History
Until they were discovered and colonized by Portuguese explorers in 1418, both Porto Santo and Madeira were uninhabited. Portuguese colonizers – mainly fishermen and farmers from southern Portugal – settled on Porto Santo and Madeira from 1420, planting sugar cane and vines and exporting the sap from the island’s dragon trees, which could be made into dye. Porto Santo’s first governor was Bartolomeu Perestrelo, a friend of Christopher Columbus, who visited the island a number of times in the late 1470s.
It was during his time on Porto Santo, that Columbus is said to have been inspired to set off for America after seeing wood and seeds washed up on Porto Santo’s beach, making him wonder if there were land further west. Over the course of four voyages west across the Atlantic, Columbus sailed round most of the Caribbean islands explored the coasts of South and Central America, believing that he had discovered a new route to Asia. What Columbus had actually discovered was of far greater importance than a length sea route to Asia. By sailing west, he had stumbled upon the American continent.
However, it was thanks to its strategic location on a major shipping route, that Madeira soon established itself as an important trading post, linking Portugal with its colonies in America and Africa. Sugar production between the 15th and 17th centuries built Madeira’s wealth, but when cheap Caribbean sugar flooded the European market, this lucrative trade ended.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Madeira prospered again, thanks to the production of Madeira wine. Vines were one of the first plants brought over to Madeira by the early settlers and the plants quickly grew in the rich volcanic soil. From lower slopes to altitudes of around 700m on Madeira, the varying altitudes at which the vines are grown allow the grape harvest to go on longer than anywhere else in Europe.
Today, Tourism and bananas compete with wine as the most valuable export.
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