>From the book , Açores: Nove Ilhas, Uma Historia "Nine Islands, one history" Susana Goulart Costa ISBN-13: 978-0981933603 ISBN-10: 0981933602 This work depicts the insular experience of the Azores since its settlement until the present day, attentively following a chronological line that begins in the XV century and ends in 2008. The settlement of the islands, their incipient political and administrative structures and main economic activities, the organisation of an insular society and the beliefs and religious sensibilities are some of the themes that are rigorously explored. Its principal purpose is to inform readers about the principal aspects of insular history. This is a concise history easily accessible to the public in general notwithstanding the author's assurance that it is a scientific work.
"These first settlers had different motivations for embarking on their adventure, motivations that have been more or less constant throughout human history. Most came from the lower classes and saw in migration as an opportunity to attain a better life in a new land. They were also attracted by the economic and fiscal benefits granted by the Portuguese Crown during the first years. These settlers usually took their families and ended up transplanting their "home." Overwhelmingly, they were persons who had left behind little more than what they would find in the new land. In the mid-16th century, Gaspar Frutuoso pointed to this reality since he observes that, whenever the grain-producing lands of Sao Miguel become worn out, the "poor farmers are neither able nor willing to abandon the lands that they rent, even if they are losing profits, for they have no other livelihood." Far less common were settlers with high social standing. Some had participated in the discovery of the islands; some had gained the trust of their leaders and had been granted royal appointments, while others would be responsible for the political, administrative and economic organization of the islands, as was the case of Gonzalo Velho Cabral and Jacome de Bruges. Still, these were mainly esquires, the lowest rung in the hierarchy of the nobility. As such, they saw their move to the Azores as a way of moving up the social ladder by assuming control of land and government posts. This was an elite class that used the archipelago to rise in society, but their prominence would be felt only in the context of the islands, and not on the mainland. In other cases, dishonor that had befallen the family name prompted some to look to the islands as a place to take refuge or to regain the social prestige that had been lost. A very interesting example of this would be the Canto family. The fIrst member of the clan to reach the Azores was Pedro Anes do Canto, a native of Guimaraes. His grandfather was Vasco Afonso do Canto, whose paternal grandparents were nobles from Galicia, while his maternal grandparents came from England. He fought on the side of Dom Pedro in the Battle of Alfarrobeira and, with the defeat, fell "into great disfavor" with King Afonso V. By fighting in the campaign to conquer Morocco, he regained the confidence of the Crown, which rewarded him in 1527 with the directorship of the District Office of the Armadas, based in the island of Terceira. Along with this voluntary migration, the historical sources that are available indicate that individuals who were under a variety of constraints also came to the islands. The situation of the Jews, expelled from the Kingdom by order of King Manuel I in 1496,27 is a paradigmatic example of how the maritime territories served as a dumping ground for so-called ''undesirable'' groups of individuals, which also included the Moors and recent converts. Similarly, some prisoners were forced to serve their sentences on the islands. In 1455, for example, King Afonso V pardoned Joao de Lisboa, who had been sent to Santa Maria in 1446 to be imprisoned for homicide. After having served nine years of his 15-year sentence, this criminal returned to the mainland. These are situations that illustrate two aspects of the early settlement of the region. First, since the Crown had difficulty in recruiting persons, it forced some to migrate. Second, in the mid 15th century, the settlement was still so sparse that not even the most underprivileged were attracted. Finally, this process also included the importation of slaves." Eric Edgar On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 10:00 PM, Cheri Mello <[email protected]> wrote: > Repost for Miguel Deavery, migueldeavery at gmail.com > > I often wonder why some of our ancestors went to the Azores ?Did they go > freely or were they forced ? Beautiful Islands in the middle of nowhere.I > think our ancestors were courageous to leave Portugal than go to the > Azores and than leave again to go throughout the world to give us > opportunities they never had in their own lives.I know the Azores Islands > are beautiful but it must of been isolating for those living there not to > long ago. I once heard a saying but where I don't recall. The saying was > ...There is Lisbon and everything else is scenery. > > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the > right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my > membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. > -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
