This is an unusually large doll. Purchased for $5.00 including shipping from an English Ebay vendor, Andrew Cox, September 2002.

The Madeira Archipelago is situated between latitude 32º22’20" and 33º7’50" with its longitude between 16º16’30W and 17º16’38"W. The island of Madeira has a surface area of 459 square miles (741 km2), (35 miles long and 13 miles wide). The island is 310 miles from the African coast and 620 miles from the European continent, which is the equivalent of a 1 hour 30 minute flight from Lisbon. The archipelago, discovered by the Portuguese in 1418, is made up of the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo and the uninhabited islands of Selvagens and Desertas

255 000 people live on these islands according to data collected in 2001. Half of the population lives in the capital. Population density is very high, reaching 337 inhabitants/sq km in Madeira and 112 per sq km in Porto Santo.

Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal. Autonomy was granted soon after the revolution of the 25th April 1974, that swept away the last vestiges of the Salazar dictatorship, that had governed mainland Portugal, the islands and the colonies since 1928. The level of autonomy is ever changing and ever disputed, but is ultimately decided upon by the Assembleia da Republica that sits in Lisbon.