The history of the Azores is linked to non-official exploration during the period of the late 13th century, resulting in maps, such as the Genoves Atlas Medici from 1351, mentioning obscure islands in an undefined Atlantic archipelago. The Medici Atlas refers to an Insula Corvi Marini (Island of the Marine Crow; Marine Crow is the literal translation of “Corvo Marinho”, which is the Portuguese name for Cormorant), in a seven island archipelago, but it is improbable that it refers specifically to Corvo, although the island’s name could have originated from this atlas. It is likely that the name referred to the two islands of Corvo and Flores, which also appeared on the later Aragonese Mapa Catalão of 1375.

The navigator Diogo de Teive discovered both islands of the Western Group on his 1452 return from the Banks of Newfoundland following his second voyage of exploration. Subsequently, the Portuguese Court when referring to the new Ilhas das Flores(Islands of Flowers) began to identify Corvo as Ilha de Santa Iria (Island of Saint Irene), but other nautical charts continued to refer to this island as Ilhéu das Flores (Islet of Flowers), Ilha da Estátua (Island of the Statute), Ilha do Farol (Island of the Lighthouse) or Ilha de São Tomás (Island of Saint Thomas). For a while it was also known as Ilha do Marco (Island of the Mark), which was attributed to its reference as a geographic marker for sailors, or, likely, the location of a small promontory where a marker was placed, which received the name Ponta do Marco.

Settlement of the island occurred unsuccessfully in the intervening years; it was not until 1580 when a permanent settlement became viable.

A religious parish of Corvo was finally constituted in 1674, and then on 20 June 1832, integrated into a functioning civilian administration.

There is one urban center on the island: Vila do Corvo. Principally, it is a collection of many residential homes, interspersed with commercial businesses located on the southern one-third of the island. Functionally, by law, Vila do Corvo is the only Portuguese top-level municipality without a civil parish. The urbanized area is divided between the village, the Corvo Aerodrome, and the island’s ports (being the primary links to the other islands in the archipelago). The lands immediately around the settlement are small zones along the eastern coast (Quintas and Fojo) that can sustain cultivation of some crops and fruit trees, and where some older trees have survived settlement; the best pasture-lands are located in the north in the zone of Terras Altas.

Some early accounts existed of the “(seven) islands of the Azores and two islands of Flores” (referring to the islands of Flores and Corvo), but no “official discovery” occurred until the mid-15th century. The island of Flores was discovered in the late summer of 1452 by the navigator Diogo de Teive and his son João de Teive, and first noted by the pilot Pêro Velasco to Christopher Columbus during his voyages. For his reward, Teive received the concession of the sugar monopoly on Madeira.

The earlier names of the island were São Tomás (after Thomas Becket of Canterbury, not to be confused with Saint Thomas, which in Portuguese is spelled Tomé) and Santa Iria (English: Saint Iria). The island’s charter passed to Fernão Telles de Meneses when little was accomplished in populating the islands, except for disembarking some sheep (1475). The death of Fernão Telles (1477) was to initiate exploration and settlement on the island, as his widow (Dona Maria de Vilhena) would contract the Flemish nobleman Willem van der Haegen to explore Flores and Corvo.

After meeting with Dona Maria Vilhena (who administered the island in the name of her young son, Rui de Teles), Van der Haegen came to an agreement and moved to the island between 1480 and 1490. Van der Haegen had arrived in the Azores in 1469, and lived for a time on Faial Island by invitation of the first Captain of Faial, Josse van Huerter. Following disagreements with van Huerter over land holdings, Van de Haegen settled in Quatro Ribeiras, Terceira until journeying to Ribeira da Cruz on Flores during the reign of King John II. The historians Gaspar Frutuoso and Diogo das Chagas noted that Van der Haegen cultivated lands (primarily for wheat export) and was involved in the indigo/woad industry, as well as exploring for mineral deposits (likely silver). Due to its isolated location outside shipping lanes, its intemperate climate and infertile lands he left Flores 10 years later to resettle in Terceira, by way of São Jorge Island. At the time, the name of the island was Corvo.

According to Bartolomé de las Casas, two dead bodies that looked like those of Amerindians were found on Flores. He said he found that fact in Columbus’ notes, and it was one reason why Columbus presumed that India was on the other side of the ocean.

By 1504 the island’s charter passed to João Fonseca and settlers streamed through the port of Armoeira to the small hamlets. The island became permanently populated during the reign of King Manuel I, in the year 1510, by people from various regions of continental Portugal, but mainly from the northern provinces. The island became arable, and grain and vegetables were cultivated. Over the next centuries, the inhabitants lived in isolated parts of the island and were visited by vessels from Faial and Terceira came infrequently to tradewhale oil, butter and honey for other products, or those caravels that stopped en route to Europe.^[3] Several of the main communities and local sites were named for settlers of this mid-century period, including Santa Cruz, Lajes and Ponta Delgada.

The name of the island of Flores has been made familiar to generations of English readers by the quotation: “At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay…”, which is the opening line of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s epic poem, “The Revenge, A Ballad of the Fleet”. On 9 September 1591, a small English fleet of six ships under Lord Thomas Howard was anchored in the bay of Ribeira da Cruz in Flores, and was surprised by 53 ships under Alfonso de Bazán. The English ships were part of a naval patrol intended to intercept Spanish ships from the Americas, and were under repair and re-provisioning when the Spanish ships appeared. Five of the English ships slipped out to sea to the west of Corvo, but the Revenge (under Sir Richard Grenville) waited for her sick crew, many of whom had an epidemic of fever, to be returned from the shore, then decided to go straight through the approaching Spanish lines from the east. Revenge fought the Spanish ships for fifteen hours, resisting multiple attempts to board her. Her fatally wounded captain eventually ordered her to be scuttled, (“Sink me the ship, Master Gunner — sink her, split her in twain! / Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain!”) but her crew instead negotiated an honourable surrender. (“And the stately Spanish men to their flagship bore him then,/ Where they laid him by the mast, old Sir Richard caught at last,/ And they praised him to his face with their courtly foreign grace…”). The “Battle of Flores” as it was known culminated in the death of Grenville two days later, and the Revenge became the only English ship to be captured during the Elizabethan conflict. But the ship never reached Spain; it foundered during a storm near Terceira and went down with 200 Spaniards, along with several other Spanish ships.

Despite the isolation, the waters of Flores were frequently raided by pirates. Sir Walter Raleigh the English privateer was one of the early profiteers;^{[citation needed]} he captured, after a bitter battle, the Portuguese carrack Madre de Deus laden with tonnes of spices, precious gems and pearls, equivalent to half the public finances of the English court. Unusual for its time, the Madre de Deus was three times the capacity of a normal English brig, and the pirates towed it to the port of Dartmouth rather than destroying the ship. The pirate Peter Easton, who commanded a fleet of 40 privateers, made Flores a regular port-of-call, provisioning meat, water and kindling for his travels and supposedly getting married to a daughter of the Captaincy of Flores. Doubly inconvenienced with the damages caused by this pirate’s ships and with the complicity of local Florentines, Philip II of Portugal (Philip III of Spain) ordered, on July 30, 1611, the necessary means taken to capture Pirate Admiral Peter Easton. He was never captured, although the local Florentine magistrate and Captain were arrested.

From the 1760s to the early 20th century, American whalers hunted sperm whales in the waters of the Azores, and many of the islands’ inhabitants were recruited as whalers. The American whaler, Wanderer, operated off the coast of Flores between 1878 and 1924.

The CSS Alabama, an American Confederate States Navy ship, was the most prolific privateer in the waters off Flores, responsible for 69 sinkings in the course of two years beginning in the summer of 1862. Between 5 and 18 September of 1862 it was responsible for capturing and setting ablaze the schooner Starlight, along with whalers off the coast of Flores.

The island’s isolation has been remedied during the 20th century, first with the installation of telegraph services, then the establishment of Radio-Flores (1909), and later with point-to-point telephone communication (1925). Service between the island and the rest of the archipelago was handled by small sailing ships until the beginning of the century, with ships such as the 36 ton yacht Santa Cruz or 80 ton yacht Flores, until the latter was lost in the bay of Porto Pim, Horta, Faial during a storm.

In July 1962, the French laid the foundations for a missile tracking installation on the island, which was inaugurated in October 1966. In the following years, a hospital, a power station and an airport were established, which brought a financial upswing to the entire island. After the French left the island in 1994, tourism became the island’s dominant industry.

With its nearest neighbours, Pico (east across the channel) and São Jorge (northeast across the channel), it forms an area commonly known as the Trianglo (English:Triangle). The island has also referred to as the Ilha Azul (English: Blue Island), derived from the writings of Portuguese poet Raul Brandão, due to the large quantity of hydrangeas that bloom during the summer months:

“The man that had the idea to border the road with these plants should have a statue on the island. In no other place, do they prosper better: they need a covering of light, humidity and heat…they are in their place. Their blue, is the blue that adorns the Azores on lipid days…this is a blue that is even more blue, the bunches of flowers of a colour more intense and more fresh. They are in every direction: rising along the roads and the fields forming hedges; they serve to divide the parcels and to cover the peaceful animals.”

—Raul Brandão, As Ilhas Desconhecidas (1926), p.33

After depositing herds on the island in the first half of the 15th Century, the first colonies were formed around 1460 from settlers from the north of Portugal (by way of Terceira and Graciosa). Its first Captain-Donatário was Álvaro de Ornelas, but who never took up his role on the island, as it was incorporated into Captaincy of Faial. Lajes was its first entitled village, closely followed by São Roque in 1542. Its settlers were initially occupied with wheat cultivation in addition to the exploration of the woad industry (based on lichens that were exported to Flanders to produce commercial dyes), and heavily influenced by export industries of its island neighbor, Faial.

Quickly, the viticulture industry, helped by the rich soils and micro-climates had allowed to expand the lands cultivating grapes. Its development would occur uninterrupted along the margins of history except for volcanic eruptions during the 18th Century; the viticulture and “orange cycle” would expand the activities on the island throughout the period. In 1723 Madalena is elevated to the status of “town”, confirming its economic importance to the island, and its commercial links to Faial (Horta had been the residence of many of the island’s property-owners and winemakers). Pico’s famous verdelho, for more than two centuries, was appreciated in many countries (including England and in the Americas and even reached the palaces of the Russian czars). But, the spread of powdery mildew and phylloxera during the middle of the 19th Century destroyed many of the vineyards creating a crisis on the island that lasted until the 20th Century.

The presence of American whalers in the waters of the Azores introduced a new economy at the end of the 18th Century that would serve to stabilize the economy, until new casts were introduced on the island. Whaling became the primary industry around the island until the 1970s.

In 1427, São Miguel became the second of the islands discovered by Gonçalo Velho Cabral to be settled by colonists from continental Portugal. This date is uncertain, as it is believed that the island was discovered between 1426 and 1437 and inscribed in portolans from the middle of the 14th century. Its discovery was later recorded by Father Gaspar Frutuoso in the seminal history of the Azores, Saudades da Terra, as he began: “This island of São Miguel where…we are, is mountainous and covered in ravines, and it was, when we discovered it, covered in trees…due to its humidity, with its water showers and ravines warm with sun…”

It was sometime after the initial settlement of Povoação Velha (on the southeastern coast) that (between 1439-1444) a volcanic eruption occurred in the crater of Sete Cidades (then uninhabited). There are no records of the precise date, but Gaspar Frutuoso noted that navigators returning to São Miguel (soon after its discovery) encountered the western part of the island completely changed and tree trunks and pumice stone floating in the waters around the island. After docking in Povoação, the settlers reported feeling tremors and aftershocks; “…those settlers living in their earthen holes of straw and hay, heard almost within a year a great loud noise, roars and snorts that came from the earth with large tremors still proceeded the subversion and fire from the peak that had disappeared.”

In the early 15th century, Infante D. Henrique first authorized the settlement of the Azores, and many settlers from the historical provinces of Estremadura, Alto Alentejo, Algarve and Madeira travelled to São Miguel, under the Carta Régia (a decree of the regency). The fertile soils and temperate climate attracted settlers from other countries, notably French peopleand cultural minorities such as Jews and some Moors. Its geographic position and fertile soils permitted rapid economic development. The establishment of a military garrison made the island an obligatory port-of-call in the African and Asian commercial trade, while the export of sugar, and later orchil (a dye exported to Flanders for the making of cloth) stabilized the island’s export trade.

The first capital of the island was Vila Franca do Campo, which was devastated by a major earthquake and landslides in 1522. The tragedy helped to elevate Ponta Delgada to the administrative and economic status of capital and business centre from 1546.

During the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, the people from São Miguel won the naval Battle of Vila Franca against a French squadron that supported the claims of the pretender António, Prior of Crato.

During this time, the volcano Fogo 2 erupted, destroying the capital city and causing the death of 250 people.

With the Portuguese Restoration War (1640), the island regained its position as a commercial centre, establishing new contacts in Brazil, which was heavily colonized during this period. Some of the island’s historic buildings, including mansions and churches, date from this period; the island’s architectural expansion and developed came from revenues from the export of oranges, mainly to Great Britain.

In 1831, during the Liberal Wars, following the landing of troops loyal to Queen Maria II in Nordeste (sent by future Duke of Terceira), a resistance to the Absolutist regime on the Island was organized. In 1832, this militia declared allegiance to the Charter (constitutional monarchy) and Queen Maria, forming a contingent that sailed to the continent where they were involved in the liberation of Porto.

Following the Liberal Wars, the period of Devourism allowed the economy to flourish, and the port of Ponta Delgada expanded, through the export of new crops such as tea, pineapple, and tobacco. The development of the fishing industry, cultivation of food staples and expansion of the dairy industry permitted the growth of many of the population centres on the island.

Following the Carnation Revolution, the island received the seat of the Presidency of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, located in Ponta Delgada, while its economic, social and political importance continued to grow within the archipelago.

The first records of a group of islands in the Atlantic (aside from the legends of Atlantis) came from the voyages of Portuguese sailors during the reigns of King Denis(1279–1325) and his successor King Afonso IV (1325–1357). These were unsubstantiated accounts and unofficial, until 1427 when navigator Diogo de Silves found the island of Santa Maria (at that time referred to on nautical charts as Ilha dos Lobos or Ilha do Ovo) during his journey to Madeira. Myth tells that on the day of the islands discovery, Gonçalo Velho Cabral and his crew were celebrating mass (on the feast day of the Virgin Mary), when one of the lookouts spotted the distant island, declaring “Santa Maria”: this name would become linked permanently to the island. Santa Maria’s discovery was attributed to Gonçalo Velho Cabral in 1432 (rather than the pilot Silves), since discoveries were not “recognized officially” until they declared so by the Portuguese Crown, who registered them in Cabral’s name, as commander of the voyage (he had already commanded two voyages of exploration in 1431-1432).

According to legend Cabral’s crew disembarked on a small beach in the northwestern Ponte dos Canestrantes, where he encountered a population of Eared seals, proclaiming the beach Praia dos Lobos (from the generic Portuguese lobos-marinhos, or monk seals ). The Captain and his crew explored the island, collecting various examples of the native and unfamiliar plants, as well as canisters of earth and water to give to the Infante as proofs to their discovery. The Infante received these “gifts” in 1432, and immediately ordered that herds be sent to the island, while he organized a plan for its colonization. In settling the Azores, the crown applied a system that was successful on the island of Madeira in 1425: the new lands would be administered by title grants (donatário) to a noblemen and men of confidence (donatary-captains) that would oversee security and colonization, while enforcing the King’s law. The master or Donatário for the Azores was the Infante Henry the Navigator (in his role as governor of the Order of Christ and Duke of Viseu), who was granted carte blanche to enforce the King’s dominion (except to coin money and some judicial authority). The donatário also had the responsibility of selecting or sub-contracting local administrators to represent him, as some historians referred to as captains of the donatary; for his part, Gonçalo Velho, with the support of D. Isabella, was nominated the first captain of the island of Santa Maria and (later) São Miguel, where he arrived in 1439 with colonists, bringing their families and some cattle. By 1460, the chronicler Diogo Gomes de Sintra identified the island as Ilha de Gonçalo Velho, with the choicest lands in the hands of their commander.

Colonization progressed between 1443 and 1447, principally from settlers from the Portuguese Alentejo and Algarve, who populated the northern coast along the Baía dos Anjos (English: Bay of the Angels) and later in the area of Vila do Porto (in the southwest coast). This area would attain the title of Vila do Porto for the nestled anchorage that developed there, and the municipality would also adopt the name, by 1470 (as indicated on their floral). By the end of the 16th century, Santa Maria was divided into three parishes: Nossa Senhora da Assunção (Vila do Porto), Santa Bárbara and Santo Espírito. The governing classes, the families which controlled the politico-administrative organs of the municipality and parishes were all intermingled by marriage and class, and after the Iberian Union this concentration increased.

Similar to other islands of the archipelago, Santa Maria was a victim of repeated attacks by privateers and pirates. In one of the principal engagements, a Castiliancarrack with 40 men disembarked in the port of Vila do Porto (in 1480), where they were confronted by residents under the command of the Captain-Major João Soares(nephew of Gonçalo Velho and heir to the Captaincy of Santa Maria and São Miguel), who took to hurl rocks from the cliffs above Calhau da Roupa at the invaders. João Soares was eventually captured by the Spaniards, who took him in irons as a prisoner to Castile. After successive pirate attacks, the population was very hostile to travellers: the travelling Christopher Columbuswas greeted harshly by its residents, when he and his crew disembarked in the Baía dos Anjos (in February 1493) on their return from their famous “discovery” of the New World. Several of his crew were captured, and complex negotiations were undertaken to liberate the same. Thankful for their liberation, a mass was celebrated by him and his party in the old chapel before he returned to Spain. Although relatively far from the routes used by ships traveling to India, the island was repeatedly attacked by French pirates (1553), the island assaulted by French troops (1576), the English (1589) and Moors (1616 and 1675). By the 17th Century, a series of fortifications were constructed along the coast to defend the populace from these attacks, including the Fort of São Brás (Vila do Porto) and the (ruined) Fort of São João Baptista in Praia Formosa.

When the 1580 crisis of succession ushered in the Iberian Union in Portugal, the island initially supported António of Crato, but with pressure from Philip II of Spain in the Azores, António declined even to disembark in Santa Maria. During this period, the island came to depend on the Governor General of the Azores. After the Portuguese Restoration War (1640), the news was greeted with celebrations and excesses by the Captain-Major Brás de Sousa.

During the Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834) the citizens supported the rights of Maria II to the throne of Portugal, which differed immensely from the Governor General of the Azores (on the island of São Miguel) who supported Miguel. The Captain-major even attempted to raise arms from Terceira, insofar as sending a carrack to collect the weapons. In the interim, the São Miguel administration changed sides in the conflict. By the following year, several Marienses joined the expeditionary force disembarking on the continent along Arnosa de Pampelido beach (near Mindelo, Vila do Conde) during one of the crucial battles of the Civil War.

]]> http://www.azores.theperfecttourist.com/?feed=rss2&p=3682 0 http://www.azores.theperfecttourist.com/?p=3679 http://www.azores.theperfecttourist.com/?p=3679#comments Sun, 24 May 2015 15:37:54 +0000 http://www.azores.theperfecttourist.com/?p=3679 Terceira also referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” (the “lilac” or “violet” island), is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km². It is the location of the historical capital of the archipelago, the Azores’ oldest city and UNESCO Heritage Site (Angra do Heroísmo), the seat of the judicial system (Supreme Court), main base of the Azores Air Zone Command (Commando da Zona Aérea dos Açores) Base Aérea nº 4 and to a United States Air Force detachment.

A small number of Hypogea (earthen structures carved into rocks, that were used for burials) were discovered on the island of Terceira, indicating a history of settlement that may date back 2000 years, and alluding to a presence on the island before the Portuguese.

Historically, there has been uncertainty in the date and the discoverer associated with the islands of the Azores. Nautical charts before the “official” discovery identified islands in the Atlantic Ocean as far back as 1325, when a chart by Angelino Dalorto identified “Bracile” west of Ireland, and later one by Angelino Dulcert which identifies the Canaries, and Madeira, along with mysterious islands denominated as “Capraria” (whom some historians suggest were São Miguel and Santa Maria). Legends also persisted of Atlantis, Sete Cidades (Kingdoms of the Seven Cities), the Terras of São Brandão, theIlhas Aofortunadas (The Fortunate Islands), the Ilha da Brasil (the Island of Brasil), Antília, the Ilhas Azuis (Blue Islands), the Terra dos Bacalhaus (Land of Codfish), and charts appeared between 1351 and 1439 of several groupings of islands with various names. The first association between the modern island of Terceira and these stories, was that of the island of Brasil; it first appears as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436), attached to one of the larger islands of a group of islands in the Atlantic.

In 1439 the first official discovery document appeared attributing the discovery of the Formigas islets, to Gonçalo Velho Cabral.^[5] There is an indication that Terceira may have been discovered by Vicente de Lagos, the Velho Cabral’s pilot, on 1 January 1445: the first documents after this period started appearing with a third island in the Azorean archipelago, referred to as the Ilha de Jesus Cristo (Island of Jesus Christ), and later, Ilha de Jesus Cristo da Terceira. Gaspar Frutuoso, a chronicler and humanist, would later rationalize about the island’s first name, noting that:

• it was discovered on the first day of January, traditionally the feast day of the name of Jesus;
• it was discovered by a captain in the Order of Christ;
• it was discovered on a Thursday or Friday, on Corpo de Deus (Body of Christ); or
• because it was part of the dioceses of Angra, through the invocation of San Salvador (although this implies that a dioceses existed prior to its discovery).

Regardless, it was only a temporary name, as the colloquial Terceira (meaning “third” in Portuguese, as in “the third island” or “third to be discovered”) was used more often to describe the island.

The colonization of the island began by decree of Infante D. Henrique (dated 21 March 1450), and placed the island in the administrative hands of the Flem Jácome de Bruges. Its first settler was Fernão d’Ulmo, a Flem or Frenchman, who later abandoned his plot, for unknown reasons. Bruges, although a Flemish nobleman continued to bring families and settlers from Flanders and northern Portuguese (João Coelho, from Guimarães; João da Ponte, from Aveiro; João Bernardes, from Lagos; João Leonarde, from Vieira; and Gonçalo Anes da Fonseca, from Porto), adventurers, as well as animals and provisions, disembarking in the area of Porto Judeu or Pesqueiro dos Meninos, near Ribeira Seca (depending on sources). Gaspar Frutuoso also affirmed that:

…that ancient settlers of the island of Terceira, that were the first to settle in a band to the north, where they call Quatro Ribeiras, where now the parish of Santa Beatriz is located, and where the first church existed on the island, but were few settlers remained due to difficult access and bad port.

The first settlement occurred in Quatro Ribeiras, in the locality of Portalegre, where a small chapel was raised for the invocation of Santa Ana. Bruges made return trips to Flanders for new settlers to his colony. On one of his trips to Madeira he conscripted Diogo de Teive and assigned him as his Lieutenant and Overseer for the island of Terceira. A few years later, Brugues moved his residence to Praia, began construction on the Matriz Church in 1456, and administered the Captaincy of the island from this location (around 1460), until he mysteriously disappeared in 1474, on another of his trips between the colony and the continent.^[6] Following his disappearance, the Infanta D. Beatriz, in the name of her son the Infante D. Diogo (who inherited the islands of Terceira and Graciosa following the death D. Fernando, the adopted son of the Infante D. Henrique) divided the island of Terceira into two captaincies: Angra (which was given to João Vaz Corte Real) and Praia (which was given to Álvaro Martins Homem). Apart from the Portuguese and Flemish settlers, colonists from Madeira, many slaves from Africa, new Christians and Jews populated the island at this time, developing new commercial ventures including wheat (exported during the 15th century throughout the empire), sugar-cane, woad (for the dye industry) and woods (principally for the naval construction industries). This development would continue until the end of the 19th century, with the introduction of new products, including tea, tobacco and pineapple.

During the 1580 Dynastic Crisis, the Azores was the only portion of the Portuguese overseas empire to resist the Spanish until the summer of 1583. Philip II of Spain had offered an amnesty if the Azores surrender, but his messenger met with a very hostile reception at Angra do Heroísmo (escaping to São Miguel, which had presented its allegiance to the King of Spain). Following the Battle of Ponta Delgada, where Don Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz defeated the Anglo-French supporters of D. António (the pretender to the Portuguese throne) off the coast of São Miguel, the Marquis concentrated his forces at a less defended beach 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Angra do Heroísmo. With a fleet to ninety-six ships and 9,500 men (as well as a garrison of 2,000 on Sao Miguel) the Marquis was able to defeat the forces of D. António after one day’s fighting. Although French and English soldiers on the island were allowed to retire unharmed, D. Antonio and a handful of his supporters were lucky to escape with their lives.

With the acclamation of John IV of Portugal, the Azores applauded the restoration of independence from the Iberian Union. This was not lost on the Spanish settlers in Angra do Heroísmo, who had become a privileged class during the Union, and which made it difficult for them to remain after 1642, when Portuguese sovereignty was restored.

In 1766, the reorganization of system of Captaincies was undertaken, resulting in one Captain-General, with his seat in Angra do Heroísmo for the Azores.

In 1810, a number of journalists and others considered to favor the French, including the industrialist Jácome Ratton, were exiled to the island for a period.

Having embraced the cause of constitutionalism, the local Terceirenses established a Junta Provisória in the name of Queen Maria II of Portugal in 1828. At the outbreak of hostilities between Miguelistas (supporters of the absolute monarchy of Miguel I and the Liberals (supporters of constitutional monarchy installed by King John VI of Portugal) at the Battle of Praia da Vitória in 1829. In a decree, issued on 15 March 1830, Angra was named as Portuguese capital by these constitutional forces, who protected and supported exiled Liberals who supported the rights of Queen Maria II of Portugal, whose rights were usurped by D. Miguel. In 1832, Pedro II (former King and regent of Queen Maria) arrived in the Azores to form a government-in-opposition to the absolutionist regime in Lisbon, presided by the Marques of Palmela, and supported by Azoreans Mouzinho da Silveira and Almeida Garrett that developed many important reforms.

It is unclear when the first explorers discovered the island of São Jorge; as part of the politics of human occupation, the Azores were populated after 1430 (probably 1439) through the initiative of Prince Henry the Navigator. The 23 April, known as the feast day of Saint George, has been cited by historians as the reason for the island’s name, although this is likely conjecture. Genovese and Catalan maps of the 14th century originally designated the long, slender island “São Jorge”, a designation that was maintained by Infante D. Henrique when settlers from northern Europe began to colonize the island (around 1460, or twenty years after it was first sighted).

Although unclear, Azorean chroniclers believe that settlement on the island concentrated around the two communities of Velas and Calheta, and developed into the interior. It was in 1460 that the construction of the first church dedicated to São Jorge occurred in the area of Velas, from the testaments of Infante D. Henrique. What is certain is that the island was populated by the time that João Vaz Corte Real, the Donatary-Captain of Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira) obtained the captaincy of the island, by contract on 4 May 1483. By 1500, the settlement of Velas was elevated from villa to municipality (giving rise to the supposition that Velas was the first center on the island). By 1659, the parochial church had already undergon public restoration, that gave origin the present church in that municipality.

After an unsuccessful adventure to the island of Flores, the Flemish nobleman Willem van der Haegen (later known as Guilherme da Silveira) moved to the area of Topo where he established and founded a local community, in 1480. After living there for several years he died and was buried in the chapel of the Casa dos Tiagos. Topo was eventually elevated to capital of the municipality by 1510, but lost this title to Calheta on June 3, 1534. During this period, the island was wild and many of the roads difficult or non-existent between the communities, resulting in isolated villages located along the coast. Connections between these communities developed by sea, and the better provisioned ports were likely to develop economically. This was the case with Calheta, Urzelina and Velas; the sites, although farther from the Terceira (the towns are located on the opposite coast), were preferred way-points due to secure and sheltered ports, with good anchorage and providing many goods and services. The growth of the population was rapid, and by the mid-17th century, São Jorge had approximately 3000 inhabitants and three towns: Velas, Topo and Calheta. The island demonstrated a strong economic vitality: in addition to wine, corn, and yam, it was also an important exporter of woad to Flanders and other countries in Europe.

The dynastic crisis (1580), caused by the ascension of King Philip II of Spain (King Philip I of Portugal) had consequences on the island, since gentry supported (along with those on Terceira) the pretender to the throne, D. António, Prior of Crato. King D. António reigned on the continent for about twenty days, until he was defeated at the Battle of Alcântra, whereupon he moved his court to Terceira Island and governed in opposition until 1583. The Habsburg-supported King Phillip finally defeated his forces at sea at the Battle of Ponta Delgada between July 25–26, 1582, and the garrisons in São Jorge only capitulated to the forces of Castillo after the fall of Terceira in 1583.

Following 1583, the island experienced a period of relative isolation, partially due to the poor quality of its ports and its limited economic importance. After the Spanish occupation, it was largely abandoned and its inhabitants were left to survive a meager existence. The island did not escape Atlantic piracy: the islanders were subject to attacks by English and French privateers in 1589 and 1590, raiders after 1590 (from theBarbary coast and lands occupied by the Turks) and during the 17th and 18th century (mostly around Calheta). In 1625, the inhabitants of Fajã de São João were captured by pirates and likely sold into slavery. The tranquillity around the island was also broken on September 20, 1708 when the town of Velas was attacked by French pirates under the command of René Duguay-Trouin. The population of the community resisted for twenty-four hours, but eventually the pirates made shore where they disembarked. The resistance, commanded by Sergeant-major Amaro Soares de Sousa, occurred around the village of Banquetas saving the other villages from occupation and pillaging.

Periods of local prosperity or misery occurred in the following years; there were several bad growing seasons and natural catastrophes (such as the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tornados in 1580, 1757, 1808 and 1899) that created famines and hardships. The most famous of these eruptions began in the early morning of May 1, 1808 (Urzelina eruption). Suffocating gases, as well as carboxylic acid, were emitted from a vent along the Manadas ridge and thick greenish vaporous clouds (of chloric and sulfuric acids) rapidly spread to the plants. Eight major tremors were recorded per hour that caused widespread panic. Many of the homes, buildings and cultivatable lands were destroyed. Between 1580 and 1907, at least six significant eruptions occurred; ten people were killed during the 1580 eruption and eight in 1808. In 1850, the island’s vineyards were devastated by the phylloxera plague, which had a terrible affect on the economy until the development of the orange industry (about 1860). The island’s isolation ended after the completion of the ports of Velas and Calheta.

During the Portuguese Civil War, Liberalist forces were stationed on the island after May 10, 1831. Generally, the island’s residents have lived for many years in isolation, interrupted by rare visits from the authorities, commercial boats from the local islands, and the occasional nobleman who has come to contemplate the local scenery.

With the inauguration of its ports, and the airport/aerodrome (April 23, 1982) commercial ventures have grown (especially the export of the local cheese), the expansion of animal husbandry, the fisheries and a small crafts industry.

This viewpoint located at high altitude offers a huge view that is lost in the distance. The view extends to the north and south coasts and inland mountains. Close this viewpoint is the Empadadas Lagoon and the Lagoa Rasa.

Historical eruptions of Pico have occurred from vents on its flanks rather than the summit crater. In 1562–64, an eruption on the southeast flank produced lava flows which reached the sea. Another flank eruption in 1718 also produced flows which reached the coast. The most recent eruption occurred in December 1718.

On 29 September 2009 there were reports from local news sources that indicated that a fumarole existing at the pinnacle of the mountain (Piquinho) began emitting volcanic gas. The region’s seismic and volcanological monitoring centre (Portuguese:CIVISA Centro de Informação e Vigilância Sismovulcânica dos Açores) indicated that the phenomenon occurred in the early morning, turning intense and visible in various points throughout the island and from Faial. Although the event resulted from exceptional meteorological conditions and was visible in the Central Group, there was no liberation of anomalous volcanic gases and all other parameters fell within norms.

Mount Pico is part of the Madalena Volcanic Complex, one of three volcanological units that comprise the island of Pico, associated with three historic eruptions in 1562, 1718 and 1720. Current morphology suggests an age dating to the Holocene age, confirmed by radiocarbon dates younger than 6000 years. Structurally, this complex can be subdivided into two other sections: the Pico Volcano and the East Fissural Zone.

Pico is a stratovolcano, with a pit crater on its summit. Pico Alto the round crater about 500 meters (1,600 ft) in diameter and 30 meters deep tops the volcano, with Piquinho (Pico Pequeno) a small volcanic cone rising 70 meters within it to form the true summit. Meanwhile, the East Fissural Zone comprises several alignments of Hawaiian/Strombolian scoria cones and associated lava flows, which overflowed many of the cliffs, cut in older units and originated lava deltas (Portuguese: fajãs).

The tectonic structure is characterized by two fault systems. The main WNW-ESE structures are the dextral faults of Laoga do Capitão and Topo, that merge to the east, forming a narrow shallow graben. To the west, the graben is completely covered by the Pico stratovolcano occurring less than 10,000 years ago, and infilled by lava flows and cones of the Eastern Fissural zone, that includes many of the volcanic alignments and scarps. The second fault zone, running NNW-SSE, are markedly less in number and includes normal left lateral, oblique slip faults responsible for the main volcanic eruptions: the Lomba de Fogo-São João fault (basis of the 1718 eruption)and the Santo António volcanic alignment.

On top of Pico (Piquinho) there is an area of permanent degasification characterized by the emission of water vapour at a temperature of between 50ºC to 75°C. In addition, other vents also exist between 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) and 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, as well as diffuse degasification along the graben between the Lagoa do Capitão and Topo faults. There is also a carbon dioxide-rich spring in the locality of Silveira (along the southern coast of Lajes do Pico, formed in the base of Pico.

Hiking trails are available and the ascent to the summit can be made in around two to four hours from the trailhead for fit persons depending on weather which can be quite treacherous especially in winter months.