Machico, Madeira


Machico is a municipality, parish and city in the southeast part of the island of Madeira, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The easternmost municipality on the island, it is also the third most populous area; its population was 21,828. The town, proper, had a population of 10,894 in 2001.

History

In calm waters of early after, on 1 July 1419, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira disembarked on the beach of Machico, beginning the era of Portuguese discoveries. On the beach a Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated by Franciscan priests on the feast of the Visitation, an image of which accompanied the expedition.
Many hypotheses have developed as to the origin of the name of the municipality. The most remembered, and not the least disputed, comes from the romanticized legend of the English lovers Robert Machim and Anne d'Arfet. As the legend explains, the two lovers escaped from England, suffered the tragedy of a shipwreck and died on the island that became Madeira, where later the first Portuguese explorers encountered two crosses to which they attributed to the lovers: the name appears to be a corruption of the surname Machim.
On 8 May 1440, the Infante Henry the Navigator awarded Tristão Vaz and his descendants the Captaincy of Machico, and by right the first Captaincy in the archipelago of Madeira. The first settlers eked out a meagre subsistence, as a Franciscan friar noted:
Still in the 15th century, taking advantage of the abundant water and excellent climate, the first colonists began to cultivate sugar cane, and the first machinery used to process the pulp appeared immediately, facilitating the export to Europe. Although the Captaincy did not have the best lands to cultivate the plant, the village that developed at Machico's beachhead was the centre of the processing of this spice. As the monk Jerónimo Dias Leite indicated: "...the first sugar sold on this island of Madeira was in the town of Machico where there began a make and collect three arrobas to sell, each arroba sold for five cruzeiros ...".
Machico grew to this lucrative commerce, while Machiquenses families become socially powerful and wealthy from the trade, including the families of the Captains-Donatários. It was the Teixeira family that erected the first Matriz Church in Machico at the end of the 15th century, in honour of Nossa Senhora da Conceição.
During the second half of the 15th century, along with Funchal, Machico was elevated to town and continued to grow, following the course of the ravine into the valley. Two poles developed: the right margin, that included the main barrio and the town's public institutions, and the left margin, that included nucleus of Banda d'Além, the Misericórdia and Chapel of Christ, now known as the Chapel of Nosso Senhor dos Milagres.
In 1803, a landslide was responsible for the destruction of various homes, destroying hedges and walls, the main bridge along the ravine and the Chapel of Nosso Senhor dos Milagres.
Machico also became a front-line during the Revolta da Madeira in April 1931.

Geography

Physical geography

Machico is located 17 km northeast of Funchal, northwest of the uninhabitable Savage Islands, 20 km southeast of Santana and west-southwest of Porto Santo in the extreme eastern portion of the island of Madeira. It is linked by road from Funchal, to the Santana and the villages of Ribeira Seca and Caniçal. To the existence of mountains on the western coast, it is sandwiched along the coast from the rest of the islands' settlements, while forests lie towards the interior and grasslands cover the north-eastern corner of the municipality.
Geomorphologically, the municipality is dominated by steeped and inclined topography, except in the Machico valley, formed by two mountain ranges: in the east Pico do Facho and to the west the Queimada plateau. Examples of these differences include the area south of Porto da Cruz and in Caniçal.
Due to its location and morphological characteristics, the climate of Madeira is complex, whose difference from place to place is accentuated, even in areas relatively close. Machico temperatures are relatively moderate throughout the year, with variation relatively low.

Human geography

Administratively, the municipality is governed from its seat in the city of Machico, but five local juntas de freguesia handle issues in the communities of:
Machico has several primary schools, junior and senior secondary schools, banks, main post office and public square, along with public beaches.

Speleology

The Furnas do Cavalum are a group of four cavities located in Machico and named after a local legend about a demon called Cavalum, who was imprisoned in the cave.
These lava tubes are of great importance allowing a view on the volcanic history of the now inactive island of Madeira, they have also biologic importance as there are several troglobiont living in the cave, including crustaceans, spiders and flies. At least fourteen invertebrates live in these tubes and at least three of them are endemic on Madeira island, one of them exists only in this cave.
Furnas do Cavalum are also part of the cultural heritage of the islanders, as numerous legends are told about the caves. Despite the stories about the demon, the cave was used as a refuge by the locals, namely during violent uprises like the Revolta da Madeira in April 1931.

Climate

Machico has a very mild mediterranean climate with small temperature differences between seasons. It is slightly cooler than Funchal in all seasons, but is still very mild in winter and has stable and warm summers, where heat-waves are rare. There is a very low diurnal temperature variation with night-time lows above being common in summer. The summer is also delayed in so-called seasonal lag. As a result, October is warmer than June in terms of daily mean temperature.

Economy

The economy is focused on agriculture, tourism, and fishing, although a small number of businesses and commercial establishments have concentrated in the centre of town. The main harbour is a mixture of personal and public uses, that includes a lighted promenade, scenic landscapes of the town, as well as a small harbour that is used as a fishing port and public harbour.