The discovery and colonisation of the Archipelago of Madeira was, without a doubt, a unique and remarkable moment in world history. From early on, due to its geostrategic location, on both outward and return journeys, Madeira played a fundamental role in the Portuguese maritime expansion of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Consequently, from these islands‘of the vast Ocean ower, noble Madeira’, - such were the immortal words of Francisco Álvares de Nobrega, the Machico- born Madeiran poet also known as ‘Little Camões’ -, stemmedthe globalisation which unequivocally marked and changed thesocio-economic paradigm of the country and the world.
Thus, in these commemorations, which will run until 2020, we celebrate, in past, present and future, the strength, will, courage, spirit of adventure, belief and faith that formed and continue to shape the character of the Madeiran people, and that we have always known how to carry, in our hearts and hands, in our diaspora, across the seven continents, in an example of integration, learning and fraternity.
To celebrate 600 years since the Discovery of Madeira and Porto Santo is to commemorate an epic that is rewritten daily.In this joint celebration, every Madeiran and Porto-Santan is called on to make their contribution and to ful l, in this smallbut unique land, but also around the world, wherever they are, the Portugality and identity that have always made us greater, always determined to guarantee, for generations to come, not only our historical and cultural history, but also our hope in a better shared future.
Paula Cabaço
Regional Secretary for Tourism and Culture
