History of Madeira the ships, the Germans proceeded to bombard Funchal for two hours from a range of about . Batteries on Madeira returned fire and eventually forced the Germans to withdraw. In 1917 on December 12, two German U-boats, and (captained by Max Valentiner) again bombarded Funchal, Madeira. This time the attack lasted around 30 minutes. Forty, 4.7 inch and 5.9 inch shells were fired. There were 3 fatalities and 17 wounded, In addition, a number of houses and Santa Clara church were hit. A priest, José Marques Jardim, promised in 1917 to build a monument should peace ever return to Madeira.
History of Madeira History of Madeira The history of Madeira begins with the discovery of the islands by Portugal in 1419. Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands, the position of which with reference to the Fortunate Islands or Canaries might seem to indicate Madeira islands. Plutarch ("Sertorius", 75 AD) referring to the military commander Quintus Sertorius (d. 72 BC), relates that after his return to Cádiz, "he met seamen recently arrived from Atlantic islands, two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow channel and distant from the coast of Africa 10,000 furlongs. They are called Isles of the Blest." The estimated