Travel in Santa Maria, Portugal - History

Santa Maria (Azores Islands) - History

The date of the discovery of Santa Maria is unknown. What we can be sure of is that Portuguese caravels reconnoitred its coast in 1427 and that Gonçalo Velho Cabral, a navigator in the service of Prince Henry and a knight of the Order of Christ, brought cattle to Santa Maria and was later its captain-donee.

The first island of the Azores to be peopled, a handful of pioneers went ashore from caravels and settled at Praia dos Lobos, along the stream called Ribeira do Capitão. João Soares de Albergaria, a nephew of the first captain-donee and his heir, gave a new impulse to the settlement of Santa Maria, bringing over families from mainland Portugal, mainly from the Algarve.

Development was rapid until the end of the 15th century, and led to the fact that the first town charter in the Azores was granted to the place called Porto, which since then has been known as Vila do Porto. Until the end of the 17th century, the prosperity of the island was based on woad, which was considered the best in the archipelago and existed in abundance, and on archil, both exported to the dyeing shops of Flanders, and on the growing of wheat, which was in demand in continental Portugal and which supplied the Portuguese strongholds in North Africa.

The true pirates were to come in the 16th and 17th centuries, with attacks by English, French, Turkish and Algerian corsairs who, in spite of the fortifications that had been built, burnt and pillaged the island and carried off prisoners as slaves and hostages. In 1616 Santa Mane was occupied for five days by Moroccan pirates who returned in 1675 and practiced numberless atrocities, including even beating the inhabitants with an iron bar.

Devoting its energies to agriculture, in which the predominant crops were grapes, wheat, maize, potatoes, yams and fruit, and also to livestock raising and dairy products, Santa Maria passed through the 18th and 19th centuries without any upsets, if we exclude the presence of a small number of young men among the troops that took part in the landing at Mindelo and the siege of Oporto in 1832, during the struggle between liberals and absolutists. The construction in 1944 of the airport, of great strategic value during the 2nd World War and a compulsory point in Atlantic crossings until the end of the 60s, brought it new dynamism and progress.

The introduction of new types of aircraft with a greater range has gradually reduced traffic at the airport, but the future of the island is viewed with hope on the basis of the adequate use of its natural resources and geographical position.

Christopher Columbus.

In the heavy seas of a North Atlantic tempest, a little ship ran before the howling gale force winds. Aboard the vessel, the crew were totally exhausted. They had been imprisoned in the grip of foul weather for days and as was the custom of the times, they prayed for heavenly intervention. The men sought salvation from the storm and beseeched the Almighty to allow them to complete their voyage. The ship carried extraordinary news. Its name was the 'Nina'. Its captain was Christopher Columbus and following in the tradition of Prince Henry it had discovered a New World on the other side of the Atlantic!

On February 15 after a greyish dawn, whose faint light barely pierced the morning gloom, a seamen called Ruy Garcia spied a dark peak above the raging waves Amidst the wildest speculation of what the sighted land could be, it was only the captain, Christopher Columbus, who knew his position. He stated firmly that the island must be one of the Azores and he was correct. It was the southernmost land of the archipelago, the island called Santa Maria.

The Church's old bell-gable
Because of the wind's direction, it took three days before the 'Nina' reached Santa Maria and was able to anchor. Although Columbus had never had any intention to stop in the Azores, now that he was there, it seemed practical to go ashore and repro-vision fresh food and water. He sent a boat-load of men to the beach and they were met by some of the island's inhabitants.

The locals seemed astonished when they heard of the 'Nina's' exploits. But some of them believed that the mariners were outrageous liars.

The next day, to carry out the solemn vow that had been sworn to during the height of the storm, Columbus sent half his crew ashore to thank the Lord for their deliverance. The men entered the tiny church of Anjos, the settlement sited on the bay where the 'Nina' was anchored. As the sailors celebrated mass, a force of villagers surrounded the church. When the worshippers exited, they were seized and arrested. Incredibly, the seamen were accused of sailing from Guinea instead of coming from the West. Voyaging under a Spanish flag, the ship was considered to be illegally in Portuguese waters. When Columbus heard that his sailors had been incarcerated, he weighed anchor and fled toward the neighbouring island of Sao Miguel. However, fierce weather obliged him to return. What followed was one of those tragic comic incidents of history. Columbus, carrying documents from the King of Spain which gave him titles of 'admiral of the Ocean Seas and Viceroy of the Indies', was compelled to negotiate for the release of his men with those citizens of Anjos who considered he had broken Portuguese laws. After two days, the dispute was resolved and the 'Nina' sailed for home. Columbus had dealt successfully with the first of the many trials he was to endure after his voyage of discovery. Today, the church at Anjos has been completely rebuilt but some of the original ruins within which the crew of the 'Nina' prayed are still standing.

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