Machico, Madeira of Santana and west-southwest of Porto Santo in the extreme eastern portion of the island of Madeira. It is linked by road from Funchal (the regional capital), to the Santana and the villages of Ribeira Seca and Caniçal. To the existence of mountains on the western coast, it is sandwiched along the coast from the rest of the islands' settlements, while forests lie towards the interior and grasslands cover the north-eastern corner of the municipality. Geomorphologically, the municipality is dominated by steeped and inclined topography, except in the Machico valley (where slopes are gentle), formed by two mountain ranges: in
History of Madeira Sugarcane cultivation and the sugar production industry developed until the 17th century. Since the 17th century, Madeira's most important product has been its wine, sugar production having since moved on to Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, and elsewhere. Madeira wine was perhaps the most popular luxury beverage in the colonial Western Hemisphere during the 17th and 18th centuries. The British Empire occupied Madeira as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, a friendly occupation which concluded in 1814 when the island was returned to Portugal, and the British did much to popularise Madeira wine. When, after the death of king John