148 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



being the abolition of the office of Captains and 

 the appointment of a Governor of the island an 

 office which the Portuguese confirmed when it 

 again came under their sole power, and is continued 

 to this day. 



The eighteenth century appears to have been a 

 more peaceful epoch in the history of the island, 

 though it is recorded that Captain Cook, when 

 starting on his voyage round the world in the 

 Endeavour, bombarded the fort on the Loo Rock 

 as a protest against an affront which he said had 

 been offered to the British flag. 



During the seventeenth century many English 

 families settled in Madeira, as, in consequence of 

 the marriage of Charles II. with Catharine of 

 Braganza, British residents were afforded special 

 favours and privileges, which enabled them to 

 develop the wine trade. Dr. Azevado says that 

 a document exists in the municipal archives of 

 Funchal showing that during the negotiations for 

 the royal marriage, there being some delay in the 

 final decision of King Charles, the Queen Regent 

 of Portugal was willing to cede the island of 

 Madeira as part of her daughter's dowry. Other 

 more important possessions having been ceded, 

 Madeira remained a Portuguese colony, and only 



