Funchal, capital city of the Madeira Islands, an autonomous region of Portugal. The city is located on the southern shore of Madeira, the region's largest island, on Funchal Bay. Industries here include sugar and flour milling, wine production, fruit canning, and the manufacture of tobacco products and soap. Fish, fruit, and the famous Madeira wines, as well as embroideries and laces, are exported. The city, sometimes called the Pearl of the Ocean, is a noted winter resort because of its beaches and mild climate. It is the site of remains of 16th- and 17th-century forts and of the 15th-century Cathedral of Santa Clara, which contains the tomb of João Gonçalves Zarco, discoverer of Madeira and founder of Funchal. Founded in 1421 and chartered in 1508, it was under Spanish rule from 1580 to 1640 and was occupied by the British in 1801 and 1807. Population (1995 estimate) 115,950.
