en 
The statue of the navigator Christopher Columbus placed in Santa Catarina park, in Funchal, was knocked down from its location and vandalised at dawn on 26 July, said a source from the office of the mayor of the municipality.
The same source added that “at first glance, it had just been knocked over”, adding that the statue “has some cracks.”
The statue of the explorer was made in 1940 before being placed at its current location in 1968.
Columbus passed through Madeira on three occasions during his voyages to the Americas, having docked there in 1475, 1480 and 1492.
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Tearing down statues will not expunge history nor will it rewrite history. Persons who partake in this despicable act are no better than savages who should be deported to a desolate island and join the ignoramus degenerates who have done the same in other countries. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
By Armando from Other on 27 Jul 2020, 13:12
They are terrorists and should be treated as such!
Shoot them with 'real' bullets.
By Ron H Mainor from USA on 27 Jul 2020, 17:59
Statues are insignificant and will rot away along with the rest of civilization, in the grand scheme of things. Those who are angered or mourn over a statue are attached more to the meaning of the statute than the sculpture itself. I find it strange, therefore, to expend human emotion and energy over an inanimate object.
P.S. please sign the petition sponsored by this website to open an air bridge between Portugal and the UK!
By Raquel from USA on 27 Jul 2020, 18:47
Destroying statues and public property is a terrorist act and should render long prison sentences. If the culprits are immigrants they should be expelled for life.
By Fredrik the Viking from Algarve on 27 Jul 2020, 22:52
Disgusting! Whoever did this should be arrested and charged with damaging public property! This is part of our history - the good and the bad!
By Anna from Madeira on 28 Jul 2020, 00:12
Columbus wasn't the first to discover the New World. Indigenous people had been living there for centuries by the time he arrived in 1492 and Leif Eriksson and the Vikings beat him to it five centuries earlier.
He enslaved the natives during his voyages through the Caribbean islands and the Central and South American coasts, Columbus came upon indigenous people that he labeled "Indians."
Columbus and his men enslaved many of these native people and treated them with extreme violence and brutality,
I think people need to go back to elementary school and do proper research before calling savages and ignoramus degenerates to those who are fighting for equality and awareness.
By Vania from Madeira on 28 Jul 2020, 02:03
Amanda, fantastic comments you made. Im on your side and completely agree with you
By Ian McBride from Madeira on 28 Jul 2020, 10:44
What is the point of attacking a statue? It does not change history.
By Maurice Reed from UK on 28 Jul 2020, 12:10
Please open the airbrushed between the UK and madeira
By Kathleen Scawen from UK on 28 Jul 2020, 14:35
Only three times... I fell in love with Madeira and visited 5 times. If it weren't for the Chinese virus, I was going to go this August????
By J제롬 from Other on 28 Jul 2020, 18:03
Vânia, you are absolutely right. People should be a little bit more (in) formed before making some affirmations. It is time to right a proper history.
Those defending Colombo, it is like saying that the French invasions or the Filipes have "discovered" Portugal and having statues of those invasores all over Portugal...
A pity that the mayor doesn't understand that.... Portugal still desconected from the rest of the world.
By Rui from Madeira on 28 Jul 2020, 18:19
...and Armando... you should know and remember the past in a proper way for not keeping repeating the same mistakes. If you put at the bottom of the statue something that Colombo discovered America thinking he was in India, killed, maltreated and enslaved indigenous people, he should not be considered an hero, I might agree with you.
... Of course you don't understand how offensive saying to native Americans, Africans, Indians, Japon or Chinese people that we have discovered them. Offensive, arrogant and stupid.
There are better ways to portray the Portuguese maritime expansion, with it's terrible consequences and also good deeds. All within respect to the other nations and cultures cultures that we have influenced and we were influenced by.
The thear down of Colombo's statue might be a begining of that needed discussion.
By Rui from Madeira on 28 Jul 2020, 18:42
It is sad and shame page in the history. I live in Columbus, Ohio in the city that named in honor of the great Christopher Columbus. The statue also was removed. Now the radical lefts require to rename the city.
By Anatoly Chernyshev from USA on 29 Jul 2020, 17:00
Having a statue of a guy that was sacked by the Portuguese courts and then went to work for the Spanish kingdom, not only that he arrived on a continent by a chance its beyond ridiculous. We had far better and more accurate navigators like Vasco da Gama who left Portugal and arrived in India, the first European to do so, which we should have his statues everywhere on Portuguese territory. Christopher Colombo is not a Portuguese hero, therefore i do not see why we should erect statues of the man.
By paulo from Other on 30 Jul 2020, 04:23