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The Islands of Madeira and the Azores
The archipelagos off the coasts of Portugal and North Africa became provisioning ports for voyagers as well as providing arable land.
Years: 1336 — 1452
The Canary Islands were the first to be visited by the Portuguese – between 1336-1341 – though they were unsuccessful in settling them. This did not happen in the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.
The islands of Porto Santo and Madeira were already known to Europeans in the 14th century, but only after 1419 did the Portuguese establish regular contacts with them. In approximately 1425, their colonization was begun, and, after a few years, cultivation of sugar cane was introduced and developed rapidly.
The Azores started to be known probably from 1427 on, although the islands further to the west were not noted until about 1452. In this archipelago, great amounts of wheat and pastel were produced. Important also was its great strategic value for the islands being located at a meeting point of Atlantic routes.
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