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History:
The islands were pristine until the 15th century; there were no indigenous
peoples, and no one had ever settled there. They were known to exist, for
in the Medici Atlas of 1351 the seven islands of the central and eastern
groups are shown. Less than a century later the Portuguese 'Age of
Discoveries' began and they made the first recorded landfalls on Madeira
(c1419), the Azores (c1427), Cape Verdes (1456-60), St Helena and
Ascension (1501-02), and Tristan da Cunha (c1506). Bartolomeu Dias rounded
the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 and thus opened access to the Indian Ocean,
and Pedro Álvares Cabral landed in Brazil in 1500, to say nothing of the
numerous inland expeditions in Africa and elsewhere. It is not known for
certain who discovered the islands for the Portuguese, nor the exact
dates; numerous stories abound. The usual practice was followed when
discovering islands; cattle, goats and pigs were landed to provide future
food, and also very likely to begin the tremendous task of penetrating the
dense vegetation. Settlers came from mainland Portugal, particularly the
Algarve and Alentejo, and from Madeira. Portugal's population was only
11/2 million, so Henry encouraged immigration from Flanders and for a time
the Azores were known as the Flemish Islands because so many settled
there.
The first settlers faced an enormous task and probably used fire to begin
to clear the vegetation. On some of the islands this would have revealed a
very stony soil, and especially on Pico it must have been heartbreaking.
Huge neatly piled stacks of stones meters square and 2m tall remain
witness to this tenacity and determination, as do the numerous stone
walls. With such an inhospitable coastline wherever it was possible to
land must have dictated the location of those first settlements. When one
looks at them today, they still appear daunting, often at the foot of
steep cliffs or ravines. Farming slowly spread across the islands as the
vegetation was cleared and by the next century there was a surplus of
production for export.
The Azores, although so distant from the Portuguese mainland, nevertheless
have often played an important part in Portuguese history. They
contributed to the conquest, defense and supply of the Portuguese
strongholds on the North African coast, caravels stopped in the Azores on
their return from India, they supported the ships sailing to the Americas,
and they strongly resisted Spanish domination between 1580 and 1640. Two
centuries later the islands featured in the Liberals' struggle with the
Absolutists; two presidents in the First Republic came from the Azores
and, most recently, the islands provided important bases for the allies in
the two Great Wars, and in the Gulf War.
THE WEATHER
For small islands the weather, especially when in the middle of a large
ocean, is all-important. For the busy city-worker, as everywhere, the
weather impacts little on a daily basis, and for the visitor rain is but a
passing nuisance. However, for farmers even a relatively short dry period
causes problems because the volcanic soils are very quick-draining, while
a rough sea means the coastal fisherman cannot go out, there is no income
for them and no fresh fish for the villages. The Azores have a maritime
climate, which is equable throughout the year with an average temperature
of 13-22º C. Sea temperatures range from 15-23º C. The annual rainfall
increases westwards and ranges from 700mm in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel
to 1,600mm in Santa Cruz on Flores . Like everywhere else in the world,
the local weather patterns have changed and what was always seen as a good
holiday period can now be very wet, while other times never previously
viewed with much favor can be truly glorious. Now the weather is a
gamble, a game that has to be seen as part of the fun of an Azorean
holiday, and for residents just another challenge.
NATURAL HISTORY
Although so many visitors come to the Azores because of the islands'
natural environment, nature reserves with information centers, wardens and
controlled access with marked paths are unknown. Many of the remaining
patches of native vegetation are now in protected zones and you might just
see notices to this effect. The vegetation of the islands, particularly on
Pico, Terceira and São Miguel, is interesting not only because it
represents communities that were once widespread in parts of Europe
millions of years ago, but because very few aspects of its ecology and
biology have been studied and the opportunities for simple observation and
research are considerable. One would like to know what is happening in
amongst the evergreens. Many stretches of coastal cliff are protected
zones, mostly for seabirds; again you might see the signs. The marine
environment is similarly protected. Few geological sites are protected,
and here the lack of interpretation for visitors is doubly frustrating
because the Azores must be one of the most fascinating areas for
vulcanology in Europe.
SOCIAL TOPICS
Population
A few years ago the population was around 242,600 and, demographically
unlike most of the rest of Europe , there is a higher proportion of young
people. Islanders who emigrated are returning in retirement, and some who
find themselves parents return because they feel the Azores offers their
children a safer and better quality of life.
For centuries emigration has played a major part in the life of the
islands. In the early days heavy taxation was an incentive and later the
passing whalers were often a temptation, sometimes fatal. At times
emigration was prohibited, and the dangerous journey in a small boat to
meet with a passing vessel could end in disaster. During the last part of
the 19th century the economy was depressed by the devastation caused by
the Napoleonic Wars and, in the case of young men, the wish to avoid
military service was stimulus enough. Crop failures through disease such
as the loss of the grape vines on Pico prompted mass emigration. Hawaii,
needing workers for the sugar fields, recruited in Madeira and Sao Miguel;
by 1888, in just ten years, more than 11,000 Azoreans had crossed half the
world, including rounding Cape Horn. Other natural disasters like
earthquakes and eruptions drove islanders away after their homes and
fields had been destroyed, even up until the 1980s. As a result there are
large populations of Azoreans in Canada , the USA , Brazil and many
elsewhere.
Government
In 1976 the Azores became an autonomous region with its own government, of
Regional Assembly and Executive. The Executive or Regional Government. is
responsible politically to the Regional Legislative Assembly. The Region
elects five deputies to the National Parliament in Lisbon . The Regional
Parliament has 51 deputies elected every four years and meets in Horta.
The President of the Azores, whose official residence is in Ponta Delgada,
is the leader of the party with the greatest number of elected deputies.
There are nine Regional Secretaries, each in charge of a department; eg:
Finance and Planning, Tourism and Environment. The Secretariats, or
Ministries, are based in Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísma and in Horta.
Each island is divided into district councils, from six on São Miguel to
just one on each of the smallest islands, and are in turn divided into
parishes. The islands' autonomy includes responsibility for economy.
Education, health, the army, police and judiciary are controlled directly
by the national government in Lisbon.
Economy
Since 1976 island infrastructure has been given priority with new
airports, harbous and telecommunication systems completed. Now the
principal problem is economic, and investment in the expanding fishing
industry is but one of the alternatives being sought to reduce the
dependency upon cattle breeding. However, fish stocks are getting low and
tourism is increasingly seen as the new growth area.
The Azores, or at least Ponta Delgada, has changed hugely in the past few
years with new industrial/commercial estates on the outskirts and many new
shops in the town. Everywhere in the islands one sees the European Union
flag on a hoarding announcing funds for some new development, from further
new port facilities to a tiny family enterprise for rural tourism.
Objectives of the Autonomous Regional Government are to reduce
bureaucracy, privatize, and open the economy to foreign investment.
Publicly owned companies have been sold or are in the process of being
sold, and membership of the EU and adoption of the Euro are seen to be
essential to inward investment and future prosperity. Unemployment is at
an all-time low, new jobs have been created in new sectors and cultural
productivity has increased, and so has tourism.
Tourism is a significant growth area and high-quality development is seen
as the way forward with priority given to the towns and new initiatives in
rural areas. Inter-island transport services have improved with more
flights and a summer ferry service, new hotels are opening in Ponta
Delgada, Angra and Horta and other towns, but there remains a great need
to attract visitors during the low season. The Azores are a small market
and are located in the middle of the Atlantic and to reduce this barrier
to investment air fares and port taxes have been reduced and fiber optic
cable now links all the islands, improving communications at lower costs.
Language
Portuguese is both the national and native language, and there are strong
regional dialects and vocabulary. Natives of each island can be quickly
recognized by fellow Azoreans, and even from which part of an island they
come. Try learning Portuguese from tapes before you travel; you may get by
in Lisbon, but stay in Furnas on São Miguel and you will be in difficulty!
While in Furnas learn some new vocabulary and then try the words out in
Ponta Delgada. Pronounce them in every different way you can imagine, and
finally you are taught another new word for the same thing. Generally, of
course, you will get by, but it is mostly in smaller cafés that it is
useful to speak Portuguese, and in villages to ask the way. Some taxi
drivers are fluent in English, many know enough to get by, but many speak
only Portuguese. In the towns very many people speak English, it is a
standard subject in school, and there are numerous Azoreans who have
worked abroad. There are English language television channels as well,
CNN, BBC World, and films. Some French is spoken in Faial and Flores.
Religion
The Azores have been Catholic from their first settlement. The rare
Protestant churches were built much later, for example in Ponta Delgada on
São Miguel in the 19th century, primarily in response to the mainly
English merchants who came to live in the islands to manage the orange
trade. Although very much a minority, there was also strong Jewish
presence from the early days with some originating from North Africa. The
Catholic parish priests were very influential, and the religious orders,
especially the Franciscans, built many convents and churches and organized
the first schools. In modem times it is the older parishioners who mostly
make up church congregations.
FESTIVALS
These are many, both religious and secular, and take place on all the
islands, mostly during summer months. They are listed under each island;
some festivals are common to all the islands, while others are
island-specific. Some dates are fixed, others change each year, and you
should check with the tourist information office. Visitors during the
summer months will be very unlucky not to chance upon one during their
stay; they are often joyful occasions and the kindness and generosity
given to strangers make for happy memories.
The most important festival that is celebrated throughout the archipelago
is that of the Holy Ghost (Espírito Santo), held six weeks after Easter on
the seventh Sunday. It can also be repeated on the following Sunday if
enough people have made promises to make the festival, and if emigrants
come back to visit in the summer it can again be celebrated. Of
13th-century medieval origin, it is one of the most traditional, although
each island and each village has its own variation. On the chosen day,
offerings of bread, meat and wine are distributed among the needy,
followed by a procession through the town or village. You may notice small
chapels called imperios in most of the villages at road junctions or on
prominent comers. These are a source of great pride and they form the
center-point of the Espirito Santo festival. This festival is under the
direction of a local group of men, a brotherhood, who undertake the care
of the imperios and the giving of food to the poor, an important feature
of Espírito Santo. Above the doors of most imperios you will find symbols:
the crown, the scepter, the dove and a red banner. The symbols are also to
be found on the silver crowns which are worn by the Imperador, the member
of the brotherhood in charge of that day's festivities. Several Imperadors
may be crowned in each village during the festival season and each has the
honor of guarding the crown and scepter on a throne in his home until the
next procession. Some of these precious village crowns and scepters are
many hundreds of years old. Fireworks signal the end of the opening church
service and the start of a procession from the church to the imperio led
by the crowned imperador. Music is provided by the local brass marching
band, or filarmonica. These bands are a major part of village life in the
Azores where there are more such groups than in all of Portugal. After the
procession a beef-based broth, called sopas de Espírito Santo, is served
as well as another Azorean food with a strong tradition: massa sovada, a
slightly sweet bread made in homes by groups of women taking turns during
hours of hand-kneading. This festival, brought by the first settlers to
the islands in the early 1400s is seldom seen in Europe today, but is
celebrated by communities of Azorean ancestry around the world, especially
in the USA, including Hawaii, and Canada.
Other festivals are for saints' days or for vows made long ago to God. The
most colorful is the Festival of Corpus Christi, and the preparation is as
interesting as the procession. This takes place in June. Early in the
morning many baskets of various small colorful flowers and finely chopped
soft branch tips of the conifer Cryptomeria japonica are brought in and
laid out in geometrical patterns upon the roadway using wooden templates,
the colors all kept in separate shapes. The flowers and petals are
frequently sprayed with water to keep them fresh and to stop the wind from
disturbing the patterns or blowing them away. Sometimes dyed wood shavings
are also used. Summer flowers in baskets and pots adorn balconies, and
bright bedcovers hanging from windows add further color. The procession is
led by the priest under a pallium escorted by his followers and many small
children dressed as angels. Much less formal is the June Festival of São
João, marked with picnics at the many barbecue sites throughout the
islands. The secular festivals get bigger every year and are celebrated by
music, dance, arts, local culture, food stalls and sporting events. Music
includes not only folklore, but pop groups from the mainland and Brazil,
something not always viewed with enthusiasm by everyone.
Tourada-à-corda - Bullfights on a rope
The bulls are not killed and the only blood spilt is that of
over-confident humans! Terceira is especially noted for its
Tourada-a-Corda, but other islands also participate. The organizers
have introduced regulations and planned a classification system for the
bulls. No more than four bulls are allowed at anyone event. Each must be
at least three years old, and can appear only once for no more than 30
minutes. Cloaks and similar items are allowed, but anything that could
cause injury to the bulls is banned. Action can only take place during
daylight, and in the late afternoon/early evening. The bun is at the
end of a long rope that is held by several men to try and keep it under
some control. The fun comes in approaching the bull as close as one dares
and then outmaneuvering it while keeping clear of its horns. I vividly
recall one year watching on a quayside when the bull really got up speed
and chased five boys the length of the quay. Having nowhere else to go,
they leapt off the end into the harbor and the bull had so much momentum
he could not stop and went in on top of them to a tremendous cheer from
the crowd and creating a huge tidal wave. The bull appeared to rather
enjoy it, a nice cooling swim to the slipway at the end of a warm
afternoon! Terceira and Graciosa both have bullrings, but here the bull is
let loose without a rope. These events have become very popular with
over 200 meetings each year. In the past it was not only an entertainment
but also an excuse for people from different villages to meet, both
socially and for business. Animals could be bought and sold, goods traded
or exchanged, youths could demonstrate to the girls their dash and courage
with the bulls, there would be refreshment stalls and it was all huge fun.
It still is. |
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