Arguin

On the edge of the coasts of the Sahara and Senegal, at about latitude 22° N and longitude 7° W, there is a cove, an archipelago, a bank and a strip of the African mainland coast, all bearing the name of Arguin. The largest and most important of the islands of this small archipelago, which is also called Arguin, is the one that concerns the history of Madeira, for it belonged to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the diocese of Funchal. The island of Arguin, which lies only about one légua (league, about 5 km) from the African coast, was discovered by Nuno Tristão around 1443. Trade with the natives of the mainland began at once, and it was soon recognised that, to ensure the success of this trade and Portuguese dominion in those parts, a fortress was absolutely necessary; its construction began around 1450. With the new discoveries and the great centres of trade established everywhere, Arguin gradually lost its importance, above all after the appearance of the colonies and trading posts of Senegal. Arguin had mixed fortunes, passing successively under the rule of the English, the Dutch and the French, and today it is completely abandoned. After the fortress had been built and Portuguese dominion secured, priests went there from Funchal to perform their religious services. We do not know when Arguin ceased to belong to the Portuguese, nor at what time the bishops of this diocese also ceased to have real jurisdiction over those parts, a jurisdiction that long ago became merely honorary. For more than forty years the prelates of Funchal have no longer styled themselves bishops of Arguin.