Madeira (archipelago)

The importance of this archipelago is set out concisely but strikingly in the following words from the authoritative pen of Dr Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo, the learned annotator of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra): ‘This archipelago has been the subject of study by learned naturalists, both foreign and Portuguese. It is famous, especially the island of Madeira, for the fertility of its soil, its excellent wines, the breathtaking beauty of its landscape and the healthiness of its climate. It is historically notable as the first of the Portuguese discoveries in the 15th century and, afterwards, until the close of the 16th century, as the secular and ecclesiastical metropolis of our overseas dominions and the emporium of our colonial navigation and commerce. For this reason the Madeiran archives, especially those of the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) of Funchal, that of Machico, that of the former and now extinct Treasury Board (Junta da Fazenda) and that of the Civil Government of Funchal, hold precious documents and records, perhaps not to be found elsewhere, for the history of the institutions and government of our possessions beyond the sea.’

The Madeira archipelago consists of the islands of Madeira (see Madeira (island)), Porto Santo (see that entry) and the Desertas group (1-357), which comprises Deserta Grande (1-356), Ilhéu Chão (1-269) and Bugio (1 - 176). Because this archipelago lies relatively close to the European continent, and also because it is regarded as a group of ‘Adjacent Islands’ (Ilhas Adjacentes) of a country on that continent, there has been no shortage of geographers who have considered Madeira part of Europe. This opinion, however, is not followed or adopted today by any authoritative writer.

Its geographical position has been the subject of some disagreement. After an in-depth study of the question and a comparison of various charts, Dr Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo adopted the following geographical coordinates as the most reliable: the archipelago lies between the parallels 33° 7′50″ and 32° 22′20″ north latitude, and between the meridians 16° 16′30″ and 17° 16′ 38″ west longitude (Greenwich).

The archipelago lies between Western Europe, which faces it to the north-east, the Moroccan coast of West Africa, which runs from east to south-east of it, the Azores archipelago to the north-west and the Canary Islands to the south. The nearest point of the west coast of Morocco to the Madeiran archipelago is Cape Cantin, which lies at roughly the same latitude as Madeira and is about 60 miles equidistant from the towns of Mazagan to the north and Mogador to the south. Its distance from mainland Portugal is approximately 500 miles, and 350 from Cape Cantin, on the west coast of Africa.

The relative positions of the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo and the Desertas group form a scalene triangle. Its shortest side is the channel between the Ilhéu de Fora (‘outer islet’), at the eastern tip of Madeira (Ponta de São Lourenço), and the Prego do Mar (‘sea nail’) or Ilhéu do Navio (‘ship islet’), near the Ilhéu Chão (Desertas). The next longest side is formed by the channel (the Travessa) running from the same Ilhéu de Fora (Ponta de São Lourenço) to the Ilhéu de Baixo or da Cal (Porto Santo). The longest side is the channel stretching from the Ilhéu de Baixo or da Cal (Porto Santo), already mentioned, to the Prego do Mar or Ilhéu Chão (Desertas). The three channels measure 11, 27 and 32 miles respectively, these being the distances that separate Madeira, Porto Santo and the Desertas group from one another.

The extreme points of this archipelago are generally given as follows: to the north, the Rocha do Nordeste or Ilhéu de Fora (Porto Santo); to the south, the Ponta da Agulha or Ponta do Sul, at the southern tip of the Bugio (Desertas); to the east, the Ilhéu de Cima (‘upper islet’) or dos Dragoeiros (Porto Santo); and to the west, Ponta do Pargo (Madeira).

Estimates of the area of the whole archipelago, and especially of each of its islands, vary. Dr Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo, who treated this subject at some length in his notable article in the Dic. Univ. Port. II, says that some authors put the total area of the archipelago at more than a thousand square kilometres, and that it was later accepted as being around 800 kilometres. He concludes by stating that the most recent calculations, which he believes to be closest to the truth, give the whole archipelago an area of 560 square kilometres: 500 kilometres for the island of Madeira, 50 for Porto Santo and 10 for the small Desertas group.

Various official documents, and more recently the ‘Censo da População’ published in 1934, state that the area of the island of Madeira is 740,k62 square kilometres and that of Porto Santo 42,k217.

Apart from the cities of Lisbon and Porto, the Madeira archipelago is the region of our country with the highest population density: the ‘Censo’ already cited gives a figure of 270 inhabitants per square kilometre at the present time. The article Population will give a detailed account, by municipality (concelho) and parish, of population movement throughout the archipelago. Meanwhile, we shall say here that the census taken in 1940 gives our archipelago a total of 251,798 inhabitants, 249,097 in Madeira and 2,701 on Porto Santo.

The Madeira archipelago and the small group of the Savage Islands (Selvagens) (see Selvagens) make up the administrative district of Funchal, whose capital is the city of the same name. (See the articles on the district, judicial district (comarca), municipality, city and diocese of Funchal, which give a brief account of the organisation of the various public services, civil, religious and military, that have their seats there.)

The surveys carried out a few years ago by the ‘Hydrographic Mission of the Adjacent Islands’ (Missão Hidrográfica das Ilhas Adjacentes) show that the figures for the area of the islands of this archipelago differ in part from those known until now. The special conditions under which this work was done make it entirely trustworthy, and so we shall record here some of the new data obtained by this ‘Hydrographic Mission’, transcribing them from the first volume of the work ‘Zargo’s Islands’ (Ilhas de Zargo).

The island of Madeira has an area of 728 square kilometres, Porto Santo 49, Deserta Grande 10, Bugio 3 and Ilhéu Chão 380 square metres.

From the same source come these figures for the length of Madeira’s coastline: from Ponta do Barlavento (‘windward point’) to Ponta da Cruz (‘point of the cross’), 37,200 metres; from Ponta da Cruz to Ponta do Pargo, 40 950; from Ponta do Pargo to Ponta do Tristão (‘Tristão’s point’), 7,575; from Ponta do Tristão to Ponta de São Jorge (‘St George Point’), 32,400; and from Ponta de São Jorge to Ponta do Barlavento, 33,225, making a total of 151,350 metres. The coastline of the island of Porto Santo measures 37,800 metres, that of Deserta Grande 26,700, Bugio 17,000 and Ilhéu Chão 3,700.

The greatest length is given as follows: from Ponta de São Lourenço to Ponta do Pargo, 57,000 metres, and from Ponta de São Lourenço to Ponta do Tristão, 52,650, while the breadth between Ponta da Cruz and Ponta de São Jorge is 22,900 metres. Porto Santo measures 11,600 metres in length and 5,000 in breadth; Deserta Grande 11,000 in length and 1,900 in breadth; Bugio 7,500 in length and 700 in breadth; and Ilhéu Chão 1,600 in length and 500 in breadth.