TREASURE ISLAND & The Pirates With a Taste for WHITE GOLD
The Wanderlust Way
4,943 views
What do sugar, pirates and buried treasure have to do with the history of Madeira?
Today, Madeira is famous for its dramatic landscapes, wine and sunshine — but hidden within the history of this Portuguese island is a story of extraordinary wealth, White Gold, pirates and a darker side to paradise.
In this episode of The Wanderlust Way, I'm exploring the fascinating history of Madeira and Funchal, following the rise of the island's sugar trade and discovering how this tiny Atlantic island became connected to wealthy European merchants, Christopher Columbus and eventually... pirates.
We'll visit Funchal, Praia Formosa, the Madeira Story Centre and Fort São Tiago, uncover the human cost behind Madeira's sugar industry and discover why the island's growing riches began attracting some rather unwanted attention from across the sea.
There are pirates, corsairs, buried treasure, sugar plantations, rum, poncha — and one particularly dramatic chapter in Funchal's history.
This is the story of Madeira's White Gold... and what happened when word of the island's riches travelled a little too far.
That's enough waffle, let's wander.
Chapters:
00:00 Treasure Island - overview
01:01 The Wanderlust Way intro & thanks
01:54 The discovery of Madeira
04:38 White Gold
08:25 The dark side
10:38 Funchal becomes RICH
12:55 The Pirates
15:54 The sacking of Funchal
20:44 Santa Maria
23:35 Exploring the fortress
26:33 Sugar's lasting impression
27:33 Madeira wine and outro
🙏 With thanks:
This video is made with respect for the people whose lives and deaths are explored in these stories.
🎥 If you enjoyed this video, you may also like my playlist:
Historical Icons - journeys to the past
Historical Icons - journeys to the past
🙏 Thank you to everyone who supports this channel by watching, liking, commenting, sharing and hyping these videos — it genuinely makes a difference. Extra thanks to channel members who help keep the fires burning 🔥
Become a member from £2.99 a month here:
@thewanderlustwayisback
🎥 This video was filmed on location and produced independently for The Wanderlust Way, exploring strange places, dark stories and real adventures from Britain and beyond.
It is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. All research has been carried out to the best of my ability and viewers are encouraged to explore further if a subject interests them.
👍 Enjoyed this video?
Please like, subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss the next wander.
No part of this video may be reused, reproduced or republished without express written permission.
#Madeira #MadeiraHistory #Pirates
20 Comments
I wrote that I wasn’t going to show her the video because she’d want one just like it and you wrote back that I had to show her the video and buy her one.
Well, I did tell and showed her and sure enough today her bat sweaters came in. 3 to be precise. 😂
Thanks for the interesting video ma’am. Great history lesson.
Love a good pirate story ...lol
Many thanks Claire ...
TREASURE ISLAND & The Pirates With a Taste for WHITE GOLD
The Wanderlust Way
4,943 views
What do sugar, pirates and buried treasure have to do with the history of Madeira?
Today, Madeira is famous for its dramatic landscapes, wine and sunshine — but hidden within the history of this Portuguese island is a story of extraordinary wealth, White Gold, pirates and a darker side to paradise.
In this episode of The Wanderlust Way, I'm exploring the fascinating history of Madeira and Funchal, following the rise of the island's sugar trade and discovering how this tiny Atlantic island became connected to wealthy European merchants, Christopher Columbus and eventually... pirates.
We'll visit Funchal, Praia Formosa, the Madeira Story Centre and Fort São Tiago, uncover the human cost behind Madeira's sugar industry and discover why the island's growing riches began attracting some rather unwanted attention from across the sea.
There are pirates, corsairs, buried treasure, sugar plantations, rum, poncha — and one particularly dramatic chapter in Funchal's history.
This is the story of Madeira's White Gold... and what happened when word of the island's riches travelled a little too far.
That's enough waffle, let's wander.
Chapters:
00:00 Treasure Island - overview
01:01 The Wanderlust Way intro & thanks
01:54 The discovery of Madeira
04:38 White Gold
08:25 The dark side
10:38 Funchal becomes RICH
12:55 The Pirates
15:54 The sacking of Funchal
20:44 Santa Maria
23:35 Exploring the fortress
26:33 Sugar's lasting impression
27:33 Madeira wine and outro
🙏 With thanks:
This video is made with respect for the people whose lives and deaths are explored in these stories.
🎥 If you enjoyed this video, you may also like my playlist:
Historical Icons - journeys to the past
Historical Icons - journeys to the past
🙏 Thank you to everyone who supports this channel by watching, liking, commenting, sharing and hyping these videos — it genuinely makes a difference. Extra thanks to channel members who help keep the fires burning 🔥
Become a member from £2.99 a month here:
@thewanderlustwayisback
🎥 This video was filmed on location and produced independently for The Wanderlust Way, exploring strange places, dark stories and real adventures from Britain and beyond.
It is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. All research has been carried out to the best of my ability and viewers are encouraged to explore further if a subject interests them.
👍 Enjoyed this video?
Please like, subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss the next wander.
No part of this video may be reused, reproduced or republished without express written permission.
#Madeira #MadeiraHistory #Pirates