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Yes. A Regiao Autonoma da Madeira ['Madeira Autonomous Region'] is an archipelago, or a cluster of islands, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Only two islands, Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island, are inhabited.

Based on navigation charts in Florence, Italy dated 1351, Madeira earlier had been discovered by Portuguese ships with Genoese captains. In 1419, two Portuguese captains rediscovered the Madeiras when a storm blew them off course and onto the island they named Porto Santo ['Holy Harbor'].

The Madeiras are about 535 miles/861 kilometers from Lisbon. The rediscovery of Madeira is considered to be the first discovery of the period of exploration begun by Henrique o Navigador [March 4, 1394 - November 13, 1460 ], or 'Henry the Navigator', of Portugal.

In 1420, the two captains returned to the islands with an expedition to start a settlement. The name of Ilha da Madeira ]'Madeira Island' or 'Wood Island'] comes from the subtropical laurisilva ['laurel forest of evergreen hardwood trees'] rainforest that originally covered the island.

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Q: Did Portugal settle the Madeira islands first?
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