History of Madeira - 20th Century

20th Century

On 23 July 1905, the Paris edition of the New York Herald carried a report headed: "German Company Plans to Make Madeira an up-to-date Resort". In return for a promise to build a sanatorium and hospitals and treat 40 Tuberculosis patients a year free, the Madeira Actien Gesellschaft, headed by Prince Frederick Karl Hohenlohe Oehringen, was an arrangement with the Portuguese government, in turn for building these facilities will take over all business concerns on Madeira. When plans for some of the hospitals were exposed as being designs for hotels and holiday camps, the Madeirans realized that they were being colonized through the back door and promptly withdrew the concession. Just before this the Germans were constructing what is today the "Hospital dos Marmeleiros" (the only building the Germans actually began to build), the Germans were given a tax break and didn't need to pay tax on anything needed to construct the Hospital. The site was left abandoned until 1930 when the Madeirans continued to build the Hospital dos Marmeleiros.

Locals say that the reason that the Hospital construction was abandoned by the Germans was not just because of their colonization plans being discovered. It was during the construction of the Hospital that the Germans required special materials not available on Madeira, so it was agreed Madeirans would take the materials up to the site from the German ship in the harbour. The strongest horses were used to bring up the wooden barrels. The local Madeiran with the strongest horses bringing up the materials was suspicious that what he was taking up the hill was heavier than what should be needed to construct the Hospital so he on purpose let 1 of the barrels roll down the hill and smash open. It is alleged that it was filled with rifles. When the locals looked inside what was already constructed they found ammunition and more guns. This caused the Madeirans to confiscate all German property in Madeira and stop the construction of the Hospital.