1452

The first sets of slaves are brought over from Africa including “Guachos” from the Canary Islands. They are tasked to the rugged and difficult work of building the terraces and retaining stone walls. They also start building the water canals for irrigation that would eventually give rise to a vast network of “ Levadas” in Madeira.

1478

Christopher Columbus visits the archipelago to buy sugar. He marries Filipa Moniz, daughter of the first governor of Porto Santo Bartolomeu Perestrelo. He finds flotsam of various plants of foreign origin on the beach of Porto Santo to inculcate the theory of other lands or islands even further west from the archipelago. This way is hatched his plans for the future discovery of the Americas.