Historical
Background
Azores Islands chart, early 17th century
The Azores archipelago is
located about 1,500 km to the west of the Iberian peninsula,
roughly between latitudes 37º and 39º north, to the west of Lisbon. Located on
the intersection of the tectonic plates of Europe (Terceira,
Graciosa, São Jorge, Faial and Pico islands), Africa (São
Miguel and Santa Maria islands) and America (Flores and Corvo
islands), the archipelago is set out in a long semicircle along the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge.
The climate is
Atlantic temperate, heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream, with the prevailing
wind from the west, sometimes changing to the south and south east. This wind
pattern permitted sailing ships to depart Europe via the north, towards Canada;
via the centre, heading towards the Caribbean; and via south, heading towards
Africa and
Asia.
There is only one way back from all those locations, however, and that is via
the Azores.
It is not known when the islands were first
discovered, although one knows that they were first inhabited in the first half
of the XVth century. During the remaining part of
that century, the Azores islands were gradually colonised,
with Portugal obtaining in them the much needed wheat, always scarce for the
ever expanding maritime empire.
Only with the more frequent appearance of ships - which, on their way back from
the Gulf of Guinea, had to head for these latitudes in order to find favourable winds for their return to Europe, did the
archipelago's role switch from granary to watchful and protective mid-Atlantic
trading post.
Forecasting what would happen years latter,
Christopher Columbus passed through Santa Maria island,
where he fought a little skirmish with the local islanders, on his way back
from the Caribbean. Five years latter, Vasco da Gama,
returning from India, stopped over in Angra where he
buried his brother, Paulo da Gama. Since that event, almost all of the Portuguese
ships carrying goods from Africa and Asia began using Angra
bay, on Terceira island, for
supplies, repairs and protection against piracy. From the middle of the XVIth century onward, as a result of an Iberian treaty of
cooperation, they were joined by Spanish ships with goods from the West Indies.
The resulting development of the Azores and
mainly of Terceira island, led to the creation, in Angra, of several institutions that supported the
transatlantic navigations, most notably a hospital built to cure wounded and
ill sailors and a Purveyor´s Office for the Armadas
from India, to support the ships and protect the passing wealth from the many
French corsairs and pirates who had begun to appear in the area, at the
beginning of the XVIth century. On August 21, 1534, the town of Angra was given its charter by King John III, becoming the
oldest city in the Azores. In the same year, the Azores became a diocese with a
bishop, also with its seat at Angra.
After that, one of the
main engines of the island’s economy was the provision of services to ships and
travellers, with the archipelago reaching the peak of
its development in 1583, when Philip II of Spain became King of Portugal. All
the Iberian ships coming from overseas passed then through the Azores, making
the islands a very attractive target for the northern European privateers, that went rampant on the two last decades of the
XVIth century. The end of the
Iberian union in 1641 significantly reduced the Azores islands´s
role as a trading post. That event, together with the fierce competition from
the Dutch and English East Indies companies, which had been growing since 1600,
spelled the end of the role of the Azores as a trading post.
Ultimately, the Azores were explored and
settled, and its commerce was conducted solely by ships. Inevitably, there were
losses of ships to storms and coastlines, to war and accident. Each wreck
became a time capsule, and each added itself and sometimes its contents to the
accumulating history of mankind buried by sand and water.
A nautical chart of Monte Brasil
and Angra bay, in the 19th century
These features lay largely unattended and
forgotten, until new technologies permitted access to them and brought renewed
awareness of what exists beneath the waves. This new accessibility also brought
the curious and the treasure seekers, and inevitably, a loss of knowledge about
the island's past.