Forever Madeira

The British have been intoxicated by the Portuguese island of Madeira since the 16th century. Via its wine mostly. Shakespeare enjoyed a tipple. He used Madeiran wine as a bizarre method of execution in Richard III when he described the Duke of Clarence as having been drowned in a rich, sweet barrel of Malvazia (which has vanilla, molasses, walnut and caramel notes FYI).

At that time, the 35 mile-long Atlantic island had served as a resting place for explorers. They marvelled at its soaring sea cliffs and black pebble beaches, and left behind exotic seeds and plants from their travels. These sprang up, creating an ever-more exotic landscape..

Madeira had been Portuguese ‘owned’ since 1425. Christopher Columbus had been among the sugar traders who replaced rainforest with sugar cane there and introduced slave labour.

But to England Madeira was simply an important trading post between the British Isles and the Americas, India and the West Indies. Until 1662, that is, when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza, the daughter of King John IV of Portugal, The alliance gave English merchants opportunity to live and make their fortunes on Madeira, an opportunity taken up with enthusiasm. Before too long, the English took over the whole wine trade.

Visually, Madeira lies on the fringe of the European experience. Its dramatic sub-tropical landscape of vertiginous volcanic hills embellished with wild lilies and geraniums attracted visiting royalty, aristocrats, scientists, resting clergymen and poets in the early 19th century. By then the British, although a community of only around 300 people, had made their fortunes and wielded a great deal of power. They adjusted southern Madeira’s landscape to their own taste, building elegant quintas (country residences) and botanical gardens in the hills above the south-coast capital, Funchal - which is named after the wild fennel the Portuguese found there. Charlotte Bronte referenced their success when her heroine Jane Eyre inherited £20,000 - equivalent to more than £1.2 million now - from her uncle, “John Eyre, Esq., merchant, late of Funchal, Madeira”.

Visitors often came for the entire winter, enticed by a mild climate and temperatures into the low 20s. They found a social life of afternoon teas and musical parties together with more exotic activities such as eel spearing. The British acted as hosts for a fee, and there was much competition for the most desirable guests. Jane Phelps, whose father was wine merchant Joseph Phelps, told how, as a small child, she found herself “sitting upon the knee of the Emperor Napoleon III (as he later became) and being fed by him with fruit and nuts”. The Phelps family also hosted the Empress of Brazil, who hoped the climate would cure her daughter of tuberculosis.

Madeira’s first tourist brochure was printed in 1850, and stressed its own history, customs and botany. That decade, vineyards were hit by disease and the British population shrank, with just 15 British wine houses buying out the wine and property of another 56. Small inns and larger hotels took the opportunity to fill the gaps in and beyond Funchal, and the balance began to shift from the colonial to a sedate, somewhat genteel holiday experience. First cruise ships and then, in the 20th century, seaplanes offloaded increasing numbers of British middle-class holidaymakers. Margaret and Denis Thatcher honeymooned at Madeira’s old Savoy hotel in 1951 and returned to the island to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary (having visited many times in-between).

This soporific image lingers. The hotels that line up by Funchal’s promenade each have a glam ocean-side pool terrace plus attractive half-board offers, encouraging guests to spend their days reclining and evenings watching the sunset over plates of traditional dishes like black scabbard fish and fried bananas. A stroll away, 18th-century streets attractively mosaic-ed with cobblestones give the capital an air of a mini Lisbon. Pastal de Natas are on the menu in pavement cafes and young Madeirans sip potent poncha, which is made with sugar-cane rum as their aperitif of choice.

Madeira’s tourist board has made every effort to shake things up, urging a younger generation to try out canyoning and trail running in exhilarating surroundings - with a great deal of success. Yet the 19th century was not without adventure. Elizabeth Phelps, wife of