Following the settlement of the Madeira archipelago, Prince Henry promoted the introduction and cultivation of sugarcane in 1425. The successful adaptation of the species and the massive production and export of sugar throughout Europe , dictated the development of a prosperous commercial cycle.
The growing needs of local communities, including devotional ones, stimulated commercial exchanges. From the cities of Bruges, Louvain, Brussels and Antwerp, in the Flanders region, where Madeira's sugar was sold, works of art were imported – paintings, sculptures, liturgical implements, vestments and funerary plaques.