Madeira Island – Beloved Planet

Madeira Island is located in Atlanticbelongs to Portugal, and is located about 1,000 kilometers west of Lisbon. The island has a pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, and lush flowers and plants, making it an important tourist destination.

Madeira is the largest island in the archipelago of the same name and was formed by volcanoes. In fact, it is the top of an underwater volcano, rising 6 km above the Atlantic Ocean floor, part of the underwater mountain range Torre. The mountain building of the archipelago began about 115 million years ago, and Madeira was formed about 5 million years ago. Volcanic eruptions have occurred throughout the history of the island, and paused 6,500 years ago, effectively shaping the face of Madeira.

history

The Phoenicians discovered the archipelago in the first millennium BC. Later, the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder and the Greek philosopher Plutarch mentioned the islands in their works. The former called them the Purple Islands and the latter called them the Forest Islands. Until the 15th century, the Madeira Islands remained uninhabited.

Henry the Great, a famous Portuguese colonizer, missionary, and crusader navigator, sent an expedition to the east coast of Africa in 1418. Two ships of the fleet were stranded on an island during a storm, and the sailors, in gratitude for saving them from death, named it Porto Santo, or Sacred Bay.

A year later, in 1419, the Portuguese returned to the islands and settled there, declaring them the property of the Kingdom of Portugal. The duties of the Governor were performed by a captain appointed by the King.

The first settlers were a few poor families and a group of prisoners. To build houses, they had to cut down a lot of forest (laurisilva) and build “levadas” canals, as fresh water was scarce on the island. The settlers’ main food was fish, vegetables and fruit. But the first wheat harvest exceeded everyone’s expectations. Soon after, the islanders even started selling wheat to mainland Portugal.

The archipelago first appeared on a map in 1433, with its final name, Madeira. Over time, it acquired an important geopolitical position. Sailing ships bound for the African coast began to appear in Madeira’s ports.

In the middle of the 15th century, the population of the islands increased dramatically, the subtropical forests were cut down, and wheat was replaced by sugar cane and later by Sicilian sugar beets, which proved to be a more profitable commodity. The local climate favored these crops to achieve unprecedented yields. From the 17th century, they had to give way to a new commodity that became the main export of the islands, the production of Madeira wine.

The grapes for this special amber wine were planted in 1421. The combination of climate and volcanic soil had the most favorable influence on the quality of the grapes and wine. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Madeira became the most common premium wine in the colonies of the Western Hemisphere.

During the Napoleonic Wars from 1803 to 1815, Britain carried out a so-called “friendly occupation” of Madeira, which ended in 1814 when the island was returned to Portugal. During this period of occupation, Britain made a great contribution to the popularity of Madeira throughout the world.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Germans tried to “quietly colonize” Madeira: under the pretext of building a hospital, they began to send weapons and ammunition to the island. The islanders managed to avoid the threat. The Germans left the island, but returned during World War I: German submarines torpedoed and bombarded the port of Funchal, the capital of Madeira, and sank British ships. During World War II, the islands sheltered thousands of refugees from the British Gibraltar.

In 1976, after the Portuguese democratic revolution, the Madeira Islands gained political autonomy and since then have had their own government and legislative assembly.

nature

Flowers abound here. Orchids, bougainvillea, lilies, hydrangeas, magnolias, azaleas, geraniums, poinsettias, cannas and wisteria grow year-round on the island.

The surface of the island is farmland at an altitude of 300-600 meters, while above the sea level there are forests of laurel, oak, pine, chestnut and eucalyptus.

Madeira’s flora is diverse and even unique, thanks to its mild maritime climate and frequent rainfall. There are many endemic plants. The total number of plant species in Madeira is 1,226. Remnants of tropical forests – laurel trees – are preserved in different parts of the island; under their canopies grow more than 60 endemic plant species (mainly epiphytes). These forests themselves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The island’s natural environment is protected. There are dozens of gardens and parks. The main botanical garden is located in the northern area of ​​Funchal. In total, about 2/3 of Madeira is protected.

The island’s fauna is dominated by birds and insects, with no large wild mammals. The most typical bird, and symbol of the laurel forest, is the Madeira pigeon, which is endemic to the island. There are other native birds: the Madeira Typhoon and the Madeira Kingfisher.

Insects make up 75% of the total species composition of Madeira’s fauna, of which 20% are endemic species, such as the endangered Madeira diamondback moth and the palm-sized wolf spider that inhabits the desert areas of the Ilhas Desertas archipelago.

Residents of coastal waters and Mediterraneanbut there are also unique species: sable fish, lizard fish and several species of sea turtles. Whales and monk seals (called “sea wolves” by locals) should not be ignored.

To protect the animals, the regional government created the Madeira Natural Park and three nature reserves: Garajão, Portugal’s only marine reserve, as well as Rocha do Navi and Ponta de São Lourenço.

The island’s economy is mainly based on agriculture and tourism. Tropical agriculture is well developed here, with bananas, citrus, sugar cane, as well as grape cultivation and winemaking.

The agricultural development on the island would not have been possible without the simplest water supply system, the “levadash”. The “levadash” is a tank on the hillside through which water is transported to the plantations. This system was built centuries ago and is one of the tourist attractions of Madeira. It is more than 1400 kilometers long.

Tourism remains the most important sector of the island’s economy. Up to a million tourists come here every year. They spend 5-6 days here, exploring the island, diving, fishing. Most tourists stay in Funchal, the island’s capital and main port. The city is named after anise – a plant with an essential oil with a minty smell that grows in abundance here.

The architecture of the island’s capital is typical of the old colonial style. Most of the city’s attractions are also from the colonial period, such as the Gothic Catholic Church built in 1514.

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General information

• An autonomous region of the Portuguese Republic.
• It consists of two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of uninhabited islets, Ilhas Desertas and Selvagens.
• Origin: Volcano.
• Location: North Atlantic Ocean.
• Remote area: 1000 km southwest of Portugal and 500 km west of Africa.
• Date of political independence: September 4, 1976 (from Portugal).
• Form of government: President, government and legislative assembly.
• Administrative centre: Funchal (Madeira) – 111,892 inhabitants (2011).
• Administrative divisions: 10 towns.
• Language: Portuguese.
• Ethnicity: Portuguese.
• Religion: Catholic.
• Currency: Euro
• Main population centers: Camara de Lobos, Masico.
• Main rivers: Ribeira da Metade, Faia da Nogueira, Cidrao, São Vicente.
• Port: Funchal.
• Most important airport: Madeira International Airport, Funchal.
• Total area: 801 square kilometers.
• The area of ​​individual islands: Madeira – 740.7 km², Porto Santo – 42.5 km², Ilias Desert – 14.2 km², Selvagens – 3.6 km².
• Dimensions of Madeira Island: 55 km long and 22 km wide.
• Population: 267,302 (2011).
• Population density: 333.7 people/square kilometer.
• Highest point: Mount Pikuruivu (1862 meters).
• Length of coastline: 150 km.

economy

• GDP (PPP): €6.361 billion (2008).
• Industries: Food (brewing, sugar making), construction (including building materials), cottage industry.
• Agriculture: Plant cultivation (vine cultivation, technical crops (sugar cane, sugar beet), banana, mango, floriculture); Animal husbandry (cattle breeding, sheep breeding, goat breeding).
• Fishing (tuna and swordfish).
• Service industry: tourism, transportation, finance (special economic zones).

Climate and Weather

• Subtropical Mediterranean.
• Average temperature in January: +16°C.
• Average temperature in July: +22°C.
• Average water temperature: +18 – +22°C.
• Average annual precipitation: about 650 mm (Funchal).
• Relative humidity: 60-65%.

Attractions

• Religious buildings: Cathedral (Funchal, 1514), Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Machico, 15th century)
• Statue of the Sacred Heart of Christ (Canizar, early 20th century);
• Museums: Ecclesiastical Art Museum. Christopher Columbus House Museum (Porto Santo), Modern Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Madeira Wine Museum, Ethnographic Museum;
• Madeira Natural Park;
• Botanical Garden, Quinta das Cruzis, Quinta Magnolia, Paleiro, Monti Palace, Quinta da Boa Vista, Orchid, Imperial, Municipal, Panoramic, Santa Luzia, Rosarium Quinta do Arco;
• Parks: Santa Catarina, Monti Park, Funchal Ecological Park, Ribeiro Frio Forest Park, Queimadas Forest Park; Laurisilva Relict Forest;
• 25 Valley of the Springs;
• caves (cave, San Vicente);
• natural volcanic basin (Porto Moniz);
• Madeira Aquarium (Porto Moniz, 18th century);
• Waterfall (Poldassera);
• the Regional Council (“Parliament”) of Madeira (Funchal, 16th century);
• Customs House (Funchal, 16th century);
• Palace of the Fortress of St. Lawrence (Funchal, 16th century);
• Fortresses of Pico and Santiago (Funchal, 17th-18th centuries);
• triangular houses with thatched roofs (Câmara di Lobos, Ponta do Sol, São Vicenti, Santana);
• Lavradores Market (Mercado dos Lavradores).

Interesting Facts

• Madeira has about 20 microclimates.
• Visitors to the islands are advised not to yawn or stretch in public, not to question Portugal’s historical greatness, and not to compare the Portuguese with the Spanish.
• On New Year’s Eve, Madeira hosts a massive fireworks display that is considered one of the most spectacular in the world. In 2007, it even made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
• Since 1850, the traditional means of transport in Funchal has been wooden sleds or “carro de sesto”, meaning “wicker basket”. They slide down a 2 km long winding mountain path. The sleds are pushed by two men wearing thick rubber-soled boots. Hemingway called this slide “intoxicating” during his lifetime, and although the speed of the sled is not high, only 16 km/h, the instability of the sled when turning and the race against time make this entertainment extreme. The slide lasts 10 minutes. This means of transport first appeared in Funchal to transport firewood, but later, it became an attraction at the suggestion of British holidaymakers.