Madeira Island was discovered by the Portuguese adventurer Joao Goncalves Zargo in 1418. The island was rich in natural resources and extensively forested. This last fact was responsible for its name, Madeira, which in Portuguese means wood. Once identified, that this natural mid-Atlantic paradise was destined to become an important part of Portugal’s destiny was as good as it was inevitable, as it provided a transit staging point for ships heading for the African coast.
Therefore, a fledgling outpost was established on the site of a deep-water natural anchorage on the south coast of the island.
The new south coast colony began to grow and installed Joao Goncalves Zargo as its first Governor. The colony’s growth was due in part to its position on the world stage, midway between Europe and Africa and the soon-to-be-discovered America. Notwithstanding this, it is also speculated that Zargo appreciated the possibility of making the economic potential of the island’s natural resources profitable. Be that as it may, it is definite that Zargo was aware of the abundance of fennel plants that flourished in the vicinity of his newly established village. The humble herbs, part of the genus Foeniculum vulgare, were useful to the settlers in various ways and were given the name funcho. In fact, the fennel plant was so widespread that the new community quickly became known as Funchal.
That this plant is, in essence, responsible for the name of an adjacent room shouldn’t be surprising, since it wasn’t the first time in history that something like this had happened.
In the ancient Greek syllabic script known as Linear B, the word for fennel herb is maratuwo. John Chadwick, an acclaimed 20th-century English linguist, cited Maratuwo as the origin of the place name Marathon (meaning “place of fennel”), the site of the Battle of Marathon which took place some 500 BC.
In addition to this, in the Portuguese Encyclopedia it is detailed in an article by Maximiliano de Lemos, professor of the history of modern medicine in the 19th century at the University of Porto, that there were a number of places in Portugal that had, or had previously had, the name of Funchal.
In recent times, the Chronography of mainland Portugal and islands makes reference to two dozen places and towns that are truly related in some way to the name of Funchal.
Of distinctive note is the town of Ameixoeira, which is located about 6 kilometers from Lisbon in the county of Olivais, in the parish of Lumiar. Pinho Leal describes this otherwise nondescript village in the vast ancient and modern Portugal.
The work of ancient and modern Portugal is loosely known as a dictionary. To be pedantic, it consists of 12 separate volumes detailing facts about places in Portugal, arranged alphabetically by name of cities, towns and parishes. Each individual entry is peppered with information on the monuments, significant events, anniversaries, prominent citizens, and the genealogy of influential families that have been linked to each place. Many of the details are based on church records. Still, its accuracy is frequently questioned, as it is also known to include information that was recorded from the personal reflections of individual church-related dignitaries.
Begun in 1873, Pinho Leal devoted himself to his literary work until his death in 1884. Unfortunately, he did not live to finish the work. The final volume was completed by Pedro Augusto Ferreira in 1890.
Under the listing of the town of Ameixoeira, he informs us that it had a previous name of Funchal. It seems that there was a small hermitage known as Our Lady of Funchal, which served as a parish church until 1664 when it was enlarged. The simple original chapel is believed to have been founded to celebrate the Christian victory over the Moors which was fought on the exact spot where the foundation stone was laid. Going further back to earlier dynasties, the ancient Goths and Moors are reported to have referred to the place as Mixo or Mixio.
Regardless of the veracity of the Mixo or Mixio connection, it proves the point that place names develop regularly over time and their exact origins are often woven into the web of passage of time, the exact nature of which is beyond us. firm and unequivocal certainty.
Still, that the herb fennel should give rise to a number of places named after it is not unexpected considering the position the herb has enjoyed throughout human history. In fact, today, fennel is widely harvested for its distinctively flavored, flavorful leaves and fruit and is considered to have numerous efficacious properties.
Historically, Florence fennel is perhaps the most important constituent ingredient in absinthe, a pleasant French liqueur that has its heritage tied to a restorative concoction. While other fennel extracts are claimed to soothe digestive disorders, improve eyesight, help relieve high blood pressure and treat incessant cough. Additionally, finely ground fennel is said to confer immunity against fleas.
In addition to this, other portions of the different variants of the fennel herb have given humanity large-scale culinary uses over the millennia, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, the area most involved in its commercial production today.
So Funchal in Madeira may currently be the most famous city bearing that name. Whether Madeira’s capital city will uphold that distinction in years to come is anyone’s guess. However, we can say with certainty that it was undeniably not the first city that owes its name to the presence of the humble fennel plant.
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