A mere record of discoveries, a list of names of places along the inhospitable west coast of Africa, may be monotonous in itself; but when the scanty means of these early Portuguese mariners is considered, and the greatness of the goal at which they were aiming, a fresh interest arises in the study of the map of Africa. The first-fruits of Prince Henry’s exploring ardour were the discovery of the island of Porto Santo by Bartholomeu Perestrello, in 1419, and of the more important island of Madeira by João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz, in 1420. These successes delighted Prince Henry and his father, and John “the Great” immediately granted the two islands to the Order of Christ, of which his son was Grand Master. Prince Henry at once rewarded his captains, and leased Porto Santo to Perestrello, and Madeira in equal parts to its two discoverers. The provinces of the larger island were named Funchal, from “funcho,” the Portuguese word for fennel which abounds there, and Machico, said to be derived from the Englishman, Robert Machin. Prince Henry’s first effort, before proceeding further with his explorations, was to colonize these two islands. With Porto Santo he was not successful, for the rabbits introduced by Perestrello ate up the whole produce of the island; and a similar fate seemed to await Madeira, where the indigenous vegetation was almost entirely destroyed by a great fire, which lasted seven years. However, he did not despair, and it was Dom Henry who had the sugar-cane and the vine, which are to this day the chief sources of its wealth, introduced into Madeira.