Travel in Terceira, Portugal - History

Terceira (Azores Islands) - History

Called the island of Jesus Cristo in the period when it was being reconnoitred by the Portuguese navigators, its settlement was started in about 1450 when its captaincy was granted to a Flaming, Jacome de Bruges, by Prince Henry the Navigator.

The first settlements were situated in the areas of Porto Judeu and Praia da Vitoria, and soon spread all over the island. With an economy initially centred on agriculture, mainly the production of grains, and the export of woad (a dye-yielding plant), Terceira began to play an important part in navigation in the 15th and 16th centuries, as a port of call for the galleons bringing the wealth of the Americas and the ships engaged in the India trade.

In that period Terceira was an emporium for the gold, silver, diamonds and spices brought from other continents, which attracted the covetousness of French, English and Flemish corsairs who constantly attacked its coast for several centuries. When Philip II of Spain took the Portuguese throne in 1580, Terceira supported the claims of the pretender, Dom Ant6nio, Prior do Crato, who even came to reside on the island and to coin money there, which led to Spanish attempts to conquer it. The first landing by Spanish troops, in 1581, was completely defeated in the famous battle of Salga, in which the writers Cervantes and Lopo de Vega took part. In 1583 much larger Spanish forces, commanded by Don Alvaro de Bazan, the victor of the battle of Lepanto, managed to dominate the island after violent fighting.

Until 1640 Terceira was a port of call for the Spanish galleons filled with the fabulous wealth of Peru and Mexico. With the Restoration of Portugal's independence, line Spaniards were expelled and life returned to normal. The island kept its position as the economic, administrative and religious centre of the Azores until the early 19th century. The struggles that accompanied the introduction of liberalism led Terceira to play an important role in the history of Portugal once again. The island supported the liberal cause as from 1820.

After various vicissitudes, there was a turn about in 1828 and the absolutists were dominated on Terceira which became the main base of the liberals. An absolutist attempt to land at Vila da Praia was defeated in 1829, and this was followed by the establishment of a liberal regency on Terceira and the later conquest of the other islands of the archipelago by the constitutional forces. And in 1832 it was from Terceira that the liberal expedition left for the landing at Mindelo in northern Portugal and the subsequent proclamation of the Constitutional Charter.

The end of the l9th and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by a progressive reduction of Terceira's role in the life of the Azores. The construction of a port at Praia da Vitoria, the existence of an important air base and a commercial airport have opened up new development perspectives for the island.

Folk art

Feminine hands embroider linen with traditional motifs in which blue and green flowers predominate. They also make dainty lace, artificial flowers and the typical caps worn by shepherds. The men, on the other hand, account for the wickerwork, pottery, objects of daily use made from the island's cedarwood, ornaments made from animal horns, tin articles, colourful slippers, practical galoshes and the guitars that are heard on feast days.
The counterpanes made on looms. The weaving tradition on Terceira dates back to the settlement period, when families depended on home-made woollen and linen cloth to make their own clothing.
The heavy old looms are still used to make woollen counterpanes in many colours and with geometrical designs. These counterpanes are used all over the island to cover beds and also to decorate windows on festive occasions.
The "empires" of the Holy Ghost. The colourful chapels known as impérios (empires) or teatros (theatres) of the Holy Ghost, with their showy decorations and fantastic shapes, contrast with the whiteness of the villages of Terceira and are one of the most consummate and interesting forms of Azorean popular architecture and of the peculiarities of the local way of fife and feelings.
Spread all over the island - where there are over fifty of them - most of these impérios date from the 19th century, when they replaced the original ones, part of which, it is supposed, were wooden affairs that could be put together and taken apart. Annexed to the "empires" are the "larders", where the bread, meat and wine to be used in the festivals is kept; some of them have allegorical decorations.
At the top of their facades the "empires" have a white dove or crown. The windows are large, usually with wrought iron gratings. Inside are the altar, with the niche where the crown and plate are placed, and the tables used by the members of the Brotherhood to receive alms and to offer food and wine to anyone they want to.
The houses with their curious chimneys. The fact that most of the settlers of Terceira came from the Alentejo and Algarve in southern Portugal is revealed by the rural houses, with their white walls and coloured edgings along the doors, windows and corners. Made up of dressed stones forming a rectangular parallelepiped which ends in a wedge, the chimneys are called mão-postas by the people. To prevent rain from entering, many have a terminal part made of bricks or tiles. Typical, too, are the "aprons" of dressed stone; rounded or of straight lines, they come down from the window sill and end in a fleur-de-lis, point or rosette.
Every house in Terceira has a surrounding garden and next to it is the burra de milho where the ears of maize are kept when they are not simply hung from the branches of trees, which offers a unique and unexpected sight.

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