Azores
The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is an autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean about west of mainland Portugal. Together with Madeira, it is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal and a special territory of the European Union. It is the westernmost point and region of Portugal.
The Azores is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean.
There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets to the east. They extend for more than and lie in a northwest–southeast direction. All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity in the time since the islands were settled several centuries ago. Mount Pico on the island of Pico is the highest point in Portugal, at. If measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, the Azores are among the tallest mountains on the planet. The Azores are located at the seismically active Azores triple junction plate boundary where the North American plate, Eurasian plate and Nubian plate meet.
The climate is very mild for such a northerly location, being influenced by its distance from the continents and by the passing Gulf Stream. Because of the marine influence, temperatures remain mild year-round. Daytime temperatures normally fluctuate between depending on season. Temperatures above or below are unknown in the major population centres. It is also generally wet and cloudy.
Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which has become a major service activity in the region. In the 20th century and to some extent into the 21st, the Azores have served as a waypoint for refueling aircraft flying between Europe and North America. The government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. The largest city is Ponta Delgada. The culture, dialect, cuisine, and traditions of the islands vary considerably, because these remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries.
History
A small number of alleged hypogea have been identified on the islands of Corvo, Santa Maria, and Terceira by Portuguese archaeologist Nuno Ribeiro, who speculated that they might date back 2,000 years, implying a human presence on the islands before the Portuguese. These structures have been used by settlers in the Azores to store grain. The suggestion by Ribeiro that they might be burial sites is unconfirmed. Detailed examination and dating to authenticate the validity of these speculations are lacking; thus it is unclear whether these structures are natural or human-made and whether they predate the 15th century Portuguese colonization of the Azores.According to a 2015 paper published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology, research based on mouse mitochondrial DNA points to a Scandinavian rather than Portuguese origin of the local mouse population. A 2021 paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, using data from lake sediment core sampling, suggests brush-clearing was undertaken and animal husbandry introduced between 700 and 850 A.D. These findings suggest a brief period of Norse settlement, and the 2021 paper further cites climate simulations that suggest the dominant westerly winds in the North Atlantic Ocean were weaker in that period, which would have made it easier for Viking ships to sail to the Azores from Scandinavia.
Discovery
In 1427 a captain sailing for Prince Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, may have discovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashe's 1813 work A History of the Azores, the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges, who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon. According to Ashe, the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other writers note the discovery of the first islands by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support such claims.Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from açor it is unlikely that the bird ever nested or hunted on the islands. There were no large animals on Santa Maria; after its discovery and before settlement began, sheep were let loose on the island to supply future settlers with food.
Early settlement
The archipelago was largely settled from mainland Portugal, but settlement did not take place immediately. From 1433 Gonçalo Velho Cabral gathered resources and settlers, and he sailed in 1436 to establish colonies, first on Santa Maria and then on São Miguel. Settlers built houses, established villages and cleared bush and rocks to plant crops, grain, grapevines, sugar cane and other plants suitable for local use and for export. They brought domesticated animals, such as chickens, rabbits, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. The settlement of the unoccupied islands began in 1439 with people mainly from the continental provinces of Algarve and Alentejo. São Miguel was first settled in 1449, the settlers – mainly from Estremadura, Alto Alentejo and Algarve – under the command of Cabral, who landed at the site of modern-day Povoação.Flemish settlers
The first reference to the island of São Jorge was made in 1439, but the date of discovery is unknown. In 1443 the island was already inhabited, but settlement began only after the arrival of Willem van der Haegen. Arriving at Topo, São Jorge, where he lived and died, he became known as Guilherme da Silveira to the islanders. João Vaz Corte-Real received the captaincy of the island in 1483. Velas became a town before the end of the 15th century. By 1490 there were 2,000 Flemings living on the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge and Flores. Because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders.Prince Henry the Navigator was responsible for this Flemish settlement. His sister Isabel was married to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. There was a revolt against Philip's rule, and disease and hunger became rampant. Isabel appealed to Henry to allow some of the unruly Flemings to settle in the Azores. He granted this and supplied them with means of transport and goods.
1522 earthquake and recovery
In 1522, Vila Franca do Campo, then the capital of São Miguel, was devastated by an earthquake and landslide that killed about 5,000 people, and the capital was moved to Ponta Delgada. Vila Franca do Campo was rebuilt on the original site and today is a thriving fishing and yachting port. Ponta Delgada received its city status in 1546. From the first settlement, the pioneers applied themselves to agriculture, and by the 15th century Graciosa was exporting wheat, barley, wine and brandy. The goods were sent to Terceira largely because of the proximity of that island.Portuguese succession crisis of 1580
Portugal fell into a dynastic crisis following the death of Cardinal-King Henry in 1580. Of the various claimants to the crown, the most powerful was King Philip II of Spain, who justified his rights to the throne by the fact that his mother was a Portuguese royal princess: his maternal grandfather was King Manuel I.On 19 July 1580, António, Prior of Crato was acclaimed King of Portugal in Santarém by his supporters, followed by popular acclamation in Lisbon and other towns, as well as in the Azores, to which he fled following his defeat at the Battle of Alcântara. Although Philip became king, the Azoreans resisted Spanish attempts to conquer the islands and were administered by Cipriano de Figueiredo, governor of Terceira.
In 1583 Philip sent his fleet to clear the Azores of a combined multinational force of adventurers, mercenaries, volunteers, and soldiers who were attempting to establish the Azores as a staging post for a rival pretender to the Portuguese throne. Following the success of his fleet at the Battle of Ponta Delgada, captured enemies were hanged from yardarms, as they were considered pirates by Philip II. Opponents receiving the news variously portrayed Philip as a despot or "Black Legend", the sort of insult widely made against contemporary monarchs engaged in aggressive empire building and the European wars of religion. Figueiredo and Violante do Canto helped organize a resistance on Terceira that influenced some of the response of the other islands, even as internal politics and support for Philip's faction increased on the other islands.
English raids of 1589 and 1598
An English raid of the Azores in 1589 successfully plundered some islands and harbouring ships; eight years later, a second raid failed.Iberian Union
Spain held the Azores under the Iberian Union from 1580 to 1642. The Azores were the last part of the Portuguese Empire to resist Philip's reign over Portugal, until the defeat of forces loyal to the Prior of Crato with the Conquest of the Azores in 1583. Portuguese control resumed with the end of the Iberian Union in 1640 and the beginning of the Portuguese Restoration War, not by the professional military who were occupied with warfare on the Portuguese mainland, but by local people attacking a fortified Castilian garrison.Overpopulation and emigration
In the late 19th century, the Azores and Madeira began to face problems of overpopulation. Responding to the consequent economic problems, some people of the Azores began to emigrate to the United States, Canada and Brazil.In 1902 the Dominion Line began operating a Mediterranean passenger service between Boston and Italy via Gibraltar and the Azores, with an established port of call at Sao Miguel. In 1904 the service was taken over by the White Star Line. Four ships formerly owned by Dominion were renamed and put into service under White Star, named Canopic, Romanic, Cretic and Republic, the last of which is best known for its 1909 sinking off the New England coast. Canopic and Romanic provided regular service to Boston, while Cretic and Republic operated on the service to both New York and Boston throughout their careers. By the time the service ended in 1921, these four ships had transported an estimated total of 58,000 Azorean Portuguese to the United States.