Funchal

Funchal (fũˈʃal) is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high cultural and historical value, Funchal is one of Portugal's main tourist attractions; it is also popular as a destination for New Year's Eve, and it is the leading Portuguese port on cruise liner dockings. The first settlers named their settlement Funchal after the abundant wild fennel that grew there. The name is formed from the Portuguese word for fennel, funcho, and the suffix -al, to denote "a plantation of fennel": Funchal, to whom the captain gave this name, because it was founded in a beautiful forested valley, full of fennel up to the sea ... Timeline of Funchal This settlement began around 1424, when the island was divided into two captaincies. The zones that would become the urbanized core of Funchal were founded by João Gonçalves Zarco who settled there with members of his family. Owing to its geographic location, the site became an important maritime port and its productive soils attracted new settlers. Its coastal position, the most productive on the island, quickly permitted Funchal to develop an urban core and surpass the populations of other settlements. In the early 15th century, Álvaro Fernandes became the commander of Funchal. As part of its administrative role, the settlement received its primary lighthouse between 1452 and 1454, when it was elevated to the status of vila and municipal seat. Funchal became an important transfer point for European commercial interests. Christopher Columbus was one of the early settlers, but later many of the merchant families established commercial interests on the island, including: João d'Esmenaut from the Picardy region, the Lomelino from Genoa, the Mondragão from Biscay, the Acciauoli from Florence, the Bettencourts from France, the Lemilhana Berenguer from Valencia and many others.