Machico (town and municipality)

‘The valley of Machico, in which the town (vila) of the same name stands, is,’ says Dr Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo, ‘some five to six kilometres long and two to three wide. It runs from north to south between two mountain ridges. One, to the east, rises above the town to form the Pico do Facho (‘beacon peak’), then extends towards Caniçal (‘reed bed’) and, running out into the sea, forms the towering Ponta de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence Point’), on whose furthest pinnacle there has stood for some years a good revolving lighthouse, visible from beyond the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’); the other ends in the high plateau called the Queimada (‘burnt land’), overlooking the sea. From these ridges spring and flow abundant and beautiful waters that fertilise its already exceedingly rich soil; draining through the rugged ground or feeding the lesser brooks, they form its full-flowing stream, which winds along the valley to the beach, where it empties into the Atlantic. In these conditions the valley of Machico is rich in the most varied vegetation, from grasses to fruit-bearing and non-fruit-bearing trees; picturesque and most delightful, it must have been astonishing when, still virgin forest, it was beheld by Zarco and Tristão Vaz. The vast landing place and wide cove, protected to the east by the Ponta de São Lourenço and sheltered to the west by the towering coast known as the South coast, and therefore safe in all winds except those from that quarter, complete the general panorama of the site of Machico. The town lies at the very bottom of the valley, by the sea, cut lengthwise by the stream into two parts or quarters. To the west is the old quarter, the town proper, with the houses of the nobility, the modestly Manueline mother church (igreja matriz), the town hall of the municipality (concelho) and, along the beach, the charming tree-lined promenade. To the east is the Banda de Além (‘the far side’), a suburb of poor seafaring folk, with humble dwellings and narrow, twisting alleys, but with little white houses rising in an amphitheatre, for they are already climbing the slope of the neighbouring Pico do Facho; and, on the bank of the stream, towards the sea, stands the small church of Cristo (Christ), or, more exactly, of the Order of Christ (Ordem de Cristo), as the crosses of that military order adorning its original portal still proclaim – this little church being without doubt the first built on the island of Madeira. Between these two quarters rise the thick walls within which the stream flows, gentle and clear almost always, torrential and fearsome in the winter storms: such is the town which, set in that frame, enhances its beauty..... This whole varied scene, beheld from the heights of the Queimada or of the Pico do Facho, which command the valley and the slopes, the stream and the crops, the town and the hamlets, the landing place and the cove, the sea as far as it merges with the horizon, the Ponta de São Lourenço turning blue in the haze, and the south coast fading little by little into the twilight of sunset. . is majestically beautiful. . . ’

The date on which Machico was made a town is not known. The first and oldest book in the municipal archive, in which the relevant charter may have been recorded, disappeared some decades ago, and no reference whatever to that document has been found. The Anais do Município, written some seventy years ago, state that ‘the creation of the town of Machico dates from the time when the town of Funchal was created’. This seems probable, if we bear in mind that in the earliest days of colonisation the two places grew in importance side by side; it has even been supposed that Machico reached a greater degree of development than the future capital of the archipelago. Dr Rodrigues de Azevedo accepts the view that the two towns were created at about the same time.

Nor is the precise date of the creation of the town of Funchal known. The annotator of the ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) conjectures that it dates from the year 1451 (see Funchal (Creation of the Town and Municipality of), vol. II, p. 59), and this approximate date should likewise be adopted for the elevation of Machico to the rank of town.

The municipality of Machico corresponded in area and extent to the old captaincy. It was sharply cut back when the town and municipality of Santa Cruz (‘Holy Cross’) were created in 1515, and it suffered no lesser mutilation when the municipality and town of São Vicente (‘St Vincent’) were established in 1744.

With the introduction of constitutional government and its new administrative organisation, the municipality of Machico was once again reduced to narrower dimensions when the municipality of Santana (‘St Anne’) was created in 1835. Despite the protests of the Senate (senado, the municipal council) of Machico, the new municipality was maintained. It was made up of the parishes (freguesias) that compose it at present, together with the parish of Porto da Cruz. By the decree of 19 October 1852 this parish was detached from the municipality of Santana and incorporated into that of Machico.

Under the same decree, certain localities in the parishes of Machico and Santo da Serra (‘the saint of the uplands’) were annexed to the municipality of Santa Cruz. This provoked vigorous protests from the Municipal Council of Machico and from various official and private figures prominent in the municipality. After a series of incidents and vicissitudes that seemed endless, the secretary-general of the district, António Lopes Barbosa de Albuquerque, acting as civil governor, convened a meeting at the Casa dos Romeiros (pilgrims’ house) of Santo da Serra on 11 September 1862. Present were representatives of the municipal councils of Machico and Santa Cruz, the municipal administrators, various public officials and other persons of standing. There a new division of municipalities and parishes was definitively agreed, the one in force today, and so an end was put to the claims and protests raised on both sides.

On the arms of the municipality of Machico, the Anais already cited state the following: ‘A sphere in relief, like that in the arms of King Manuel I when he was Duke of Beja and Grand Master of the Order of Christ, forms the arms of the ancient town of Machico, granted by the same king in 1499 to the Senate (senado, the municipal council) of the Council. Tradition has it that the silver seal with an ivory handle which still exists in the Council is the very one with which the king ennobled this town.’

Manuel I also presented the old Senate of Machico with a bronze weights standard which, besides the royal arms, bears the following engraved inscription: ‘Dom Emanuel the first of Portugal, the most high and most excellent king, had me made, in the Year of Our Lord. J. H. P. O. D. 1499’. The same monarch likewise gave some valuable objects to the mother church (igreja matriz) of this town, as we shall see elsewhere.

When the Council of Machico was asked in 1780 about the privileges it enjoyed, it replied that the Senate of this town enjoyed the same prerogatives and exemptions as the Senate of the Council of Lisbon, and that the form of address due to it was as follows: Most Illustrious Senate of the Council of the ancient and noble town of Machico.

After the restoration of constitutional government, an Administrative Committee (Comissão Administrativa) of the Council was appointed on 16 July 1834, and the first body of councillors was elected on 20 October of the same year. The first municipal administrator (administrador do concelho, the government's representative) was Alberto de Oliveira, appointed on 4 October 1835.

The town of Machico was the seat of a Misericórdia, which we shall discuss at greater length in the article Misericórdias.

It had a customs house, which we have already dealt with on pp. 43 and 44 of vol. I of this work. The municipalities or towns of Machico and Santa Cruz shared a common charter (foral), dated 15 December 1515, which is transcribed on p. 507 ff. of the ‘Longing for the Homeland’. It contains interesting information for the history of public administration in these municipalities.

Since 1929 this town has had a fine building housing several municipal departments and the various services of the Council. General António Teixeira de Aguiar, an illustrious son of the parish (freguesia) of Machico, contributed notably to the construction of this town hall.