Asylum of Arts and Trades

When the cholera epidemic raged in Madeira at the end of 1910 and the beginning of 1911, the idea arose of founding an Asylum of Arts and Trades (Asilo de Artes e Ofícios), intended especially to house the children whom the epidemic had left orphaned and destitute. It was Dr José Alfredo Mendes de Magalhães, then serving here as High Commissioner (alto comissário) of the Republic, who conceived this generous initiative and went so far as to lay the first foundations for it. A public subscription and other donations provided the funds raised for the project. These reached the sum of 16,995,120 réis (the Portuguese money of account before 1911; 1,000 réis = 1 mil-réis, 1,000,000 réis = 1 conto) and, with accumulated interest, amounted to 22,000,000 réis by June 1917. At that time the very grave crisis caused by the European war led the Administrative Committee (Comissão Administrativa) of these funds to give their income to the Asilo da Mendicidade e Órfãos do Funchal, to relieve the distressing situation of that most worthy and useful institution. The Asylum of Arts and Trades was never founded. The Administrative Committee of its funds, made up of the civil governor, General Norberto Teles and Major J. Reis Gomes, considered handing them over to the Asilo da Mendicidade e Órfãos to build a pavilion for workshops, with the remainder going to increase that asylum’s funds, and received the favourable opinion of Dr Alfredo de Magalhães for this.