The Venetian
Cadamosto, not likely to have been happy about
the success of the Madeira adventure, tried
to remain objective in his writings about the economic developments
of the island during the middle of the 15th century.
He
spoke of the progress with wine and sugarcane, mentioning
that the vines had been imported from Candia by Prince Henry's
orders and he could see the impact of the wines on the European
commercial markets. According to Cadamosto, bunches
of grapes were reaching the size of 80 (sic) centimeters !