| Native name: Ilhas Selvagens | |
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A reef along the coast of Selvagem Pequena, Savage Islands |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Archipelago | Savage Islands |
| Total islands | 3, plus various islets |
| Major islands | Selvagem Grande Island, Selvagem Pequena Island |
| Area | 2.73 km2 (1.05 sq mi) |
| Highest point | Pico da Atalaia (163 m) |
| Country | |
| Autonomous Region | Madeira islands |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 3 |
The Savage Islands, also referred to as the Salvage Islands or the Selvagens Islands,[1] (Portuguese: Ilhas Selvagens, IPA: [ˈiʎɐʃ sɛɫˈvaʒɐ̃jʃ], "wild"[2]; is a small [3] Macaronesia archipelago in the North Atlantic, roughly midway between Madeira and the Canary Islands. The archipelago comprises two major islands and several islets of varying sizes, that represent the southernmost region of Portugal.[1]
The archipelago is administered by the Portuguese municipality of Funchal, and pertains to the Madeiran freguesia (English: civil parish) of Sé. They are designated a Nature Reserve, comprising two areas: one on Selvagem Grande Island and the second on Selvagem Pequena Island.
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The Savage Islands are part of the Macaronesia, the name used to designate the island groups of the North Atlantic Ocean, near Europe and off the coast of Morocco in North Africa. The archipelago lies about 230 km (143 mi) from Madeira, and 165 km (103 mi) from the Canary Islands. The total land area of the Savage Islands is 2.73 km2 (1.05 sq mi).
With little fresh water and surrounded by dangerous reefs (which makes limited access difficult), the archipelago consists of two major islands and several islets, in two groups about 15 km (9 mi) apart, designated:
The islands' physical characteristics are the consequences of mountain-forming and volcanic forces that occurred between 60 and 70 million years ago, typical of many of the islands of Macaronesia. The islands were created during the late Miocene period, from a large submarine volcano and shaped by erosion and marine sedimentation. The larger islands and islet (Grande, Pequena and Fora, respectively) are the remnants of the peaks of these submarine mounts, and although located north of the Canaries, they were never connected to the African continent. The islands themselves are crossed by many calcareous faults, some marbleized, and made of basaltic rock, ash, and other volcanic materials. On many of the islands there are remnants of extinct cones, such as Atalaia (Selvagem Grande), Tornozelos and Veado. Other areas are sand covered from extensive aeolian, fluvial and marine erosion; headlands include Atalaia and Leste on Selvagem Grande, and Norte, Oeste, Leste and Garajaus on Selvagem Pequena.
Annual temperatures hover around 17–19 °C, generally exceeding those in Madeira (defined as a subtropical maritime climate), while sea temperatures remain comfortable all year round. Due to its warm arid climate and geomorphological characteristics, the Savage Islands are exposed to strong coastal winds that reduce precipitation to less than 500 mm annually. These indicators, define the outcroppings as deserts, climatically.[3] The islands' low altitudes do not allow significant precipitation, and what little freshwater flows over the islands/islets are filtered away through the porous sediments.
The scientific and natural interest of this tiny group of islands lies in its marine biodiversity, its unique flora and many avian species that breed annually on its rock cliffs or use them on their stopover on normal migratory patterns. About 3% of the 9000 species of birds are marine species, the remaining are migratory species. The abundance of birds on the islands, at one time, made the islands an attractive hunting area for peoples of the region. At the end of the 19th century the German naturalist Ernst Schmitz noted that 20–22,000 Cory's Shearwaters were hunted in September or October in the islands;[7] the hunts continued until 1967. Madeiran expeditions to the islands were responsible for the killing of juvenile birds, for food, while their down was used to stuff pillows and comforters. Presently the islands are home or stopover for: Cory's Shearwaters (approximately 14,000), White-faced Storm-petrel (12,000), Bulwer's Petrel (500), North Atlantic Little Shearwater (500), Madeiran Storm-petrel (1000), Yellow-legged Gull, the Roseate Tern and Berthelot's Pipit; which are subjects of annual scientific expeditions. Many of theses species are vulnerable to local predators, primarily from populations of brown rat and predatory bird species, like the Yellow-legged Gull, which will consume the eggs and/or young of birds (the White-faced Storm-petrel and Bulwer's Petrel are primarily susceptible). These islands also have many endemic fauna species, including local snails and the unique gecko Tarentola boettgeri bischoffi.
As a consequence of limited introduction, more than 100 species of indigenous plants have been cataloged (most creeping plants and bushes). These plants are similar in many respects to indigenous species on the islands of Maderia and the Canaries, who are better suited to dry arid environments. Germination of these species occurs immediately and briefly after annual showers, and include: Erva-gelada, Lotus salvagensis and Lotus paicae (species of the Fabaceae family), Chrysanthemum sarmentoi, Scilla maderensis, Argyranthemum thalassophilum and the Lobularia canariensis. Selvagem Pequena and the Fora Islet are the richest floral repositories, since they were never populated by non-indigenous animals or plants. For a period, some indigenous plants (primarily Roccella tinctoria and other lichens of the family Nemari) were harvested from the islands to support the dye industry of Europe (primarily to England and Flanders in the 15th and 16th Centuries, but these adventures were discontinued later.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau once found what he believed was "the cleanest waters in the world" around this minor archipelago; there is an abundance of marine activity, many endemic to the environment, including the Barred hogfish, puffer fish Tetraodontidae, the Sea Spider and many species of Sea urchin. At depth of about 30 m the waters around the islands/islets are teeming with algae and many species of migratory species of common fish, from the islands of Cape Verde, Maderia and the Canaries routinely
Although there are commercial tours of the islands and their biomes are available, all visitors require special authorization from the Madeira Natural Park, the regional environmental authority.[1]
There is evidence suggesting that the existence of these islands was known from early times. They were first indicated on a Venetian chart attributed to the Pizzigani brothers dated from 1367.[8] The islands are considered to be a column branch that extends from Canary Islands at a 3,000 m (9,843 ft) depth.
Although the Canary Islands had been inhabited by a primitive population (the Guanches) human beings have never been known to set foot in the Madeira archipelago or the Savage Islands before the Portuguese discoveries and expansion.[3] Thus, this island group presented itself to Portuguese navigators authentically uninhabited.
The islands were colonized by Portugal, probably in 1438 (some decades after the discovery); however, we do not know the exact date and the name of the colonizer. The eldest retained description of the colonization was written around 1463 by the Portuguese mariner Diogo Gomes de Sintra. Gomes wrote that the islands were used to collect "ursellam", as a base for red paint; "ursellam" stands for lichens of the scientific families Roccellaceae and Parmeliaceae.[3][9] In those days, the Savage Islands, along with the Madeira archipelago, belonged to Henry the Navigator, the Grandmaster of the Order of Christ, the Portuguese successor of the Knights Templar. However, the islands are omitted in some lists of possessions of the Order. The Portuguese historian João de Barros includes them in the Canary Archipelago and Gaspar Frutuoso in the second edition of his work Saudades da Terra mentions "These islands, known as Selvagens, apparently were discovered by Castilians, have Castilian owner, as also Madeira and Azores archipelagos (...) which will belong to this glorious and powerful Catholic King, the greatest in the world". This was a convenient addition to the first edition, certainly not made by Frutuoso, with the purpose to flatter King Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal), during the period in which Portugal was in a personal union with the Spanish crown (1580–1640).
What is certain is that during the 16th century the Savage Islands belonged to a family from Madeira known as Teixeiras Caiados.[3] How they found themselves under Caiados control is unknown. In 1560 they were given to João Cabral de Noronha.[3] After 1717 they are recorded in wills, inheritances, inventories and other documents. Between 1774 and 1831 taxes were paid to the King. The islands were also recorded in the books of Conservatória do Registo Predial of Funchal.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, the islands were used for different economic activities, such as collecting barilla weed and shells and molusks. The islands - although uninhabited - were also used as a basepoint for fishing. Goats and rabbits were hunted on Selvagem Grande. Until about 1967, in September or October, there were "organized" hunts for the chicks of the Cory's Shearwaters for their oil and meat.[10]
The islands have a reputation as "pirate's treasure islands" and there are many stories of treasure hunting. According to reliable primary documents, at least four times (in 1813, 1851, 1856 and 1948), serious dig attempts were made to recover the supposed treasures but nothing was found.[11]
In 1904 the islands were sold to Luís Rocha Machado.
The Permanent Commission of International Maritime Law gave sovereignty of the Savage Islands to Portugal on February 15, 1938.
In 1959, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) became interested in the islands and signed a contract-promise with the owner, Luís Rocha Machado. In 1971 the Portuguese government intervened and acquired the islands, converting them into a nature reserve. The Savage Islands Reserve was created as part of the Madeira Natural Park; it is one of the oldest nature reserves of Portugal and it also includes the surrounding shelf to a depth of 200 m. In 1976, permanent surveillance began, and in 1978 the reserve was elevated to the status of Nature Reserve.
In 2002, part of the nature reserve was nominated to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. They are currently included in the tentative World Heritage Site list.
Today the Savage Islands have a permanent team of wardens from Madeira Natural Park (On Selvagem Grande there is a permanent research station with two wardens year around while Selvagem Pequena is manned usually by two wardens between May and October). These are the only human inhabitants on the islands.
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