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Madeira is a popular year-round resort, particularly for fellow Portuguese, but also British (148,000 visits in 2021), and Germans (113,000). It is by far the most populous and densely populated Portuguese island.
- Madeira (Disambiguation)
Madeira (the Portuguese word for wood), officially named the...
- Madeira Island
Madeira is a Portuguese island, and is the largest and most...
- Hogna Ingens
Hogna ingens, the Deserta Grande wolf spider, is a...
- Madeira Wine
Madeira wine. Madeira is a fortified wine made on the...
- Flag of Madeira
You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit...
- Henry The Navigator
Dom Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13...
- Robert Machin
Robert Machin or Machim (fl. 14th century) was an English...
- Madeira (Disambiguation)
- History
- Geography
- Administration
- Population
- Nature
- Economy
- Notes
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Discovery
Madeira's official written history began in 1418, when two captains under service to Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were pushed by a storm to an island which they named Porto Santo (English: holy harbour). The following year, an organised expedition was sent to this new land to take possession of the island on behalf of the Portuguese crown. Later, the new settlerssaw an island to the southwest, and so the larger island of Madeira was discovered.
Settlement
The islands were found to be completely uninhabited, and their colonization by the Portuguese began around 1420 or 1425. To get the minimum conditions for the development of agriculture, they had to cut part of the dense forest and to construct a large number of canals (levadas) to carry water, since in some parts of the island there was excess water, while in others water was scarce. During this period, fish constituted about half of the settlers' diet, together with vegetables and fruits cu...
As other islands of the Macaronesia, the Madeira islands are of volcanic origin and with a subtropical climate.
In 1976 Madeira became one of the two autonomous regions of the Republic of Portugal (Azores is the other) under the Portuguese name Região Autónoma da Madeira, with its own executive and a regional legislature. The current presidentof the regional government is Miguel Albuquerque. The main offices of the regional government are in Funchal, making ...
According to the 2011 Census, the total population in the Autonomous Region of Madeira was 267,785: 126,268 men and 141,517 women. The density for the whole region is 334.3 persons/km2; calculating the density taking in account only the inhabited islands (Madeira and Porto Santo), the density would be 341.9 inhabitants/km2.
The region of Madeira is home to a great and important biodiversity, with an estimated 7,571 terrestrial species for the whole archipelago. The total number of endemic species and subspeciesis about 1,419 (1,286 species and 182 sub-species), which represents 19% of the overall species diversity. The most known environment of the archipelago is its ...
The local economy is based mainly on agriculture and tourism, the main resource. Agriculture produces bananas, flowers, and Madeira wine which is exported. The industrial area is not very diverse and they are relationated with food, beverages, tobacco and construction.
Statistics include Savage Islands, which are administered by the parish of SéStatistics include the mainland parish of Santa Cruz and the islands of the DesertasFreguesias de Portugal Archived 2013-05-26 at the Wayback Machine- 1418-1419
- c. 1425
- 30 April 1976
- Portugal
The history of Madeira begins with the discovery of the islands by Portugal in 1419. There is no record of anyone living on the islands at that time. Portugal began populating the island in 1420.
Madeira Islands, archipelago of volcanic origin in the North Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Portugal. It comprises two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two uninhabited groups, the Desertas and the Selvagens. The islands are the summits of mountains that have their bases on an abyssal ocean floor.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
It is by far the most populous and densely populated Portuguese island. The region is noted for its Madeira wine, flora, and fauna, with its pre-historic laurel forest, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The destination has been certified by EarthCheck.
Jul 24, 2023 · Located off the coast of Africa but also an autonomous region of Portugal, Madeira has its own unique identity. Madeira is a special place with remote rocky hiking trails, beautiful beaches and a signature fortified wine.
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