what is meant by this first term you used in your answer just now?
an island group or island chain
Archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
what factors contributed to the creation of the time period we call the middle ages It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. what is this last thing you mentioned? It  is an informal and loosely defined term for the period in European history in which extensive overseas exploration, led by the Portuguese, emerged as a powerful factor in European culture, most notably the European rediscovery of the Americas. was any ship used for this exploration? yes can you name some of its explorers? João Gonçalves Zarco. who was he in general? He was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator who all first settled here in this island? Portuguese what is the actual location of this island? It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, just under to the north of the Canary Islands and west of Morocco.
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Archipelago [SEP] Introduction
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Indonesia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Galápagos Islands, Japan, the Philippines, Maldives, the Balearic Isles, the Bahamas, the Aegean Islands, Hawaii, the Canary Islands, Malta, the Azores, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Archipelago Sea (Finland) and the Shetland Islands are all examples of well-known archipelagos. They are sometimes defined by political boundaries. The Gulf archipelago off the north-eastern Pacific coast forms part of a larger archipelago that geographically includes Washington state's San Juan islands.