History of Madeira facts for kids
The history of Madeira began when Portugal discovered the islands in 1419. At that time, no one lived on the islands. Portugal started settling people there in 1420.
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Before Portugal Arrived
Some old writings mention islands that might be Madeira. For example, Pliny wrote about "Purple Islands." Also, Plutarch (around 75 AD) talked about "Isles of the Blest" near Africa. These islands were described as two close islands, which sounds a lot like Madeira and the smaller Porto Santo.
Scientists found mouse bones in Madeira from the 10th or 11th century. Some thought this meant Vikings might have visited, bringing mice with them. However, a geographer named Simon Connor explained that mice could have easily traveled on ships from Portugal to Madeira because of busy trade routes. So, it's more likely the Portuguese brought these mice from northern Europe.
There's also a romantic story about two lovers, Robert Machim and Anna d'Arfet. They were fleeing England in 1346 when a big storm blew their ship off course. They landed on Madeira, and a place there was later named Machico after them. However, an old map from 1351, called the Medici Atlas, shows Madeira was known much earlier. This suggests Portuguese ships, possibly led by sailors from Genoa, might have found the islands before this story.
The 15th and 16th Centuries: Discovery and Settlement
In 1419, two captains working for Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were caught in a storm. They found a small island and called it Porto Santo, meaning "Holy Harbour," because it saved them from shipwreck. The next year, an expedition was sent to settle Porto Santo. They also found the larger island of Madeira and claimed it for the Portuguese crown, along with captain Bartolomeu Perestrello.
These discoveries were first written down by Gomes Eanes de Zurara. Later, Arkan Simaan wrote a French novel about these events.
Settlement of the islands began around 1420 or 1425. On September 23, 1433, the name Ilha da Madeira (Madeira Island or "island of wood") appeared on a map for the first time. The islands belonged to the Military Order of Christ, which helped people move there.
The first settlers included the captains' families, some minor nobles, ordinary people, and a few old prisoners from Portugal. People from all over Portugal came to settle Madeira and Porto Santo.
In 1425, King John I officially made Madeira a full province of Portugal and gave it to Henry the Navigator. More people then moved to the island. Three young nobles married Zarco's daughters, and members of important Portuguese families also came to help the population grow.
Many early settlers came from the Algarve region of Portugal. They helped set up the farming system. Later, many more settlers came from northern Portugal, especially from the Entre Douro and Minho region, because their home areas were becoming too crowded. These new settlers helped organize the farms.
Most settlers were fishermen and farmers. They were happy to leave Portugal, which had been badly affected by the Black Death. Also, in Portugal, the best farmlands were controlled by nobles. To start farming in Madeira, they had to clear parts of the thick laurisilva forest. It's said that fires burned for seven years to clear the land.
The settlers also built many water channels called levadas. This was because some parts of the island had too much water, while others had too little. At first, fish, vegetables, and fruit made up about half of what the settlers ate. Their first successful farm product was wheat. They grew wheat for themselves and later started selling it to Portugal.
There's a Portuguese legend that says Polish King Władysław III survived a battle and later settled in Madeira. King Afonso V of Portugal supposedly gave him land in the Madalena do Mar area. He was known there as Henrique Alemão (Henry the German). He married and had two sons. He also built a church in Madalena do Mar in 1471.
The Rise and Fall of Sugar Production
Around 1450, wheat production started to drop. To solve this problem, Prince Infante Dom Henrique encouraged settlers to grow sugarcane. Sugarcane was rare in Europe and was seen as a valuable spice. They brought Sicilian plants and farming methods to grow it.
Sugarcane quickly brought wealth to the city of Funchal. Growing sugar attracted traders and adventurers from all over Europe, including Italians, Basques, Catalans, Genoese, Portuguese, and Flemish people. Because of this, Funchal became a very important port for European trade in the late 1400s.
Before his famous voyages, Christopher Columbus visited Madeira as a sugar trader. He married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, the daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello, in Porto Santo. So, he knew a lot about the profits from sugar and the best ways to grow it. Columbus lived in Madeira and studied navigation after his marriage.
Sugarcane farming and sugar production grew until the 17th century. It became the main part of Madeira's economy and created a high demand for workers. It seems that Madeira was one of the first places where enslaved people were used on plantations for sugar production, working alongside paid settlers. This system of colonial sugar production was first tried in Madeira on a small scale. Then, it was used on a much larger scale in other places overseas.
The enslaved people brought to Madeira were Guanches from the nearby Canary Islands, captured Berbers, and later, West Africans. This way of growing sugar became a model for plantations in the Caribbean and Brazil. In Madeira, it became clear that a warm climate, winds for sugar mills, and easy access to the sea (to transport sugar to Europe) were all important parts of this very profitable industry, along with enslaved labor. This industry helped fund industrial growth and European expansion.
The first enslaved people arrived in Madeira in 1452. They were Berbers and Guanches, mainly from North Africa. However, enslaved people in Madeira were not treated as harshly as those on big plantations in Brazil or the West Indies. Most slave owners in Madeira had only a few enslaved people. Records show that between 1400 and 1700, 89% of owners had one to five enslaved people. The most any one person owned was 14.
As the sugar trade in Madeira declined, there was less need for enslaved labor. Many enslaved people were sold to the American colonies, where sugar production was booming. Those who stayed often became house servants or joined the poor and criminal groups. A historian named Alberto Vieira noted that when the sugar trade declined, slavery in Madeira became more about domestic work in cities, not about farming.
In the end, Madeira's small-scale sugar production couldn't compete with the huge plantations in Brazil and São Tomé. Madeira even had to import sugar from other Portuguese colonies. Sugar mills were slowly abandoned, and the island focused on other products.
The 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries: Wine and Visitors
From the 17th century onwards, Madeira's most important product became its wine. Sugar production had moved to Brazil and other places. Madeira wine was very popular in the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries.
As trade with England grew, many important English merchants moved to Madeira. They eventually controlled the island's growing wine trade. These English traders settled in Funchal from the 1600s, building strong markets in North America, the West Indies, and England. Madeira wine became very popular. It's even said that the Founding Fathers used Madeira wine for a toast during the Declaration of Independence.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many people visited Madeira. These visitors included patients seeking the island's healthy climate, travelers, tourists, and scientists. Most visitors were wealthy aristocrats, including princes, princesses, and monarchs. Because so many people wanted to visit, guides were created for them. The first tourist guide for Madeira appeared in 1850. It included information about the island's history, geology, flora, fauna, and customs.
British Occupations
The British Empire occupied Madeira during the Napoleonic Wars. This was a friendly occupation, and the island was returned to Portugal in 1814. The British first occupied Madeira peacefully in 1801, with Colonel William Henry Clinton as governor. British troops left in 1802 after a peace treaty but returned in 1807 and stayed until 1814. In 1856, British troops recovering from cholera and families of soldiers from the Crimean War were stationed in Funchal.
After the death of King John VI of Portugal, his son Miguel of Portugal took power from the rightful queen, his niece Maria II. Miguel declared himself "Absolute King." Madeira remained loyal to the Queen under Governor José Travassos Valdez. However, Miguel sent a large force, and Madeira's defense was defeated. Valdez had to flee to England in September 1828, protected by the Royal Navy.
In 1891, a census showed that Madeira had 132,223 people living there.
The 20th Century
Just before World War I, Germans started building what is now the "Hospital dos Marmeleiros" in Madeira. They received tax breaks for this project. However, the construction was stopped and the site was left empty until 1930, when Madeirans finished building the hospital.
Locals have a story about why the Germans stopped building. They say the Germans needed special materials not found in Madeira. Madeirans were helping carry wooden barrels from a German ship up the hill. A local man with strong horses became suspicious because the barrels seemed too heavy for hospital materials. He purposely let one barrel roll down the hill, and it broke open. It was supposedly filled with rifles. When locals looked inside the already built parts, they found more guns and ammunition. This led Madeirans to take over all German property on the island and stop the hospital construction.
Madeira During World War I
In 1914, all German property in Madeira was taken, including a ship called the Colmar. On March 9, 1916, Germany declared war on Portugal, and Portugal then declared war on Germany. Portugal began sending troops to the Western Front.
Madeira felt the effects of Portugal's involvement in World War I on December 3, 1916. A German U-boat, U-38, led by Max Valentiner, entered Funchal harbor. It torpedoed and sank three ships: CS Dacia, SS Kanguroo, and Surprise. The commander of the French gunboat Surprise and 34 of his crew (including 7 Portuguese) died. After sinking the ships, the Germans bombed Funchal for two hours. Batteries on Madeira fired back, forcing the Germans to leave.
On December 12, 1917, two German U-boats, U-156 and U-157 (also led by Max Valentiner), bombed Funchal again. This attack lasted about 30 minutes. Forty shells were fired. Three people died, and 17 were wounded. Several houses and the Santa Clara church were also hit.
A priest named José Marques Jardim promised in 1917 to build a monument if peace returned to Madeira. In 1927, at Terreiro da Luta, he built a statue of Nossa Senhora da Paz (Our Lady of Peace) to remember the end of World War I. It is over 5 meters tall and includes anchor chains from the ships sunk in Madeira on December 3, 1916.
Charles I, the last Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was sent to live in Madeira after trying to regain power in Hungary twice. He died there on April 1, 1922, and is buried in the Church of Our Lady of Monte. Charles I had tried to secretly make peace with France during the war. When this became known, it caused problems for him. The Allied Powers decided to send him to Madeira because it was isolated and easy to guard, preventing him from trying to regain power again.
Madeira During World War II
Portugal in World War II was neutral. However, because of a very old alliance between Portugal and England (the Treaty of Windsor (1386)), Madeira was able to take in refugees. In July 1940, about 2,000 people from Gibraltar were sent to Madeira. This was because Gibraltar was at high risk of being attacked by Spain or Germany. The Germans had planned an attack on Gibraltar, called Operation Felix, but it never happened.
The Gibraltarians are remembered fondly on the island and were called Gibraltinos. Some Gibraltarians married Madeirans and stayed after the war. A historian named Tito Benady noted that when about 200 Jewish people from Gibraltar were evacuated to Funchal, they found a Jewish cemetery belonging to the Abudarham family.
On November 12, 1940, Adolf Hitler considered invading Portugal and occupying Madeira and the Azores. He asked for reports on the advantages and disadvantages of such an invasion for Germany's sea and air warfare.
On May 28, 1944, the first group of evacuees left Madeira to return to Gibraltar. By the end of 1944, only 520 evacuees remained on the island.
In 2008, a monument was made in Gibraltar and sent to Madeira. It stands next to a small chapel in Santa Caterina park in Funchal. This monument is a gift from the people of Gibraltar to Madeira, showing their lasting thanks.
The cities of Funchal and Gibraltar became sister cities on May 13, 2009. Their mayors, Miguel Albuquerque for Funchal and Solomon Levy for Gibraltar (who had been an evacuee to Madeira himself), signed the agreement.
Madeira's Autonomy
On July 1, 1976, after the democratic revolution in 1974, Portugal gave political autonomy to Madeira. This is celebrated on Madeira Day. Now, the region has its own government and legislative assembly.
In September 1978, the Madeira flag was chosen. The blue part stands for the sea around the island, and the yellow represents the island's rich life. The red cross of the Order of Christ, with a white cross inside it, is the same as the one on the flags of Prince Henry's ships that discovered the island. In September 1980, the official anthem was adopted.
In 1980, the Madeira International Business Centre was created. This helps businesses operate in Madeira with special tax benefits.
From 1976 to 2019, the center-right Social Democratic Party (PPD/PSD) had the most members in the regional parliament and governed alone. For most of that time, from 1978 to 2015 (37 years), Alberto João Jardim led the regional government. He was one of the longest-serving democratically elected leaders in the world.
In the 2019 election, the PPD/PSD won again but lost its majority. Now, it governs in a team with the Popular Party.
See also
- History of the Azores
- Funchal history and timeline
Images for kids
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Monument to remember the Gibraltarian evacuees in Madeira
