The archipelago of Madeira was first discovered during the Age of Discovery by two captains named João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira in 1419 when they were blown off course in a storm and reached the island Porto Santo. A year later, in 1420, an expedition to Porto Santo and then Madeira, both uninhabited islands, marked the beginning of settlement.

Most original settlers were peasant farmers and fishermen hoping for better prospects in the aftermath of the Black Death, the bubonic plague that ravaged Europe in the 1300’s. To begin agricultural development, settlers had to clear parts of the dense forest with fires that they say burned for nearly 7 years. They also made large numbers of aqueducts called levadas to bring water from the wet parts of the island to the dry parts. To this day there are more than 2,170 km (1,350 mi) of levadas which are still used for water transport and recently for hydroelectric power. They also provide a system of popular walking trails with beautiful views.

The cultivation of sugarcane continued until the 17^th century when the majority of sugarcane production moved to Brazil. Since the 17^th century, Madeira’s main export has been wine and unsurprisingly is used in many traditional Portuguese dishes.

During the 20^th century, Madeira was minimally involved in both world wars. There were a handful of German attacks during WW1, during which Germany declared war on Portugal on March 9^th, 1916. During WW2, Portugal was neutral but did agree to take in Gibraltarian refugees on a humanitarian basis, whom they hosted until the end of the war in 1944.

Madeira gained political autonomy on July 1^st, 1976 following the Carnation Revolution of 1974, during which a military coup ended a 40-year dictatorship in Portugal, which was also the longest authoritarian regime in European history.

Today, Madeira’s population sits at around 256,000 people, the majority of whom live on the main island of Madeira, with only 5,000 people living on the island of Porto Santo. Of those living on the island of Madeira, a little less than half (105,795) live in the capital of Funchal. The population is predominantly Catholic (96%) and tourism makes up a large part of the Madeiran economy at about 29% of the GDP as of 2019.