Hughes (T. M.)

English poet who visited Madeira in 1845. He was the author of Ocean Flower, a poem in ten cantos, preceded by a brief historical and descriptive study of the island and a sketch of Portuguese literature.

The poet Hughes is one of the few Englishmen who regard the story of Robert Machin and Ana de Arfet as pure invention, ‘probably arising from the close relations between Portugal and England. “I would gladly, says the poet, have left the touching fiction (of Machin) undisturbed; few fables are as poetic as the legend I am now dealing with. However, to my regret, I find it rests only on the fragile basis of vague tradition, so much so that, although I spent three days in Machico making careful enquiries, I could not find there the slightest trace confirming that the story was true”’.

Eça (João Fogaça de). Under Castilian rule João Fogaça de Eça was governor-general of Madeira; his appointment dates from 14 August 1603.