Harbours of Madeira
Original title: Portos da Madeira
Survey of the ports and landing places of the Madeira archipelago, graded as good, tolerable or poor, with notes on recent improvements and a 1944 report on planned harbour works.
Ports of the archipelago
Of the ports of the archipelago, until recently those of Funchal and of the south of the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’) were considered good; those of Abra, Machico, Santa Cruz, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Porto Moniz and Porto da Cruz were regarded as tolerable; and those of Caniçal, Porto Novo, Reis Magos, Oliveira, Campanário, Lugar de Baixo, Madalena do Mar, Anjos, Fajã do Mar, Calheta, Jardim do Mar, Paul do Mar, Pesqueiro, Seixal, Fajã da Areia, Ponta Delgada, Boaventura, São Jorge and Faial as poor. The ports of the parishes of Porto Moniz and Porto da Cruz are considered good landing places when winds blow from the southern quarter, since all traffic along the whole southern coast of Madeira is then impossible, although this happens only a few times each year. Over the last thirty years, conditions at the ports of these places have improved considerably with the building of small quays and landing places and with extension and repair work on those already existing.
In September 1944 the engineer Henrique Schreck, technical director of the Autonomous Board of the Ports of the Madeira Archipelago (Junta Autónoma dos Portos do Arquipélago da Madeira), acting under the measures taken by the central government concerning works to be carried out in the various ports of the mainland and the islands, presented to the District General Council (Junta Geral) of this district a well-prepared report on the various works to be carried out shortly in the ports of our archipelago.
Anyone wishing to acquire detailed knowledge of the ports of Madeira, and especially that of Funchal, should read the 5th volume of the important work Os Portos Marítimos de Portugal e Ilhas Adjacentes by the distinguished engineer Adolfo Loureiro.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 08- Harbours of Madeira · Subject
Porto Moniz
A survey of the ports and landing places of the Madeira archipelago, graded as good, tolerable or poor. It notes recent improvements and includes a 1944 report on planned harbour works.
- Câmara de Lobos
Rated a tolerable port.
Parish west of Funchal. The Elucidário traces its name to Zarco's discovery voyage and describes its churches, chapels and collegiate chapter, early settlers, fishing community and renowned vineyards. It also records the parish's localities, boundaries, levadas and population.
- Caniçal
Machico. Rated a poor port.
Isolated fishing parish at the eastern tip of Madeira, at the root of Ponta de São Lourenço. It originated as a Moniz entail and João Teixeira's hunting reserve and became a parish around 1561. It holds a Piedade feast with a boat procession and has a fort built after a pirate raid.
- Funchal
Considered one of the good ports of the archipelago.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Machico
Rated a tolerable port.
The parish of Machico was the landing place of the discoverers Zargo and Tristão Vaz and the seat of the captaincy of Machico; the parish was founded c. 1450. The Elucidário covers its clergy and stipends, chapels, historical events, mineral springs, localities, population and notable natives.
- Porto da Cruz
Machico. Tolerable port that serves as a good landing in southerly winds.
North-coast parish created in 1577 and noted for good-quality wines. It was transferred from Santana to Machico municipality in 1852 and was the seat of a capitania-mor. It was also a fishing port where some sperm whales were landed.
- Porto Moniz
Tolerable port that serves as a good landing when southerly winds close the south coast.
North-western parish and municipality with a quay and a tolerable port that serves as a good landing when southerly winds close the south coast. It has one of the oldest Magdalene chapels in northern Madeira, whose feast falls on 22 July. It was the birthplace of Dr Manuel Gomes Jardim.
- Porto Santo
Its southern port was considered good.
An island of the archipelago, settled alongside Madeira and forming one of the three captaincies. It has always constituted a single parish, dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Piedade, whose church was repeatedly sacked. The Elucidário records the Moorish pirate raid of 1617, its own Misericórdia and a rainwater channel built on this drought-prone island.
People
People mentioned · 02- Adolfo Loureirod. 1911
Engineer whose work 'Os Portos Marítimos de Portugal e Ilhas Adjacentes' (vol. 5) describes Madeira's ports in detail.
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Engineer and technical director of the Madeira ports board who in September 1944 presented a report on works needed in the archipelago's ports.