mole (northwest); Total population: 262,456 (2011 Census).
*
Porto Santo (), including
Ilhéu de Baixo ou da Cal, Ilhéu de Ferro, Ilhéu das Cenouras, Ilhéu de Fora, Ilhéu de Cima; Total population: 5,483 (2011 Census).
*
Desertas Islands
The Desertas Islands ( pt, Ilhas Desertas, , "Deserted Islands") are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago.
The archipelago is located off the coast of Morocco. Deserta Grande Island is loca ...
(), including the three uninhabited islands:
Deserta Grande Island
The Deserta Grande Island is the main island of the Desertas Islands archipelago, a small chain of three islands in the Portuguese Madeira Islands Archipelago of Macaronesia.
It is located southeast of Madeira Island, off the western coast of ...
,
Bugio Island
Bugio Island ( pt, Ilha do Bugio) — is one of the three islands of the Portuguese Desertas Islands archipelago, a small chain of islands in the Madeira Islands Archipelago
of Macaronesia.
It is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the western co ...
and
Ilhéu de Chão.
*
Savage Islands
The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands. (), archipelago 280 km south-southeast of Madeira Island including three main islands and 16 uninhabited islets in two groups: the Northwest Group (
Selvagem Grande Island
Selvagem Grande Island is part of the Savage Islands archipelago, which themselves are part of the Portugal, Portuguese Autonomous Region of Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The island () belongs to the northeast group of the Savage Islands, ...
, Ilhéu de Palheiro da Terra, Ilhéu de Palheiro do Mar) and the Southeast Group (
Selvagem Pequena Island
Selvagem Pequena Island () is an island in the southeast group of the Savage Islands, Madeira, Portugal. It is the southernmost major island of Portugal (excluding islets). Its fauna and flora are well-preserved due to lack of human interference.
...
, Ilhéu Grande, Ilhéu Sul, Ilhéu Pequeno, Ilhéu Fora, Ilhéu Alto, Ilhéu Comprido, Ilhéu Redondo, Ilhéu Norte).
Madeira Island
![Madeira's Laurissilva Forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Madeira%27s_Laurissilva_Forest.jpg)
The island of Madeira is at the top of a massive
shield volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...
that rises about from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Tore underwater mountain range. The volcano formed atop an east–west
rift
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...
in the
oceanic crust
Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramafic cumu ...
along the
African Plate
The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plate ...
, beginning during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
epoch over 5 million years ago, continuing into the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
until about 700,000 years ago.
This was followed by extensive
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
, producing two large amphitheatres open to south in the central part of the island. Volcanic activity later resumed, producing
scoria cones and
lava flows atop the older eroded shield. The most recent volcanic eruptions were on the west-central part of the island only 6,500 years ago, creating more
cinder cones and lava flows.
It is the largest island of the group with an area of , a length of (from Ponte de São Lourenço to Ponta do Pargo), while approximately at its widest point (from Ponta da Cruz to Ponta de São Jorge), with a coastline of . It has a mountain ridge that extends along the centre of the island, reaching at its highest point (
Pico Ruivo
Pico Ruivo is the highest peak on Madeira Island. It can be reached only by foot, usually either from Pico do Arieiro (3rd highest) after a strenuous hike, or from Achada do Teixeira via a shorter, easier trail. There is an additional trail leadin ...
), while much lower (below 200 metres) along its eastern extent. The primitive volcanic foci responsible for the central mountainous area, consisted of the peaks: Ruivo (1,862 m), Torres (1,851 m), Arieiro (1,818 m), Cidrão (1,802 m), Cedro (1,759 m), Casado (1,725 m), Grande (1,657 m), Ferreiro (1,582 m). At the end of this eruptive phase, an island circled by reefs was formed, its marine vestiges are evident in a calcareous layer in the area of Lameiros, in São Vicente (which was later explored for
calcium oxide
Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ...
production). Sea cliffs, such as
Cabo Girão
Cabo Girão is a lofty sea cliff located along the southern coast of the island of Madeira, in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, geographically part of Africa. Cabo Girão is a tourist lookout point, with up to 1800 visitors a day. The locat ...
, valleys and ravines extend from this central spine, making the interior generally inaccessible. Daily life is concentrated in the many villages at the mouths of the ravines, through which the heavy rains of autumn and winter usually travel to the sea.
Climate
Madeira has many different bioclimates.
Based on differences in sun exposure, humidity, and annual mean temperature, there are clear variations between north- and south-facing regions, as well as between some islands. The islands are strongly influenced by the
Gulf Stream and
Canary Current
The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later j ...
, giving it mild to warm year-round temperatures; according to the Instituto de Meteorologia (IPMA), the average annual temperature at Funchal weather station is for the 1981–2010 period.
Relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
is a determinant factor on precipitation levels, areas such as the
Madeira Natural Park
The Madeira Natural Park ( pt, Parque Natural da Madeira) is a large biological reserve in Madeira with a unique endemic flora and fauna. It was created in 1982 to safeguard the natural heritage of the archipelago, and contains a number of enda ...
can get as much as of precipitation a year hosting green lush
laurel forests
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...
, while
Porto Santo, being a much flatter island, has a
semiarid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSh''). In most winters snowfall occurs in the mountains of Madeira. The main Madeira island has areas with an annual average temperature exceeding along the coast (according to the Portuguese Meteorological Institute).
Flora and fauna
Madeira island is home to several endemic plant and animal species.
In the south, there is very little left of the indigenous subtropical rainforest that once covered the whole island (the original settlers set fire to the island to clear the land for farming) and gave it the name it now bears (''Madeira'' means "wood" in Portuguese). However, in the north, the valleys contain native trees of fine growth. These
"laurisilva" forests, called ''lauraceas madeirense'', notably the forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island, are designated as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by UNESCO. The paleobotanical record of Madeira reveals that laurisilva forest has existed in this island for at least 1.8 million years. Critically endangered species such as the vine ''
Jasminum azoricum
''Jasminum azoricum'', the lemon-scented jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family.
It is an evergreen twining vine native to the Portuguese island of Madeira. The compound leaves consist of 3 bright green leaflets. The fragran ...
''
and the rowan ''
Sorbus maderensis'' are endemic to Madeira. The
Madeiran large white butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
was an endemic
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the
Large white which inhabited the laurisilva forests but has not been seen since 1977 so may now be
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
.
Madeiran wall lizard
![Teira dugesii k7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Teira_dugesii_k7.jpg)
The Madeiran wall lizard (''Teira dugesii'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Lacertidae
The Lacertidae are the family (biology), family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at least 300 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group o ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the Island where it is very common, and is the only small lizard, ranging from sea coasts to altitudes of . It is usually found in rocky places or among scrub and may climb into trees. It is also found in gardens and on the walls of buildings. It feeds on small invertebrates such as ants and also eats some vegetable matter. The tail is easily shed and the stump regenerates slowly. The colouring is variable and tends to match the colour of the animal's surroundings, being some shade of brown or grey with occasionally a greenish tinge. Most animals are finely flecked with darker markings. The underparts are white or cream, sometimes with dark spots, with some males having orange or red underparts and blue throats, but these bright colours may fade if the animal is disturbed.
The Madeiran wall lizard grows to a snout-to-vent length of about with a tail about 1.7 times the length of its body. Females lay two to three clutches of eggs in a year with the juveniles being about when they hatch.
Endemic birds
Two species of birds are endemic to Madeira, the
Trocaz pigeon
The trocaz pigeon, Madeira laurel pigeon or long-toed pigeon (''Columba trocaz'') is a pigeon which is endemic to the island of Madeira, Portugal. It is a mainly grey bird with a pinkish breast; its silvery neck patch and lack of white wing marki ...
and the
Madeira firecrest. In addition to these are several extinct species which may have died out soon after the islands were settled, the
Madeiran scops owl
The Madeiran scops owl (''Otus mauli'') is a small extinction, extinct owl that once inhabited the island of Madeira in the Macaronesian archipelago off the north-west coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean.
History
Fossil b ...
, two
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
*Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ( ...
species, ''Rallus adolfocaesaris'' and ''R. lowei'', and two
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...
species, ''Coturnix lignorum'' and ''C. alabrevis'', and the
Madeiran wood pigeon
The Madeiran wood pigeon (''Columba palumbus maderensis'') was a subspecies of the wood pigeon (''Columba palumbus'') endemic to Madeira (Portugal), and found in the island's laurel forest habitat.
The Madeiran wood pigeon closely resembled the ...
, a subspecies of the widespread
common wood pigeon
The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon (''Columba palumbus''), also known as simply wood pigeon, wood-pigeon or woodpigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the g ...
and which was last seen in the early 20th century.
Levadas
![Levada Madeira](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Levada_Madeira.jpg)
The island of Madeira is wet in the northwest, but dry in the southeast. In the 16th century the Portuguese started building levadas or
aqueducts
Aqueduct may refer to:
Structures
*Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley
*Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
to carry water to the agricultural regions in the south. Madeira is very mountainous, and building the levadas was difficult and often convicts or slaves were used. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig of tunnels, some of which are still accessible.
Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island, but provide
hydro-electric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
. There are over of levadas and they provide a network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through the countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death. Since 2011, some improvements have been made to these pathways, after the
2010 Madeira floods and mudslides on the island, to clean and reconstruct some critical parts of the island, including the levadas. Such improvements involved the continuous maintenance of the water streams, cementing the trails, and positioning safety fences on dangerous paths.
Two of the most popular levadas to hike are the ''Levada do Caldeirão Verde'' and the ''Levada do Caldeirão do Inferno'', which should not be attempted by hikers prone to vertigo or without torches and helmets. The ''Levada do Caniçal'' is a much easier walk, running from Maroços to the ''Caniçal Tunnel''. It is known as the ''mimosa levada'', because "mimosa" trees, (the colloquial name for invasive
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
) are found all along the route.
Politics
Political autonomy
Due to its distinct geography, economy, social and cultural situation, as well as the historical autonomic aspirations of the Madeiran island population, the Autonomous Regions of Madeira was established in 1976.
Although it is a politico-administrative autonomic region the Portuguese constitution specifies both a regional and national connection, obliging their administrations to maintain democratic principles and promote regional interests, while still reinforcing national unity.
As defined by the
Portuguese constitution
The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...
and other laws, Madeira possesses its own political and administrative
statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
and has its own
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. The branches of Government are the
Regional Government and the
Legislative Assembly, the later being elected by
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, using the
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.
The president of the Regional Government is appointed by the Representative of the Republic according to the results of the election to the legislative assemblies.
The
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of the Portuguese Republic was represented in Madeira by the Minister of the Republic, proposed by the
Government of the Republic and appointed by the
President of the Republic. However, after the sixth amendment to the
Portuguese Constitution
The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...
was passed in 2006, the Minister of the Republic was replaced by a less-powerful Representative of the Republic who is appointed by the President, after listening to the Government, but otherwise it is a presidential prerogative. The other tasks of Representative of the Republic are to sign and order the publication of regional legislative decrees and regional regulatory decrees or to exercise the right of veto over regional laws, should these laws be unconstitutional.
Status within the European Union
![EU OCT and OMR map en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/EU_OCT_and_OMR_map_en.png)
Madeira is also an
Outermost Region
The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside ...
(OMR) of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, meaning that due to its geographical situation, it is entitled to
derogation
Derogation, in civil law and common law, is the partial suppression of a law. In contrast, annulment is the total abolition of a law by explicit repeal, and obrogation is the partial or total modification or repeal of a law by the imposition of ...
from some EU policies despite being part of the European Union.
According to the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...
, both primary and secondary
European Union law applies automatically to Madeira, with possible derogations to take account of its "structural social and economic situation (...) which is compounded by their remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, economic dependence on a few products, the permanence and combination of which severely restrain their development".
[ Article 349 of the ]Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...
. An example of such derogation is seen in the approval of the
International Business Centre of Madeira The International Business Center of Madeira (IBCM) or Madeira International Business Centre (MIBC), formally known as the Madeira Free Trade Zone, is a set of tax benefits authorised by Decree-Law 500/80 in 1980, legislated in 1986, and amended t ...
and other state aid policies to help the rum industry.
It forms part of the
European Union customs area, the
Schengen Area and the
European Union Value Added Tax Area.
Administrative divisions
![Autonome Region Madeira 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Autonome_Region_Madeira_2020.png)
Administratively, Madeira (with a population of 251,060 inhabitants in 2021
) and covering an area of is organised into eleven
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
:
Funchal
Funchal is the capital and principal city of the
Autonomous Region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...
of Madeira, located along the southern coast of the island of Madeira. It is a modern city, located within a natural geological "
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
" composed of vulcanological structure and fluvial hydrological forces. Beginning at the harbour (Porto de Funchal), the neighbourhoods and streets rise almost , along gentle slopes that helped to provide a natural shelter to the early settlers.
Population
Demographics
The island was settled by
Portuguese people
The Portuguese people () are a Romance nation and ethnic group indigenous to Portugal who share a common culture, ancestry and language. The Portuguese people's heritage largely derives from the pre-Celts, Proto-Celts (Lusitanians, Conii) a ...
, especially farmers from the
Minho region, meaning that Madeirans ( pt, Madeirenses), as they are called, are ethnically Portuguese, though they have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits.
The region of Madeira and Porto Santo has a total population of just under 256,060, the majority of whom live on the main island of Madeira 251,060 where the population density is ; meanwhile only around 5,000 live on the Porto Santo island where the population density is .
About 247,000 (96%) of the population are Catholic and
Funchal
Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's 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 its high ...
is the location of the
Catholic cathedral.
Diaspora
Madeirans migrated to the United States,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
. Madeiran immigrants in North America mostly clustered in the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and
mid-Atlantic states, Toronto, Northern California, and Hawaii. The city of
New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
is especially rich in Madeirans, hosting the Museum of Madeira Heritage, as well as the annual Madeiran and Luso-American celebration, the
Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, the world's largest celebration of Madeiran heritage, regularly drawing crowds of tens of thousands to the city's Madeira Field.
![Portuguese immigrant family in Hawaii during the 19th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Portuguese_immigrant_family_in_Hawaii_during_the_19th_century.jpg)
In 1846, when a famine struck Madeira over 6,000 of the inhabitants migrated to
British Guiana. In 1891 they numbered 4.3% of the population. In 1902 in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii there were 5,000 Portuguese people, mostly Madeirans. In 1910 this grew to 21,000.
1849 saw an emigration of Protestant religious exiles from Madeira to the United States, by way of Trinidad and other locations in the West Indies. Most of them settled in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
with financial and physical aid of the American Protestant Society, headquartered in New York City. In the late 1830s the Reverend
Robert Reid Kalley
Robert Reid Kalley September 1809 – 17 January 1888) was a Scottish physician and Presbyterian, later Congregationalist, missionary notable for his efforts to spread Presbyterian views in Portuguese-speaking territories and as the introducer ...
, from Scotland, a Presbyterian minister as well as a physician, made a stop at Funchal, Madeira on his way to a mission in China, with his wife, so that she could recover from an illness. The Rev. Kalley and his wife stayed on Madeira where he began preaching the Protestant gospel and converting islanders from Catholicism. Eventually, the Rev. Kalley was arrested for his religious conversion activities and imprisoned. Another missionary from Scotland, William Hepburn Hewitson, took on Protestant ministerial activities in Madeira. By 1846, about 1,000 Protestant Madeirenses, who were discriminated against and the subjects of mob violence because of their religious conversions, chose to immigrate to Trinidad and other locations in the West Indies in answer for a call for sugar plantation workers. The Madeirenses exiles did not fare well in the West Indies. The tropical climate was unfamiliar and they found themselves in serious economic difficulties. By 1848, the American Protestant Society raised money and sent the Rev. Manuel J. Gonsalves, a Baptist minister and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Madeira, to work with the Rev. Arsénio da Silva, who had emigrated with the exiles from Madeira, to arrange to resettle those who wanted to come to the United States. The Rev. da Silva died in early 1849. Later in 1849, the Rev. Gonsalves was then charged with escorting the exiles from Trinidad to be settled in Sangamon and Morgan counties in Illinois on land purchased with funds raised by the American Protestant Society. Accounts state that anywhere from 700 to 1,000 exiles came to the United States at this time.
There are several large Madeiran communities around the world, such as the number in the UK, including
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
, the
Portuguese British
Portuguese in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the UK who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, descent or citizenship.
Background
History and settlement
The New Christians, who had converted from Judaism to Roman C ...
community mostly made up of Madeirans celebrate
Madeira Day.
Immigration
Madeira is part of the
Schengen Area.
The Venezuelan (14.4%), British (14.2%), Brazilian (12.1%) and German (7%) nationalities constituted the largest foreign communities residing in Madeira in 2017. The Venezuelan community dramatically increased in number (38%) in 2017 due to migration fuelled by the socioeconomic crisis in Venezuela. In terms of geographical distribution, the foreign population mainly concentrates in Funchal (59.2% of the total of the region), followed by Santa Cruz (13.8%), Calheta (7.3%) and Porto Santo (4%). The foreign population with resident status in the Autonomous Region of Madeira totalled 6,720 (up by 10% from 2016), distributed between residence permits (6,692) and long-stay visas (28).
Economy
The
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
(GDP) of the region was 4.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.4% of Portugal's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 22,500 euros or 75% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 71% of the EU average.
Madeira International Business Center
![Canical](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Canical.jpg)
The setting-up of a
free trade zone
A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...
, also known as the
Madeira International Business Center (MIBC) has led to the installation, under more favorable conditions, of infrastructure, production shops and essential services for small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. The International Business Centre of Madeira comprises presently three sectors of investment: the Industrial Free Trade Zone, the International Shipping Register – MAR and the International Services. Madeira's tax regime has been approved by the European Commission as legal State Aid and its deadline has recently been extended by the E.C. until the end of 2027. The International Business Center of Madeira, also known as Madeira Free Trade Zone, was created formally in the 1980s as a tool of regional economic policy. It consists of a set of incentives, mainly of a tax nature, granted with the objective of attracting inward investment into Madeira, recognized as the most efficient mechanism to modernize, diversify and internationalize the regional economy. The decision to create the International Business Center of Madeira was the result of a thorough process of analysis and study.
Since the beginning, favorable operational and fiscal conditions have been offered in the context of a preferential tax regime, fully recognized and approved by the European Commission in the framework of State aid for regional purposes and under
the terms for the Ultra-peripheral Regions set in the Treaties, namely Article 299 of the
Treaty on European Union
The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...
. The IBC of Madeira has therefore been fully integrated in the Portuguese and EU legal systems and, as a consequence, it is regulated and supervised by the competent Portuguese and EU authorities in a transparent and stable business environment, marking a clear difference from the so-called "tax havens" and "offshore jurisdictions", since its inception. In 2015, the European Commission authorized the new state aid regime for new companies incorporated between 2015 and 2020 and the extension of the deadline of the tax reductions until the end of 2027. The present tax regime is outlined in Article 36°-A of the Portuguese Tax Incentives Statute. Available data clearly demonstrates the contribution that this development programme has brought to the local economy over its 20 years of existence: impact in the local labor market, through the creation of qualified jobs for the young population but also for Madeiran professionals who have returned to Madeira thanks to the opportunities now created; an increase in productivity due to the transfer of know how and the implementation of new business practices and technologies; indirect influence on other sectors of activity: business tourism benefits from the visits of investors and their clients and suppliers, and other sectors such as real estate, telecommunications and other services benefit from the growth of their client base; impact on direct sources of revenue: the companies attracted by the IBC of Madeira represent over 40% of the revenue in terms of corporate income tax for the Government of Madeira and nearly 3.000 jobs, most of which qualified, among other benefits. Also there are above average salaries paid by the companies in the IBC of Madeira in comparison with the wages paid in the other sectors of activity in Madeira.
Regional government
Madeira has been a significant recipient of
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
funding, totaling up to €2 billion. In 2012, it was reported that despite a population of just 250,000, the local administration owes some €6 billion. Furthermore, the Portuguese treasury (IGCP) assumed Madeira's debt management between 2012 and 2015. The region continues to work with the central government on a long-term plan to reduce its debt levels and commercial debt stock. Moody's notes that the region has made significant fiscal consolidation efforts and that its tax revenue collection has increased significantly in recent years due to tax rate hikes. Madeira's tax revenues increased by 41% between 2012 and 2016, helping the region to reduce its deficit to operating revenue ratio to 10% in 2016 from 77% in 2013.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
is an important sector in the region's economy, contributing 20% to the region's GDP, providing support throughout the year for commercial, transport and other activities and constituting a significant market for local products. The share in Gross Value Added of hotels and restaurants (9%) also highlights this phenomenon. The island of Porto Santo, with its beach and its climate, is entirely devoted to tourism.
Visitors are mainly from Europe, with Portuguese, British, German and French tourists providing the main contingents (2021). The average annual occupancy rate was 60.3% in 2008, reaching its maximum in March and April, when it exceeds 70%.
Whale watching
Whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
has become very popular in recent years. Many species of dolphins, such as
common dolphin
The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, wit ...
, spotted dolphin,
striped dolphin
The striped dolphin (''Stenella coeruleoalba'') is an extensively studied dolphin found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae.
Taxonomy
The striped dolphin is one o ...
,
bottlenose dolphin,
short-finned pilot whale
The short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus'') is one of the two species of cetaceans in the genus '' Globicephala'', which it shares with the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas''). It is part of the oceanic dolphin family (Del ...
, and whales such as
Bryde's whale,
Sei whale
The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical ...
,
fin whale
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ce ...
,
sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
,
beaked whale
Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well-k ...
s can be spotted near the coast or offshore.
Energy
Electricity on Madeira is provided solely through EEM (Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira, SA, which holds a monopoly for the provision of electrical supply on the autonomous region) and consists largely of fossil fuels, but with a significant supply of seasonal hydroelectricity from the levada system, wind power and a small amount of solar. Energy production comes from conventional thermal and hydropower, as well as wind and solar energy. The Ribeira dos Soccoridos
hydropower
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...
plant, rated at 15MW utilises a
pumped hydropower
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potenti ...
reservoir to recycle mountain water during the dry summer.
In 2011, renewable energy formed 26.5% of the electricity used in Madeira. By 2020, half of Madeira's energy will come from renewable energy sources. This is due to the planned completion of the Pico da Urze / Calheta
pumped storage
Pumping may refer to:
* The operation of a pump, for moving a liquid from one location to another
**The use of a breast pump for extraction of milk
* Pumping (audio), a creative misuse of dynamic range compression
* Pumping (computer systems), th ...
hydropower plant, rated at 30MW.
Battery technologies are being tested to minimise Madeira's reliance on fossil fuel imports. Renault SA and EEM piloted the Sustainable Porto Santo—Smart Fossil Free Island project on Porto Santo to demonstrate how fossil fuels can be entirely replaced with renewable energy, using a 3.3 MWh battery. Madeira operates a 15 MW 1-hour
lithium iron phosphate
Lithium iron phosphate or lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a gray, red-grey, brown or black solid that is insoluble in water. The material has attracted attention as a component of lithium iron phosp ...
battery with
black start
A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station or a part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown.Knight, U.G. ''Power ...
capability.
Transport
![Večerní Funchal z přístavního mola](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Ve%C4%8Dern%C3%AD_Funchal_z_p%C5%99%C3%ADstavn%C3%ADho_mola.JPG)
The Islands have two airports,
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport
Madeira Airport ( pt, Aeroporto da Madeira, ), informally Funchal Airport (), formally Santa Catarina Airport () and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is an international airport in the civil parish of Santa Cruz in the Portugu ...
and
Porto Santo Airport
Porto Santo Airport ( pt, Aeroporto de Porto Santo) is an airport located in Vila Baleira, the capital of Porto Santo Island, Madeira.
The military Maneuver Aerodrome n.° 3 (''Aeródromo de Manobra n.º 3'') or AM3 is co-located within the lim ...
, on the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo respectively. From Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport the most frequent flights are to
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. There are also direct flights to over 30 other airports in Europe and nearby islands.
Transport between the two main islands is by plane, or ferries from the Porto Santo Line, the latter also carrying vehicles. Visiting the interior of the islands is now easy thanks to construction of the ''Vias Rápidas'', major roads that cross the island. Modern roads reach all points of interest on the islands.
Funchal has an extensive public transportation system. Bus companies, including
Horários do Funchal
Horários do Funchal is a bus operator based in Funchal, Madeira. They operate Urban and Inter-urban services on the south, central, and north of the island.
History
On 11 April 1985, the Committee for the Study of Urban Transportation (CETU) w ...
, which has been operating for over a hundred years, have regularly scheduled routes to all points of interest on the island.
Culture
Music
Folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
music in Madeira is widespread and mainly uses local musical instruments such as the
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
,
rajao,
brinquinho and
cavaquinho, which are used in traditional folkloric dances like the .
Emigrants from Madeira also influenced the creation of new musical instruments. In the 1880s, the
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
was created, based on two small guitar-like instruments of Madeiran origin, the
cavaquinho and the
rajao. The ukulele was introduced to the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
by
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the ''
SS Ravenscrag'' in late August 1879, the ''Hawaiian Gazette'' reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
Cuisine
![Patella vulgata Madeira 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Patella_vulgata_Madeira_1.jpg)
Because of the geographic situation of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean, the island has an abundance of fish of various kinds. The species that are consumed the most are espada (
black scabbardfish
The black scabbardfish (''Aphanopus carbo'') is a bathypelagic cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found in the Atlantic Ocean between latitudes 69°N and 27°N at depths between . Its length is up to , but it reaches maturity around .
D ...
),
blue fin tuna,
white marlin
The white marlin (''Kajikia albida''), also known as Atlantic white marlin, marlin, skilligalee, is a species of billfish that lives in the epipelagic zone of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean. They are found between the latitudes of 45 ...
,
blue marlin
''Makaira'' (Latin via Greek: ''μαχαίρα'' "sword") is a genus of marlin in the family Istiophoridae. It includes the Atlantic blue, and Indo-Pacific blue marlins. In the past, the black marlin was also included in this genus, but today ...
,
albacore
The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Perciformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct s ...
,
bigeye tuna
The bigeye tuna (''Thunnus obesus'') is a species of true tuna of the genus '' Thunnus'', belonging to the wider mackerel family Scombridae. In Hawaiian, it is one of two species known as ahi, the other being the yellowfin tuna. Bigeye tuna are ...
,
wahoo
Wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is kn ...
,
spearfish,
skipjack tuna and many others are found in the local dishes as they are found along the coast of Madeira. Espada is usually fried in a batter and accompanied by fried banana and sometimes a passionfruit sauce.
Bacalhau
() is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as (fresh cod).
Portuguese and other cuisines
dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies ...
is also popular, as it is in Portugal.
There are many different meat dishes on Madeira, one of the most popular being
espetada
Espetada (also known as espetinho, especially in Brazil) is the Portuguese term used for the technique of cooking food on skewers, and for the dishes prepared that way. Espetada is a traditional dish in Portuguese cuisine.
In Portugal, espetada ...
. Espetada is traditionally made of large chunks of beef rubbed in garlic, salt and bay leaf and marinated for 4 to 6 hours in Madeira wine, red wine vinegar and olive oil then skewered onto a
bay laurel
''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...
stick and left to grill over smouldering wood chips. These are so integral a part of traditional eating habits that a special iron stand is available with a T-shaped end, each branch of the "T" having a slot in the middle to hold a
brochette
A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...
(espeto in Portuguese); a small plate is then placed underneath to collect the juices. The brochettes are very long and have a V-shaped blade in order to pierce the meat more easily. It is usually accompanied with the local bread called
bolo do caco
Bolo do caco is a circular Madeiran flatbread, shaped like a cake and thus called ''bolo'' ( Portuguese for 'cake'). It is traditionally cooked on a ''caco'', a flat basalt stone slab. The bread is usually served with garlic butter,
or eaten as ...
. A traditional holiday dish is "Carne de Vinho e Alhos", which is most closely associated with the pig slaughter that was held a few weeks before Christmas. A big event, traditionally it was attended by everyone in the village. The dish is made of pork which marinates for three days in white wine, vinegar, salt, and pepper and is then cooked with small potatoes, sliced carrots, and turnip. Another common meat dish is “Picado" - cubed beef cooked in a mushroom sauce and accompanied by french fries.
Other popular dishes in Madeira include
açorda
Açorda is a typical Portuguese dish composed of thinly sliced bread with garlic, finely chopped coriander, olive oil, vinegar, water, white pepper, salt and poached eggs. Throughout Portugal, Açordas have significant variations, most notably i ...
,
feijoada
''Feijoada'' () is a stew of beans with beef and pork. The name ''feijoada'' comes from ''feijão'', 'bean' in Portuguese. It is widely prepared in the Portuguese-speaking world, with slight variations.
The basic ingredients of feijoada are bean ...
and
carne de vinha d'alhos
() is a Portuguese dish categorized according to mode of preparation as an . The name means "meat marinated with garlic and wine".
Originating in Madeira and the Azores islands, it is typically made with cloves, thyme, paprika, red pepper pas ...
.
Traditional pastries in Madeira usually contain local ingredients, one of the most common being ''mel de cana'', literally "sugarcane honey" (
molasses). The traditional cake of Madeira is called ''
Bolo de Mel'', which translates as (Sugarcane) "Honey Cake" and according to custom, is never cut with a knife, but broken into pieces by hand. It is a rich and heavy cake. The cake commonly known as "
Madeira cake
Madeira cake is a sponge or butter cake in traditional British and Irish cookery.
Origin
It is sometimes mistakenly thought to originate from the Madeira Islands; however, that is not the case as it was named after Madeira wine, a Portuguese wi ...
" in England is named after
Madeira wine.
Malasada
A malasada ( pt, malassada, from "'' mal- assada''" = "badly-baked"; similar to filhós), sometimes called "Portuguese fried dough," is a Portuguese confection. It is a fried type of doughnut, made of flattened rounds of yeast dough, flavoured ...
s are a local confection which are mainly consumed during the
Carnival of Madeira
The Carnival of Madeira () is an annual festival held forty days before Easter, that ends on Shrove Tuesday (called Fat Tuesday in Madeira - Terça-feira Gorda in Portuguese language, Portuguese) the day before Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent). ...
.
Pastéis de nata, as in the rest of Portugal, are also very popular.
Milho frito
Milho frito (''fried cornmeal'' in English) is a typical Madeira side dish made of cornmeal, finely sliced collard greens (although kale is a common substitute), water, garlic, lard and olive oil cooked slowly and cooled into forms. Similar to a v ...
is a popular dish in Madeira that is similar to the Italian dish
polenta fritta.
Açorda
Açorda is a typical Portuguese dish composed of thinly sliced bread with garlic, finely chopped coriander, olive oil, vinegar, water, white pepper, salt and poached eggs. Throughout Portugal, Açordas have significant variations, most notably i ...
Madeirense is another popular local dish.
Madeira is known for the high quality of its
cherimoya fruits. The Annona Festival is traditional and held annually in the parish of Faial. This event encourages the consumption of this fruit and its derivatives, such as liqueurs, puddings, ice cream and smoothies.
Beverages
![CORAL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Coral.jpg)
Madeira is a
fortified wine
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...
, produced in the Madeira Islands; varieties may be sweet or dry. It has a history dating back to the
Age of Exploration
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafari ...
when Madeira was a standard
port of call for ships heading to the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
or
East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...
. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral
grape spirit
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s were added. However, wine producers of Madeira discovered, when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip, that the flavour of the wine had been transformed by exposure to heat and movement. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process that involves heating the wine and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of
oxidation
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
.
[T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 340–341 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ] Most countries limit the use of the term ''Madeira'' to those wines that come from the Madeira Islands, to which the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
grants
Protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
(PDO) status.
A local beer called Coral is produced by the
Madeira Brewery
The Madeira Brewery ( pt, Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira or E.C.M) is a brewery in Madeira. The main brand is ''Coral Lager''. The company is the biggest producer and drink distributor in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. It produces alcoholic and ...
, which dates from 1872. It has achieved 2
Monde Selection Monde Selection is an annual non-competitive award open to food, drinks, and cosmetics products, created in 1961. It is run by the commercial company, International Institute for Quality Selections, Brussels, Belgium. Consumer products are tasted a ...
Grand Gold Medals, 24 Monde Selection Gold Medals and 2 Monde Selection Silver Medals.
Other alcoholic drinks are also popular in Madeira, such as the locally created
Poncha
Poncha is a traditional alcoholic drink from the island of Madeira, made with aguardente de cana (distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice), honey, sugar, and either orange juice or lemon juice. Some varieties include other fruit juices.
...
, Niquita, Pé de Cabra, Aniz, as well as Portuguese drinks such as
Macieira Brandy
Macieira is a Portuguese brandy created by José Guilherme Macieira after he studied winemaking in the French region of Cognac, famous for the production of this type of product. It is produced according to the secret recipe for more than 125 year ...
,
Licor Beirão
Licor Beirão, commonly simply known as Beirão, is a Portuguese liqueur from the Beira region of Portugal. Originating in the 19th century, it is the most consumed alcoholic spirit in Portugal.
Production began in the 19th century in Lous ...
.
Laranjada is a type of
carbonated
Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.
In inorganic ch ...
soft drink with an orange flavour, its name being derived from the Portuguese word ''laranja'' ("orange"). Launched in 1872 it was the first soft drink to be produced in Portugal, and remains very popular to the present day.
Brisa drink
The Madeira Brewery ( pt, Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira or E.C.M) is a brewery in Madeira. The main brand is ''Coral Lager''. The company is the biggest producer and drink distributor in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. It produces alcoholic a ...
s, a brand name, are also very popular and come in a range of flavours.
There is a
coffee culture
Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the ...
in Madeira.
Sports
250px, Monument in , celebrating the first ever organised football game in Portugal">Camacha, celebrating the first ever organised football game in Portugal
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is the most popular sport in Madeira and the island was indeed the first place in Portugal to host a match, organised by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
residents in 1875. The island is the birthplace of international star
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
and is home to two prominent
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
teams,
C.S. Marítimo
Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...
and
C.D. Nacional.
As well as football, the island is also home to professional sports teams in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(
CAB Madeira
Clube Amigos do Basquete, also known as CAB Madeira, is a professional basketball team based in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. They are comprised by men and women departments, both play in their respective highest Portuguese division.
Honours
Accor ...
) and
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
(
Madeira Andebol SAD
Madeira Andebol S.A.D., known until 1998 as Academico Funchal, is a Portuguese handball club from Funchal. Its women's team has won the national championship a record 15 times since 1994, and it is a regular in the EHF Cup and Cup Winners' Cup ...
, who were runners up in the
2019 European Challenge Cup). Madeira was also the host of the
2003 World Handball Championship.
The
Rally Vinho da Madeira The Rali Vinho da Madeira is a tarmac rally held in Madeira Island, Portugal, and it is the biggest annual sporting event of the island, bringing thousands of people into the roads to watch the drivers compete through the hilly terrain and the natur ...
is a rally race held annually since 1959, considered one of the biggest sporting events on the island It was part of the
European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The championship has b ...
from 1979 to 2012 and the
Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...
from 2006 to 2010.
Other popular sporting activities include
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
at one of the island's two courses (plus one on
Porto Santo),
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
,
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
, and
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
.
Sister provinces
Madeira Island has the following sister provinces:
:
Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(1987)
:
Bailiwick of Jersey,
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
(1998)
:
Eastern Cape Province
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
:
Jeju Province
Jeju Province, officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, is one of the nine provinces of South Korea. The province comprises Jeju Island (; ), formerly transliterated as Cheju or Cheju Do, the country's largest island. It was previously k ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
(2007)
:
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 ...
(2009)
Postage stamps
Portugal has issued postage stamps for Madeira during several periods, beginning in 1868.
See also
* "
Have Some Madeira M'Dear
"Have Some Madeira M'Dear", also titled "Madeira, M'Dear?", is a darkly comic song by Flanders and Swann.
The lyrics tell of an elderly rake who "slyly inveigles" an attractive girl of 17 to his flat to view his collection of ( unperforated) s ...
"
*
Geology of Madeira
*
List of birds of Madeira
This is a list of the bird species recorded in Madeira. The avifauna of Madeira include a total of 356 species, of which two are endemic, and 9 have been introduced by humans. Two listed species are extinct.
This list's taxonomic treatment (de ...
*
Madeira Islands Open
The Madeira Islands Open was a men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour played from 1993 to 2015 on Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal.
History
The tournament had one of the smallest prize funds on the tour (€600,000 in 20 ...
, an annual European Tour golf tournament
*
Surfing in Madeira
Surfing was first started in the Portuguese island of Madeira in the 1970s off the villages of Paul do Mar, Jardim do Mar and Ponta Pequena. Almost every surf spot has a rocky bottom with powerful waves;
the winter months are particularly consist ...
*Islands of
Macaronesia
Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...
**
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 ...
**
Cabo Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
**
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
World History Encyclopedia - The Portuguese Colonization of Madeira*
Madeira's Government Website*
*
{{Authority control
1420s establishments in the Portuguese Empire
1976 disestablishments in the Portuguese Empire
1976 establishments in Portugal
Autonomous Regions of Portugal
Integral overseas territories
Islands of Macaronesia
North Africa
Outermost regions of the European Union
Populated places established in the 1420s
States and territories established in 1976
Volcanoes of Portugal
Wine regions of Portugal
Islands of Africa