Atlantic Islander ǀ European
Photo: Portuguese fashion designer Fátima Lopes. Date May 6, 2005. Source Flickr. Author Roberto Santorini. Wikimedia Commons.
The people of Madeira are Portuguese mixed with many other nationalities that have left their mark on this autonomous Portuguese archipelago. Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Age of Discovery. Madeirans are ethnically Portuguese, though they have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits. Madeira is known as an important trading spot and tourist resort in the Atlantic, noted for its Madeira wine, flowers, landscapes and embroidery artisans.
The Portuguese – Madeira population data represent DNA samples from 100 unrelated males on the mountainous islands of Madeira (Madeira) and Porto Santo (Porto Santo Island), located off the Atlantic coast of the Portuguese Republic (Portugal). All sampled individuals had at least three generations of family originating from the Madeira archipelago.
Samples were obtained by the Human Genetics Laboratory in the Centre of Biological Sciences at the University of Madeira’s Penteada campus; by Portugal’s Institute of Pathology and Molecular Immunology at the University of Porto (Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto); and by the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Porto, Portugal (Faculdade de Cièncias da Universidade do Porto, Portugal).
Source publication: Genetic profile of the Madeira Archipelago population using the new Powerplex 16 Syster kit, FSI, 2002, p281-283.
[Population 139]
