Porto Santo Island

Porto Santo Island is a beautiful place that belongs to Portugal. It is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 43 kilometres northeast of Madeira Island. Porto Santo is the northernmost and easternmost island in the archipelago of Madeira.

The island became a city on August 6, 1996. Its largest town is called Vila Baleira. In 2011, about 5,483 people lived there.

History

People may have known about islands like Madeira long before anyone found them. Old maps from 1339 show these islands.

Porto Santo Island was found in 1418 by sailors lost in a storm. They worked for Infante Henrique of Portugal and were sent by King John I to explore west of Africa. The island is called Porto Santo, meaning "Holy Harbour", because the sailors felt saved by finding a safe bay. The first people to live there arrived in the 1420s.

One of the early leaders, Bartolomeu Perestrelo, brought rabbit to the island. With no animals to eat them, the rabbits grew too many and hurt the plants. Life was hard because there was little fresh water, and pirates sometimes attacked the island.

Geography

Porto Santo Island has two main parts. The northeast is hilly with rocky edges and cliffs. It has tall points like Pico do Castelo and Pico do Facho. The southwest has flat land and a long white sand beach, which makes it different from nearby Madeira.

The island has a dry but still moist climate. Winters are mild to warm, and summers are warm to hot. July and August are the driest months, while November and December are the wettest. The sun shines most in August and September.

The main town is Vila Baleira, also called Porto Santo. Even though the island is small, it has schools, a health centre, police, a gym, churches, squares, a museum, shops, bars, hotels, and restaurants.

Economy

The main industry on Porto Santo Island is tourism. Many hotels have been built there, attracting visitors to its beautiful beaches and pleasant climate.

The island has a golf course designed by famous golfer Seve Ballesteros. It even hosted a professional golf tournament in 2009. Porto Santo also has an international airport with daily flights to Madeira and connections to cities in Portugal and other countries. The airport sometimes serves as an alternate landing spot for planes that cannot land at Madeira Airport due to weather.

Notable people

Porto Santo Island has been home to many interesting people throughout history.

Bartolomeu Perestrello was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who discovered and settled Porto Santo Island around 1419. Filipa Moniz Perestrelo was a noblewoman and the wife of Christopher Columbus. Stephen Peter Alencastre was a Roman Catholic bishop and the last Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands.