[Front matter]

This work was intended to mark the fifth centenary of the discovery of Madeira, as one of the commemorations with which that remarkable and auspicious event ought to have been celebrated in our country. For the reasons we have briefly set out in the article Discovery of the Archipelago, we took the view that, to be complete, such a celebration would have to take on a national character and not be confined to the narrow limits of a regional tribute, within the isolation and distance of these remote islands. The words with which the press of the capital recalled the duty of holding this commemoration were lost or entirely forgotten. They drew the attention in particular of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (Academia das Sciencias de Lisboa), and most especially of the Commission charged with promoting the celebration of the centenaries of our conquests and discoveries, which exists and operates within that same Academy. If the conquest of Ceuta, as the first to be achieved beyond the frontiers of the mainland, deserved a fitting and solemn commemoration, the discovery of this archipelago could not be forgotten either, for it truly marks the beginning of our brilliant odyssey as navigators and future masters of the seas.

It is no cause for surprise that this should have happened, given that this glorious date passed unnoticed in the capital of this archipelago itself, apart from a few brief and fleeting references in the daily press of Funchal. The honour of commemorating the quincentenary of the discovery of Madeira fell solely to the District General Council (Junta Geral) of this district. It commissioned the model of the monument to be erected to the discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco and arranged for the publication of the work to which these words serve as an introduction. It was at the ordinary session of May 1917 that Mr João Augusto de Pina, a member of that administrative body, put forward the proposal for the publication of this work, which was to be shaped according to the principles set out in that proposal, in the following words:

‘.... I wish to refer to a literary work, historical in character but popular in style, intended chiefly for the less learned classes and easy and quick to consult, in which the whole life of this archipelago, in its many manifestations and varied aspects, is brought into sharp relief, albeit in a condensed picture, so as not to give the work excessively large proportions. This does not remove the need for the work to deal with the principal events that have taken place in Madeira over the long span of five centuries; with the biographies of its most notable men; with its usages, customs and traditions; with its literary, scientific, artistic, industrial, agricultural and commercial activity; with the mildness of its climate, the richness of its fauna and flora, the incomparable beauty of its landscape, etc., etc. In this way the work should become an abundant repository of information and news, of particular interest to all those who, for lack of time or of specialised training, are unable to devote themselves to lengthy studies and wider research’.

Within the sphere of our modest resources and the limited space at our disposal, we have sought to discharge with the most scrupulous diligence the heavy task we took on voluntarily and without reward. We have aimed to write a book that would not only meet the needs of the popular classes, for whom it was especially intended, but would also be of profitable use to educated readers, pointing to the fullest and most authoritative sources that those wishing for a more complete and detailed account of some of the subjects treated in the present work should consult. And despite the elementary character of the Elucidário Madeirense, we did not consider ourselves excused from studying certain points of the history of this archipelago in greater depth. To this end we drew on some lengthy research of our own carried out in years past, and undertook fresh research recently, thereby gathering some valuable material for the history of these islands, as we have noted in the article Madeiran History. Only one clause of the undertaking we gave was not observed, because of circumstances entirely beyond our control: the publication of this book within the time originally allotted to it. This work of ours was enriched by the valuable collaboration of our distinguished friends Adolfo César de Noronha and Major Alberto Artur Sarmento, so well known here for their rare talents and wide learning, and especially for their profound knowledge of Madeiran matters. While thanking them for that collaboration, we sincerely regret that it was limited to only part of the first volume, so that the rest of this work has been deprived of the great deal that could have been expected from the proven competence of these illustrious collaborators of ours.

We must point out here that a number of our own writings on various Madeiran subjects, published in several Funchal newspapers, notably the former Heraldo da Madeira, the Diário da Madeira and the Diário de Notícias, have been drawn on extensively in preparing this work, many of those articles being reproduced in part or in full, as the requirements of the subjects we had to deal with demanded.