Embroidery industry

This industry contributed considerably to the prosperity of the archipelago and was regarded by everyone as a great source of wealth. Because it was a home-based occupation, in which Madeiran women could devote themselves to its work within their own homes while carrying out their domestic duties, it spread to every poor and modestly off household and became one of the most significant factors in family prosperity. Children of eight and ten and women in their eighties worked busily at the tasks of this industry when it reached a very flourishing state that was highly rewarding for all. Then came its decline and ruin. At present the work of those who engage in it is poorly paid, and there is even a very large number of women workers who cannot find employment in the industry. Nevertheless, many thousands of people scattered throughout the archipelago still devote themselves to making embroidery, despite the ruinous state to which the industry has fallen. It is still a small resource for the poor and a relief from the crisis that overwhelms everyone.

In 1920, when the industry was very prosperous, there were as many as 60 commercial houses in the city of Funchal, most of them foreign, which dealt exclusively in the purchase, finishing and export of embroidery. At that time there were more than 35,000 embroiderers spread across all the parishes of this island and Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’). By the end of 1923 the number of exporting houses had risen to 100, and the value of the goods exported, chiefly to North America, was then estimated at 70,000 contos (1 conto = 1,000,000 réis, from 1911 1,000 escudos). See what we have already said about this industry at some length on pp. 162 ff. of vol. I of this work, under the heading Embroidery.