Terceira Island

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

There is some uncertainty in the date and the discoverer of the Azores. Nautical charts before the 'official' discovery identified islands in the Atlantic as early as 1325. The first association between the modern island of Terceira and these stories was that of the island of Brasil; it first appears as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436). In 1439, the first official discovery document appeared, attributing the discovery of the Formigas to Gonçalo Velho Cabral. There is an indication that Terceira may have been discovered by Vicente de Lagos, Velho Cabral's pilot, on 1 January 1445: the first documents after this period started appearing with a third island referred to as the Ilha de Jesus Cristo. The colonization of the island began by decree of Henry the Navigator, dated 21 March 1450, and placed the island in the administrative hands of the Fleming Jácome de Bruges. Its first settler was Fernão d'Ulmo, a Fleming or Frenchman, who later abandoned his plot for unknown reasons. The first settlement occurred in Quatro Ribeiras, in the locality of Portalegre, where a small chapel was raised for the invocation of Santa Ana. Following Bruges' mysterious disappearance in 1474, the Infanta D. Beatriz divided the island of Terceira into two captaincies: Angra (given to João Vaz Corte Real) and Praia (given to Álvaro Martins Homem).

Reader's Guide

Terceira holds historical significance as the site of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former capital of the archipelago. During the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, the Azores was the only portion of the Portuguese overseas empire to resist the Spanish until the summer of 1583. Following the Battle of Ponta Delgada, Don Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, concentrated his forces at a less defended beach 10 kilometres from Angra do Heroísmo. With a fleet of ninety-six ships and 9,500 men, the Marquis was able to defeat the forces of D. António after one day's fighting. An English expedition fleet under the Earl of Cumberland in 1589, as part of the Azores Voyage of 1589 into Angra Bay, attacked several harbouring Spanish and Portuguese ships and was able to sink or capture five. Political tension rose in the 1820s between constitutionalists and supporters of absolute monarchy. Having embraced the cause of constitutionalism, the local Terceirenses established a Junta Provisória in the name of Queen Maria II of Portugal in 1828. Hostilities broke out at the Battle of Praia da Vitória in 1829. In a decree, issued on 15 March 1830, Angra was named as Portuguese capital by the Terceirenses constitutional forces. Portuguese bullfighting is popular on the island, in two versions: the traditional equestrian bullfight (in the ring) and the popular 'tourada à corda' that occurs in the streets.

Did You Know?

• Terceira is the location of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The island was initially called Ilha de Jesus Cristo (Island of Jesus Christ) after its possible discovery on 1 January 1445.
• During the Liberal Wars, Angra was named the Portuguese capital by constitutional forces on 15 March 1830.
• On 24 August 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 managed to land at Lajes Field after running out of fuel in mid-air.
• On 16 March 2003, President George W. Bush, UK PM Tony Blair, Spanish PM José María Aznar, and Portuguese PM José Manuel Barroso met on Terceira to discuss the Invasion of Iraq.