The archipelago of Madeira was discovered by the Portuguese navigators João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira e Bartolomeu Perestrelo in1419. Due to their strategic location and their large dense forests the islands began being settled around 1425. In 1440, under the Captains-major leadership, the settlers began planting some crops but the planting of sugarcane was the most important for the economy of the archipelago. In 1976 the archipelago became an autonomous region.

The archipelago of Madeira is formed by some volcanic islands and is located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is formed by the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, Desertas and Savages. Savages Islands include three main islands and 16 uninhabited islets. The island of Madeira is formed by a central mountainous area, crossed by deep valleys and ravines. There are also high sea cliffs around the coast. Its mean altitude is 1300 metres. Pico Ruivo

(1861 m) and Pico do Areeiro (1818 m) are the highest points of the island. Porto Santo has a completely different geomorphological formation. It is rather flat and there isn’t almost any kind of vegetation. There is a well-known nine kilometer long white sand beach. On the northern part of the island there are some peaks, being Pico do Facho (517 m) the highest point in the island.

The climate is classified as subtropical dry or moderate Mediterranean but there are some microclimates due to the mountainous areas and to the exposure of the island to some kind of winds. Rainfall occurs more on the north coast than on the south one. The average annual temperature is almost the same all the year round so the climate can be considered as being mild.

Demographics

Nowadays the region has a total population of approximately 247 000 inhabitants being Portuguese in its majority. Funchal has half of the inhabitants of Madeira while in Porto Santo there are only 5 500 inhabitants.

The main architectural style in Madeira is Manueline, although there are also some buildings in baroque style. The most important handicrafts in Madeira are the embroidery and tapestry (known all over the world), the wickerwork, the Panama hats, straw hats, hand painted tiles, woollen hats, ear hats and “brinquinho”.

Madeira is also known by its coloured folkloric shows, dance and music and by its festivals, such as “Flower Festival”, “Atlantic Festival”, Carnival and its annual New Year celebration with the largest fireworks show in the world.

The traditional gastronomy in Madeira is very rich and varied. Some of the most popular gastronomic specialities are “espetada” made of large chunks of beef, tuna “meat of wine garlic” (carne de vitela e alho) and “milho frito” similar to the Italian Polenta. In the traditional pastry the most common is a cake called “bolo de mel” (Honey Cake), fennel sweets and “queijadas”. The most popular beverage is THE Madeira wine and “poncha”.