jan 1, 1419 - Madeira 1419

Description:

In 1418, two captains, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, while exploring the African coast in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator, were driven off course by a storm to an island which they named Porto Santo (English: "holy harbour") in gratitude for divine deliverance from a shipwreck.

The following year, Zarco and Vaz organised an expedition with Bartolomeu Perestrello. They travelled to the island of Porto Santo, claimed it on behalf of the Portuguese Crown, and established a settlement. The new settlers observed "a heavy black cloud suspended to the southwest" and upon investigation discovered the larger island they called Madeira (Portuguese: madeira, lit. 'wood').

The archipelago's favorable climate and fertile soil encouraged settlement, leading to the establishment of sugarcane plantations. Madeira quickly became an important economic hub, facilitating trade and agriculture.

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