The Celebrations of the 600 years of the Discovery of Madeira and Porto Santo Islands
Message from the President of the Regional Government of Madeira
The archipelago of Madeira took on a role of reference in the Portuguese Maritime Expansion of the 15th and 16th centuries. Its geostrategic position determined the discovery of new worlds to begin on these islands, developing into a globalization movement that left its unquestionable mark on the local, national and global socio-economic paradigm.
The industries of sugar, wine, embroideries and even tourism have their genesis in this auspicious period of a History that is alive still today, exactly because we are a people that do not forget their roots. A people who, on the contrary, build from their roots their own opening to the outside world, stating their difference and their capacity to integrate, learn from and to fraternize with different people.
To celebrate the 600 Years of the Discovery of our islands is to commemorate a History that is re-written every day, based on a past that helps us project our future. In a join celebration, every inhabitant of Madeira and Porto Santo is called on to make his or her contribution and assert, on this small yet unique territory, the Portuguese character that makes and has always made us greater.
The President of the Regional Government of Madeira
Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque