Page 349 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

Boats at anchor in Câmara de Lobos’ harbour

MADEIRA

Madeira is a mere dot in the Atlantic Ocean, 600 km
(375 miles) from Morocco and nearly 1,000 km
(620 miles) from Lisbon. Despite this, Madeira and
Porto Santo, its sister island, appear on a Genoese
map of 1351. They remained unclaimed, however,
until 1418, when João Gonçalves Zarco was blown
out into the Atlantic by violent storms while
exploring the coast of Africa. Zarco found safe
harbour in Porto Santo, returning on a voyage of
discovery sponsored by Henry the Navigator. Early
in 1420, after a winter on Porto Santo, he set sail
for the mist-shrouded land on the horizon. He
found a beautiful, thickly wooded island (madeira
means wood), with abundant fresh water. Within
seven years, the island had attracted a pioneer
colony and the early settlers exploited the fertile
soil and warm climate to grow sugar cane. The
islanders grew rich on this, and slaves were
brought in to work the land and create the
terraced fields and irrigation channels (levadas)
that still cling to the steep hillsides to this day.
Despite the gradients, Madeirans make use
of every spare patch of land – growing bananas,
flowers and grapes – although tourism is the main
industry. The island’s Laurisilva, or laurel forest, is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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