Porto Santo was the first island to be discovered by the Portuguese during the voyages of discovery ordered by Prince Henry the Navigator in 1418. Knowledge of the island, however, already existed, given that it was first documented in the Atlas Medici, in around 1370, with the name "porto sco".
It was as a noble envoy from the house of Prince Dom João that Bartolomeu Perestrelo is believed to have been granted command of the occupation of the island. This position was legitimised by a letter endowing him with the captaincy of the island, dated November 1, 1446. From his marriage to Dona Isabel de Moniz a daughter was born, Filipa de Moniz, who was later to marry Christopher Columbus. The marriage is thought to have taken place either in 1479 or 1480. According to Brother Bartolomé de Las Casas, the couple went to live in Madeira and Porto Santo. According to the same source, it was here that the couple’s only child, Diogo, was born in 1482.
Diogo never joined his father on his voyages to the Caribbean. On the death of Columbus, on May 20, 1506, Diogo received all the titles, posts and privileges established under the Santa Fé agreement of April 17, 1492. Diogo Columbus died on February 24, 1523.
The Columbus House is intended to serve as the museum headquarters for a wider series of references charting the history of Porto Santo.
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