 |
| A
17th Century portrait of Tangiers. Part of Catherine
of Bragança’s Dowry. |
|
As
the legend goes, a Madeiran scribe could not bring himself to add
the island to the official dowry accounting for Charles. He supposedly
communicated secretly with Infanta Catarina and judiciously
suggested that she should probably keep Madeira as a last resort,
in case the other gifts failed to get a 'yes'! Fortunately Charles
accepted, being mostly interested in the gold and silver.
|
| But
after the marriage in 1662, the happy monarch permitted Madeira
the right to sell the island wines directly to the British colonies,
as well as to many other countries. To increase the purchases, Charles
restricted all exports from France, Spain, Italy and Portugal to
any English Colony. It was the first time in history that Madeira
wine enjoyed a kind of monopoly! |
| By
1663 Charles realized the value of promoting Madeira, which put
more money in his pocket. His wife, Catherine, continued to influence
her loving husband and convinced him to cut back the sugar trade,
pulling up sugarcane and planting more grapevines in order to expand
the market. |
|
