Most history books tell us Portuguese explorers found the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira by chance in 1418, their ship swept off course by a storm. It's a tidy origin story for these Atlantic jewels. Emiliano Bettencourt's Memoria isn't satisfied with that. Written in the 1800s, it's his deep dive into the original documents from the time. He pieces together a different narrative, suggesting Prince Henry the Navigator's captains knew what they were looking for. The 'accident' might have been a convenient cover for a planned expedition of expansion.

Why You Should Read It

This isn't a dry academic paper. Reading it feels like looking over Bettencourt's shoulder as he puzzles through old chronicles and royal grants. You can sense his passion to set the record straight. The real thrill is watching history get rewritten, one document at a time. It makes you realize how fragile our understanding of the past can be, often resting on stories that get simplified over centuries. Bettencourt gives the discovery its complexity back.

Final Verdict

Perfect for history buffs who love a good mystery and anyone fascinated by how we remember (or misremember) big events. It's also a great, bite-sized look into how historical research was done before the internet. If you've ever visited Madeira and wondered about its origins, this book provides the fascinating, contested backstory most tourist guides skip. A compelling reminder that sometimes the real story is hiding in the footnotes.