Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419, and settled after 1420. The island's viticulture was introduced by the Portuguese in the early 15th century and by 1455 its vines were finest sight in the world, according to the Venetian traveller Alvise da Mosto. Even so, for the next 200 years the principal occupation was the growing of sugar-cane. Wines produced on the island were consumed by islanders themselves.
Vineyards would replace sugar-cane during the latter part of the seventeenth century however, and the export of wine would become Madeira's chief source of revenue. The island exported wine to the West Indies, North America and to India, largely on English vessels.
The bulk of the exported wine from Madeira was ordinary beverage red wine, drunk before it was a year old. Ordinary beverage white wine was also produced from the verdelho grape, and a small quantity of dark red wine was made from the negra molle grape. This latter wine, also called Tinto or Tent, was mostly used for blending with red wines which were too light in colour.
During the War of the Spanish Succession in the reign of Queen Anne there was disruption to shipping from Madeira. The merchant William Bolton took the initiative of distilling some of the surplus wine still in the hands of growers, and later on this brandy was added to wines in order to make them last. In Britain, Madeira wine began to be really popular.
