Travel in Madeira, Portugal - History

Madeira - History

The paradise island of Madeira, the pearl of the Atlantic, is quite a floating garden. Volcanic ashes and demolished lava has given the island a rich soil. The nature is simply luxurious! The island covers an area of 741 sq. Kms, 57 Kms long and 22 Kms wide. Madeira is the oldest tourist destination in Europe. You will profit from the experienced professionals and the spontaneous hospitality of the people. The British discovered Madeira as a holiday island more than 100 years ago. Here, British tourists stayed long before the charter-age and left a certain dignified mark on the islands' tourism. The atmosphere today is quite relaxed, but the charter business hasn't completely washed out the dignity. Even though wines and spirits are quite cheap, and Funchal has its night-clubs, casino and discos, it is a fact that the average age of the tourist is higher than it is on the Canaries. That doesn't bother me one bit! If you're travelling alone, Madeira is a good place to choose. It's safe, the local people are very friendly, and you will not on this exciting island get bored.

The Portuguese found Porto Santo in 1418 and Madeira in 1419. Prince Henry the Navigator was one of his time's most skilled seafarers. He educated young seamen and discoverers in the art of navigation. Two of his students were Joao Goncalvez Zarco and Tristao Vaz Teixeira. One day in 1418, the prince gave the two young sailors permission to equip a ship and sail south along the west coast of Africa. A storm took them off course and they ended up at the island we know as Porto Santo. Teixeira stayed with a few of his men while Zarco sailed back to Portugal to inform about the new island. The prince became enthusiastic and sent Zarco back with large supplies and more crew. When they reached Porto Santo, Teixeira could tell them about the contours of an even larger island in the southwest seen sometimes in clear weather. Some of the crew and supplies were left at Porto Santo while Zarco and Teixeira sailed out to find this island. They landed in Machico and named the long tongue of land Sao Lourenco, after Zarcos' ship

The island early got the name Madeira, which means "tree" (timber) in Portuguese. The island was densely covered with trees and totally impassable. Before leaving, Zarco put fire to the trees. It is said that the island was on fire for seven years. After two years, Zarco and Teixeira returned, now with the order to colonize the islands. Teixeira became governor of the east part of Madeira with residence in Machico. Zarco sailed along the coast to Gabo Girao and pointed out Camara de Lobos to be the capital, but moved later to Funchal. At Porto Santo, Prince Henry appointed Bartolomeu Perestrelo (later Columbus' father-in-law) governor. Both he and Teixeira were under the orders of Zarco who became head governor. The islands of Madeira, as the Azores, became a partly self-governed region after the revolution in 1974. In addition to the Portuguese national flag, Madeira has its own regional flag. The blue part symbolizes the sea surrounding the island and the yellow represents the abundance from the luxuriance. The red and white cross in the middle is identical to the one on the flag of Prince Henry's ships.

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