The Flowers and Gardens of Madeira

by Florence Du Cane

Their survivors not unnaturally set about building a boat in which to escape from the land which by now was filled with sad associations for them, and eventually they succeeded in reaching the coast of Morocco. Here a worse fate awaited them, as they fell into the hands of the Moors and became slaves. They are said to have joined some of their fellow-comrades who had been on the ship when she was driven out to sea. Their past and present adventures, and the descriptions they gave of the beauty of this fairy island, attracted the attention of a fellow-slave, a Spaniard named Juan Morales, an experienced pilot.

Morales treasured all this information, and was eventually ransomed through the intervention of his Sovereign. On his return to Spain he was taken prisoner by the Portuguese, and carried off to Lisbon by Joao Gonsalvez Zargo, the celebrated navigator, who lost no time in informing his patron Prince Henry of the tales he had heard from his prisoner of the fertility and beauty of the undiscovered island.

Prince Henry was the son of John I. of Portugal, and a nephew of our Henry IV. He was called “O Conquisador,” and the Portuguese are justly proud of him, as through his love of exploration and adventure he added largely to their dominions, and lent a ready ear to rumours of undiscovered lands. Zargo had no difficulty in persuading his patron to fit out an expedition, which he himself was appointed to command. On June 1, 1419, he set sail for Porto Santo, which had been discovered two years previously by the Portuguese. The colonists on the island related how, in one particular direction, there hung perpetually over the sea a thick, impenetrable darkness, which was guarded by a strange noise which occasionally made itself heard. With the usual superstition of the age, various reasons were ascribed to these mysterious signs. We are told “by some the place was deemed an abyss, from which whoso ventured thither would never return; by others it was called the Mouth of Hell. Certain persons declared it to be that ancient island Cipango, kept by Providence under a mysterious veil, where resided the Spanish and Portuguese Christians who had escaped from the slavery of the Moors and Saracens. It was considered, however, a great crime to dive into the secret, since it had pleased God to signify His intention to reveal it by any of the signs which were mentioned by the ancient prophets who spoke of this marvel.”

Being less superstitious and more adventurous than these benighted colonists, Zargo determined to fathom the mystery of this so-called impenetrable darkness. Setting sail one morning with a fair wind, by noon his hopes were fully realized, and he found the mysterious veil to be nothing more than heavy clouds hanging over the densely wooded mountains on the north of the island—a state of things very commonly seen to this day when approaching the island from the north. Like the unfortunate couple Machim and Anna, he was filled with joy and delight when he saw the grand mass of mountains rising abruptly from the sea. The party soon found themselves sailing along a glorious coast, with grand cliffs, cut by deep densely wooded ravines, coming down to the sea.

On the morning of June 14, 1419, having anchored for the night in a sheltered bay, which exactly corresponded with the description given by Morales, who accompanied the expedition, of Machim and Anna’s resting-place, Zargo and some of his followers landed—and this is the first authentic account of the discovery of Madeira.

The party spent some days exploring this rich and fertile acquisition to the Crown of Portugal, and on July 2 Zargo, accompanied by two priests who formed part of the expedition, held a ceremonious service of thanksgiving for the discovery of the island, taking formal possession of it in the name of the King of Portugal. Mass was celebrated and a service was held on the spot which was supposed to be the grave of the two lovers. The final ceremony consisted in the laying of the foundation-stone of a chapel dedicated, in accordance with Machim’s request, to the Redeemer of Mankind.

Before returning to Portugal to announce the joyful news of his discovery, Zargo explored the coast, and named various points and bays with the names they still bear at the present day. Machim’s bay was named Machico, and may claim to be the oldest settlement. The most eastern point of the island had already been named Ponta de Sao Lourenso when the travellers rounded it—some say because Zargo, calling for the aid of St. Lourenso, after whom his ship was named, jumped into the sea at this point and landed; others assert that the point was merely named after one of his companions who bore the saint’s names.

Santa Cruz was so named because at this spot the party found some large trees lying on the shore, torn up by the elements, out of which they formed a large wooden cross. Porto do Seixo owes its name to the freshness and purity of its spring water, for which it is still famous; and the explorers were so struck by the great springs of pure water which gush out of a grand mass of rock, that they took back with them to Portugal a bottle of the water as an offering to Prince Henry.

Rounding a prominent headland which was then clothed with numerous dragon-trees, and remained famous for them for many hundreds of years, though now only one or two of the trees are left, flocks of tern were startled from their resting-place by the strange and unknown noise of oars, and flew all round the boats, even alighting on their occupants. The headland therefore received the name of Capo do Garajao, or Cape of the Tern, though at the present time it is better known to the English under the name of the Brazen Head.

From this point they saw a fine expanse of country, and at once settled that this would be the best spot on which to build the future city. As the district was remarkable for the thick growth of fennel, which in Portuguese is called funcho, the site of the new town received the name of Funchal.