Two squires of Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, claimed Madeira for Portugal. A storm drove them to Porto Santo in 1418, and in 1419 they reached Madeira itself, landing, by the island's own tradition, in the bay of Machico on 1 July.
Who were the men who found Madeira?
Every schoolchild on the island learns two names: Zarco, in full João Gonçalves Zarco, and Tristão Vaz Teixeira. Both were squires in the household of Infante Dom Henrique, the prince English speakers call Henry the Navigator. They were not explorers by trade. Their ship was meant for the African coast, and bad weather sent it somewhere else.
A third name usually follows: Bartolomeu Perestrelo, who joined the voyages that came back to settle the islands. Some historians doubt how much of the discovery he actually took part in. He is remembered for another reason too: his daughter, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, married Christopher Columbus around 1479.
What happened, year by year?
The broad story is clear. The exact dates are not, because the main accounts were written long after the events. This is the sequence most sources follow:
- 1418, Porto Santo. Blown off course on their way along the African coast, Zarco and Tristão Vaz shelter at a small island and call it Porto Santo, holy harbour, for the safety it gave them.
- 1419, Madeira. From Porto Santo, a larger island shows on the horizon on clear days. They cross to it and name it Madeira, which means wood, for the forest that covered it to the waterline.
- 1 July 1419, the landing. Jerónimo Dias Leite, writing around 1579, says the ships arrived on the evening of 1 July 1419, and that the landing and a first Mass followed. Madeira's regional holiday, Madeira Day, is held on 1 July because of this date.
- The coast is explored. The crew sails west along the south coast, naming places as they go.
- 1425, settlement. The crown orders the islands settled, and families, livestock and seed start to arrive.
- 1440 to 1450, the captaincies. The islands are divided between the three men: Machico to Tristão Vaz in 1440, Porto Santo to Perestrelo in 1446, and Funchal to Zarco, whose charter is dated 1 November 1450.
Zarco stayed. He died in Funchal in 1471, and his statue stands where Avenida Arriaga meets Avenida Zarco, in the city centre.
Why do the dates not agree?
Because the people who wrote them down were not there. The 15th century chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara dates the first voyage sometimes to 1418 and sometimes to 1419. Later writers worked from memory, family pride and older texts. Here is the spread you will meet:
| Event | Most cited date | Other dates in the sources |
|---|---|---|
| Porto Santo reached | 1418 | 1419 |
| Madeira reached | 1419 | 1420 |
| Landing day | 1 July 1419 | traditional, from a chronicle written about 160 years later |
| Settlement begins | 1425 | some accounts put first settlers a few years earlier |
When Madeira chose its regional day, 1 November was also discussed, for the Porto Santo landing, before 1 July won. If a guide gives you a single exact date with total confidence, they are tidying up history.
Was Madeira really unknown before 1419?
Probably not. Islands that look like Madeira and Porto Santo appear on a chart in the Medici Atlas, usually dated 1351, and Genoese or Castilian sailors may well have seen them. There is also the Machim legend: an English couple, Robert Machim and Anna d'Arfet, said to have been shipwrecked on the coast in 1346 while eloping, giving their name to Machico. Historians treat it as a romantic tale.
So the fair way to put it is that Zarco and Tristão Vaz did not discover an island nobody had ever seen. They are the ones who claimed it, came back with settlers, and started the Portuguese story that still runs today.
Where exactly did they land?
Madeiran tradition and the regional government say Machico, the wide bay on the east coast, about 16 km from Funchal in a straight line. It is the natural first landfall for a ship coming from Porto Santo, which lies to the north east. Machico calls the spot east of its beach the landing site, and a statue of Tristão Vaz Teixeira stands in the town, which he went on to govern.
The chronicles then follow the crew along the south coast to the west. Three of the names they gave on that trip are still on the map, and all three are on the water west of Funchal:
- Funchal, from funcho, fennel. The chronicler Gaspar Frutuoso describes a valley full of fennel growing right down to the sea.
- Câmara de Lobos, the chamber of the sea wolves, for the monk seals the crew found crowded in the bay. The full story is in where the name of Câmara de Lobos comes from.
- Cabo Girão, the great cliff where that first reconnaissance ended and the boats turned back. Old texts link the name to the giro, the turn or round of the trip.
What did the coast look like to them?
Green to the water. The name Madeira says it: thick laurel forest covered the slopes, the valleys ran straight into the sea, and flat open ground was rare. The settlers cleared much of the forest with fire. A story, probably exaggerated, says the fires burned for seven years.
The cliffs were the same. The volcanic walls between Câmara de Lobos and Cabo Girão, about 580 metres high at the top, looked to the first crews much as they look today, minus the terraces, the houses and the road. If you want the geology behind them, read how Madeira was formed.
Can you follow the discoverers' route by boat?
Part of it, and which part matters. Machico is east of Funchal, and Chifbay's trips go west, so they do not pass the landing bay. If standing where Zarco stepped ashore matters to you, take the car or the bus to Machico.
The westward reconnaissance is a different matter. Leaving Marina do Funchal on our Day Trip, you sail the same stretch in the same direction: out of the fennel valley, past the bay of the sea wolves, and under the cliff where the first crew turned around. Chifbay then carries on past their turning point, to Fajã dos Padres and Ribeira Brava. The Cabo Girão boat tour page shows that part of the route.
Frequently asked questions
Did Columbus have anything to do with Madeira?
Yes, indirectly. He married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrelo, the first captain of Porto Santo, around 1479.
Why is Madeira called Madeira?
Madeira means wood in Portuguese. The first Portuguese crews named it for the dense forest that covered the island down to the sea.
Is Madeira Day about the discovery?
Madeira Day on 1 July celebrates the region and its autonomy, and the date was chosen because tradition puts the 1419 arrival on 1 July.
Where is Zarco buried?
Zarco died in Funchal in 1471. Tradition places his tomb in the Convent of Santa Clara in Funchal, though the exact spot inside is uncertain.
Three names from one week in 1419 are still on the chart: fennel, sea wolves and the place where they turned back.