MADEIRA - Região Autónoma da Madeira

Madeira, officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (Região Autónoma da Madeira), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (the other being the Azores). It is an archipelago situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, just under 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north of the Canary Islands and 700 kilometres (430 mi) west of Morocco. Madeira is geographically located in the African Tectonic Plate, even though the archipielago is culturally, economically and politically European. Its total population was estimated in 2016 at 289,000. The capital of Madeira is Funchal, which is located on the main island's south coast. The archipelago includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas, administered together with the separate archipelago of the Savage Islands. The region has political and administrative autonomy through the Administrative Political Statute of the Autonomous Region of Madeira provided for in the Portuguese Constitution. The autonomous region is an integral part of the European Union as an outermost region. Madeira generally has a very mild and moderated subtropical climate with mediterranean summer droughts and winter rain. There are many microclimates courtesy of the elevation changes. Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Age of Discovery. 

Madeira island is home to several endemic plant and animal species. In the south, there is very little left of the indigenous subtropical rainforest that once covered the whole island (the original settlers set fire to the island to clear the land for farming) and gave it the name it now bears (Madeira means "wood" in Portuguese). However, in the north, the valleys contain native trees of fine growth. These "laurisilva" forests, called lauraceas madeirense, notably the forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island, are designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.The paleobotanical record of Madeira reveals that laurisilva forest has existed in this island for at least 1.8 million years. Critically endangered species such as the vine Jasminum azoricum and the rowan Sorbus maderensis are endemic to Madeira. The Madeiran wall lizard (Lacerta dugesii) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Island where it is very common, and is the only small lizard, ranging from sea coasts to altitudes of 1,850 metres (6,070 ft). It is usually found in rocky places or among scrub and may climb into trees. It is also found in gardens and on the walls of buildings.

Funchal is the capital and principal city of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, located along the southern coast of the island of Madeira. It is a modern city, located within a natural geological "amphitheatre" composed of vulcanological structure and fluvial hydrological forces. Beginning at the harbour (Porto de Funchal), the neighbourhoods and streets rise almost 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), along gentle slopes that helped to provide a natural shelter to the early settlers.

On 1 January 1868, Portugal issued postage stamps for the islands of Madeira, consisting of the current stamps of Portugal overprinted "MADEIRA". Subsequent stamps were also overprinted, through 1881. Unoverprinted Portuguese stamps were used from 1881 to 1892. From 1892 to 1905, while the administrative title of Madeira was changed to the District of Funchal, definitive stamps were issued with the inscription "Funchal". In 1898 a series of stamps commemorating Vasco da Gama was issued with the inscription "Madeira". Subsequently Madeira used stamps of Portugal from 1905, with two exceptions; the first was the Pombal Issue of postal tax stamps in 1925, and a variant on the Ceres design, issued 1 May 1928. The Ceres stamps were the last to be produced for Madeira until 1980, When Portugal began issuing stamps inscribed "Portugal Madeira" that were valid in both Madeira and continental Portugal, similar to those issued for the Azores.

Postage stamps for Funchal inscribed with the city's name were issued for use in the archipelago of Madeira from 1892 to 1905 by the postal authorities of Portugal. During this time Madeira was administratively referred to as the District of Funchal. From 1868 to 1881 Madeira had used overprinted stamps of Portugal. Beginning in 1868, postage stamps for Madeira were issued for the postal needs of the island group with its capital Funchal. Unoverprinted Portuguese stamps were used from 1881 to 1892. From 1892 to 1905, while the administrative title of Madeira was changed to the District of Funchal,  definitive stamps were issued with the inscription "Funchal". These were valid all over the island. While in 1898 a series of stamps commemorating Vasco da Gama was issued with the inscription "Madeira", unoverprinted stamps of Portugal were used in the archipelago again from 1905.