madeira wood


[muh-deer-uh, -dair-uh; for 1, 2, 5 also Port. mah-de-ruh]

Madeira (or [mɐˈdɐiʀɐ]) is a Portuguese archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only habited islands. Although located in the African Plate, some 650 km (360 mi) off the North African coast, Madeira belongs and has always belonged ethnically, culturally, economically and politically to Europe, some 955 km (583 mi) from the European mainland.

Madeira was discovered by Portuguese sailors some time between 1418 and 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first discovery of the exploratory period initiated by Henry the Navigator of Portugal. It is a popular year-round resort, noted for its Madeira wine, flowers, and embroidery artisans, as well as its New Year's Eve celebrations that feature a spectacular fireworks show, which is the largest in the world according to the Guinness World Records.


Pre-Portuguese times

Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands, the position of which with reference to the Fortunate Islands, or Canaries, may indicate Madeira islands. Plutarch (Sertorius, 75 AD) referring to the military commander Quintus Sertorius (d. 72 BC), relates that after his return to Cadiz, "he met seamen recently arrived from Atlantic islands, two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow channel and distant from the coast of Africa 10,000 furlongs. They are called Isles of the Blest." The estimated distance from Africa, and the closeness of the two islands, seem to indicate Madeira and Porto Santo.


Portuguese discovery

In 1419 two captains of Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were driven by a storm to the island they named Porto Santo. They gave this name (meaning Holy Harbour) in gratitude for their rescue from shipwreck. The next year an expedition was sent to populate the island, in which the two captains, together with captain Bartolomeu Perestrello, took possession of the islands on behalf of the Portuguese crown.

The islands started to be settled circa 1420 or 1425. In September 23, 1433, the name Ilha da Madeira (Madeira Island or "island of the wood") appears in a map, by the first time, in a document.

The three captain-majors had led, in the first trip, the respective families, a small group of people of the minor nobility, people of modest conditions and some old prisoners of the kingdom. To gain the minimum conditions for the development of agriculture, they had to rough-hew a part of the dense forest of laurisilva and to construct a large number of canals (levadas), since in some parts of the island, they had water in excess while in other parts water was scarce. In the earliest times, fish constituted about half of the settlers' diet, together with vegetables and fruit. The first local agricultural activity with some success was the raising of wheat. Initially, the colonists produced wheat for their own sustenance, but later began to export wheat to Portugal.


Portuguese Madeira


Since the 17th century, Madeira's most important product has been its wine, sugar production having since moved on to Brazil, São Tomé and Principe, and elsewhere. Madeira wine was perhaps the most popular luxury beverage in the colonial Western Hemisphere during the 17th and 18th centuries. The British Empire occupied Madeira as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, a friendly occupation, which started in 1807 concluding in 1814, when the island was returned to Portugal, and the British did much to popularise Madeira Wine.


In 1921, the last Austro-Hungarian Emperor Charles I was deported to Madeira, after an unsuccessful coup d'état. He died there one year later and is buried in Monte.

In July 1 1976, following the democratic revolution of 1974, Portugal granted political autonomy to Madeira. The region now has its own government and legislative assembly.

Geography and climate

The Autonomous Region of Madeira is composed of Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island, Desertas Islands and Savage Islands.

Funchal, the capital of Madeira Island, is on the south coast of the principal island, in . Other main cities are: Porto Santo Town (also known as Vila Baleira), Ribeira Brava, Machico, Câmara de Lobos, Santa Cruz and Santana.

The archipelago lies about 360 miles from the coast of Africa, 535 miles from Lisbon, 230 miles from Gran Canaria, and 480 miles from Santa Maria, the nearest of the Azores.

Madeira Island is the largest island of the group with an area of 741 km², a length of 30 geographical miles (57 km), a breadth of 13 miles (22 km) at its widest point, and a coastline of 80 to 90 miles. Its longer axis lies east and west, along which lies a mountain chain with a mean altitude of 4,000 feet (1,220 m), considered the backbone of the island from which many deep ravines radiate outward to the coast. Its most famous sea cliff, the Cabo Girão, is the worlds second highest. The highest point on the island is Pico Ruivo, at 1,862 meters (6,107 ft).

In the south, there is very little left of the indigenous laurisilva subtropical rainforest which 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, notably the forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island, are designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

A long, narrow, and comparatively low rocky promontory forms the eastern extremity of the island, on which lies a tract of calcareous sand known as the Fossil Bed. It contains land shells and numerous bodies resembling the roots of trees, probably produced by infiltration.

Madeira Island's geographical position and mountainous landscape result in a very pleasant climate which varies between the north side, south side, and smaller islands groups like Porto Santo and Savages. The mean annual temperature on the coastline can reach more than 20°C in the south. With its mild humidity, the weather of the island is classified as oceanic subtropical and with its low rain level, desertic on the Savages. Influenced by the Gulf Stream, sea water temperature varies between 26°C during the summer and 17°C in the winter.

Islands and main Islets


Just like the districts of mainland Portugal, Madeira is also further subdivided into 11 municipalities:

Municipality Population
Main city/town Freguesias
Funchal 1) 100,847 75.7 Funchal 10
Câmara de Lobos 35,150 52.6 Câmara de Lobos 2
Santa Cruz 2) 32,696 68.0 Santa Cruz 5
Machico 21,321 67.6 Machico 5
Ribeira Brava 12,523 64.9 Ribeira Brava 4
Calheta 11,856 110.3 Calheta 8
Santana 8,491 93.1 Santana 2
Ponta do Sol 8,189 46.8 Ponta do Sol 3
São Vicente 6,063 80.8 São Vicente 3
Porto Santo 3) 4,388 42.4 Vila Baleira 1
Porto Moniz 2,762 82.6 Porto Moniz 4
Total 244,286 768.0 Funchal 47
1) including Savage Islands (to the freguesia of )
2) including Desertas Islands (to the freguesia of Santa Cruz)
3) second largest island after Madeira island

Capital city

Today Funchal is a modern city with about 100,000 inhabitants. Funchal is located in a unique area; the natural geological features form an "amphitheatre" surrounding the city, which begins at the harbour and rises almost 1200 metres high on gentle slopes. This provides a natural shelter and was what attracted the first settlers.

Madeira's capital for more than five centuries, Funchal is said to have been named as such because of the abundance of fennel (funcho in Portuguese) growing there.

The harbour and climate combined with an excellent geographical position allowed Funchal to have a rapid population growth.

Probably the most central point is the Sé Cathedral. Built between 1493 and 1514 by Pêro Annes in Manueline style it represents one of Madeira's numerous treasures.

Geological origin and volcanism

Madeira Island is the top of a massive shield volcano that rises about 6 km from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, on an underwater mountain range called Tore, which stands on the African plate. The volcano formed atop an east-west rift in the oceanic crust. Construction of the bulk of the volcano began during the Miocene Epoch over 5 million years ago and continued into the Pleistocene until about 700,000 years ago. This was followed by extensive erosion, producing two large amphitheaters open to south in the central part of the island.



Madeira has three endemic birds: Zino's Petrel, the Trocaz pigeon and the Madeira Firecrest.

It is also of importance for other breeding seabirds, including the Madeiran Storm-petrel, North Atlantic Little Shearwater and Cory's Shearwater.


The great biodiversity of Madeira is phytogeographically linked to the Mediterranean region, Africa, America and Australia, and interest in this phytogeography has been increasing in recent years due to the discovery of some epiphytic bryophyte species with non-adjacent distribution. Madeira also has many endemic species of fauna – mostly invertebrates but also some vertebrates such as the native bat, some lizards species, and some birds as already mentioned. These islands have more than 200 species of land molluscs (snails and slugs), some with very unusual shell shape and colours.


The island of Madeira is wet in the northwest but dry in the southeast. In the 16th century the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water to the agricultural regions. The most recent was made in the 1940s. Madeira is very mountainous, and building the levadas was often difficult. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig 25 miles of tunnels.

Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island but provide hydro-electric power. There are over 1350 miles of levadas and they provide a remarkable network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through beautiful countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death.



The setting-up of the Free Industrial Zone has led to the installation, under more favourable conditions, of infrastructure, production shops and essential services for small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. The Free Zone of Madeira, also called the Madeira International Business Centre, being a tax-privileged economic area, provides an incentive for companies, offering them financial and tax advantages via a whole range of activities exercised in the Industrial Free Zone, the Off-Shore Financial Centre, the International Shipping Register organisation, and the International Service Centre.

The services sector makes the largest contribution to the formation of the regional gross value added as opposed to the agricultural sector, for which the share has continuously declined in the regional economy.

Over the last few years, the regional economy has managed to open up and establish more internal and external competitiveness, so that its companies have become internationalised.

The largest industries are associated with the activities of food, beverages (and especially Madeira wine) and construction.


Tourism is an important sector in the region's economy since it contributes 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 9 km long beach and its climate, is totally devoted to tourism. Over the past decade it has recorded a substantial increase in its hotel accommodation capacity.

Development in Madeira is considered to have potential since the necessary infrastructure has been established and adequate investment incentives have been introduced for expanding its hotel and catering structure in a controlled manner. Conservation of its nature is important as it is one of tourists' main reasons for visiting Madeira.

Visitors are mainly from the European Union, with German, British, Scandinavian and Portuguese tourists providing the main contingents. The average annual occupancy rate was 57.4% in 2001, reaching its maximum in March and April, when it exceeds 70%.


The Islands have two airports, one in Santa Cruz (known as Funchal Airport (FNC)) on the Island of Madeira and the other in the city of Vila Baleira on Porto Santo Island. Flights to the islands are mostly made from Lisbon and Porto, but there are also direct flights from other major European cities and other countries, like Brazil, Venezuela and South Africa.

In the past Funchal airport was infamous for its runway, which was short and was built on a high embankment but which fell away abruptly to the sea and was often troubled by difficult upwinds which tended to uplift aircraft when landing. In the past the largest airliners that were able to use the airport were the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and in 1977 a Boeing 727 aircraft when landing in unfavorable weather ran off the cliff at the end of the runway causing over 150 deaths. Recently, however, the runway has been realigned and extended from 1.0km to 2.7km, enabling almost any modern airliner to visit the island, including the Boeing 747-400, one of the biggest airliners today.

European Union citizens of the Schengen Treaty area can enter the islands freely, while those from other regions need identification.

Transport between the two main islands is done by plane or by ferries, the latter also allowing for the transportation of vehicles. Visiting the interior of the islands is now very easy, due to major road developments, known as the Via Rapids, on the islands during Portugal's economic boom. Modern roads reach all points of interest on the islands. The old, curving mountain roads are still an excellent way to tour the island. Funchal has an extensive public transportation system. Bus companies, including Horarios do Funchal which has been operating for over one hundred years, have regularly scheduled routes to all points of interest on the island.

Society and Culture


When the Portuguese discovered the island of Madeira in 1419, it was completely uninhabited by humans, with no aboriginal population at all. The island was settled by Portuguese people, especially farmers from the Minho region, meaning that Madeirans (Madeirenses), as they are called, are ethnic Portuguese, though they have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits.

The region has a total population of just under 250,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom live on the main island of Madeira where the population density is 337/km²; meanwhile only around 4,500 live on the Porto Santo Island where the population density is 112/km².

Notable Madeirans



The islands are noted as the source of Madeira wine. The islands are also known for their exotic flowers, sub-tropical, tropical fruits and New Year's Eve celebrations with a spectacular fireworks show, considered the biggest in the world.

This island now produces also banana, mangoes, papaws, guyabas, pinneapple, sugar cane, avocados, passionflower, coffee and many other fruit and specialty crops. In their gardens, inhabitants also grow coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), rubber trees, and other "exotic" plants.

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. Visitors to the island will see plentiful examples of handicraft on sale in shops. The islands have historical monuments, streets and plazas (praças) with many gardens and typical small towns.


Madeira has two football teams in the Portuguese Liga, Portugal's top league, Marítimo of Funchal and Nacional. The Manchester United and Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira and played for Nacional before going to Sporting Lisbon. Marítimo has also nurtured other great players such as Pepe, now at Real Madrid, Tonel, now at Sporting, and Manduca, who was transferred to Benfica.

Marítimo has also enjoyed various campaigns in the UEFA Cup having recorded famous results against teams such as Juventus, Leeds and Rangers. In 2003-04 Nacional has achieved 4th place in the Portuguese League, their best classification ever.

In recent years Madeira has had a considerable amount of success in professional basketball, with CAB Madeira having won numerous titles, especially their female team. CAB are often seen competing in European competition such as the FIBA EuroCup, and former stars include Filipe da Silva and ex-Los Angeles Lakers player Ike Nwankwo.

Madeira Andebol SAD, the island's only professional handball team is one of the most successful in the country, while rally car racing, fishing and golf are other popular sports played on the island.

Rugby union is also played on the island to a minor degree.

Postage stamps

Portugal has issued postage stamps for Madeira during several periods, beginning in 1868; see postage stamps and postal history of Madeira for more details.


See also

External links

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