Fajã Grande
Encyclopedia
Fajã Grande is a rural civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores
in the archipelago of the Azores
. In the most recent census reported, the parish had 225 inhabitants in an area of approximately 12.5 km²; its density is 17.9/km². Although it is a relatively small population, it is one of the largest centers in the municipality of Lajes das Flores
(about 17 km from the municipal seat) and the westernmost village in Europe
.
, and who settled in Lajedo
. The fertile land permitted the cultivation of woad
, one of the most important commercial ventures in the Azores. As the Azorean chronicler Father Gaspar Frutuoso
writing in the 16th Century, indicated, that the colonists benefited from the abundance of water and easy access to the sea:
Although being populated for less than a century, Fajã Grande was already a center of commercial activity; caravels arriving from India were likely to stopover in Fajã Grande since it was one of the first ports to be discovered on their return. On the port of Fajã Grande, Father José António Camões
, noted the following about its installations:
The fertility of the land permitted the cultivation of the lichen Rocella tinctoria (Roccellaceae
), a plant sought after by many of the commercial interests in the region eager to support the dye industries of Europe. The abundance of fresh water, and port, also made Fajã Grande an important stopover for pirates and privateers; while other communities in the archipelago lived in fear of pirates, Fajã Grande maintained a collaborative relationship and sold consumables to local crews.
It was likely one of the most prosperous communities in the western coast, resulting in its de-annexation from the neighboring parish of Lajes das Flores
, in July 1676. To create the new parish of Fajãs, the local community in Ponta da Fajã was de-annexed from the neighbouring parish of São Pedro de Ponta Delgada and integrated into the new administrative and ecclesiastical division. The formal delimitation of the parish was presided by Father Domingos Nunes Pereira, and the new Fajãs parish priest Father André Alves de Mendonça, on 12/13 July, 1676.
Writing around 1720, Father António Cordeiro
, affirmed that the Fajãs included about 80 homes.
The creation of an autonomous parish in Fajã Grande dates back to 1855, when the administration of the District of Horta attempted to resolve the call by its residents to create a new civil parish. The debate was finally ended by the Civil Governor, Luís Teixeira de Sampaio, who reported on 3 April 1857, that a single parish of Fajã Grande was desirable, owing to its distance from the community of Fajãzinha
(then parish seat), the size of its community, and the problem caused by annual floodings along the Riberia Grande river, which regularly cut links annually. Local narratives mention several instances when the Ribeira Grande impeded travel to Fajãzinha, resulting in the faithful having services at the Pedra da Missa (Stone of Mass), an elevated point on the river bank where they gathered, prayed and then dispersed after celebrating the liturgy. Governor Sampaio also noted that American whaling and high-seas travel had brought a new importance to the village, also justifying a rethink of the existing administrative divisions. Finally, on 4 April 1861, King Pedro V of Portugal
decreed the creation of a new ecclesiastical parish, to include Ponta, Fajã Grande and Cuada, centred on the Church of São José da Fajã Grande (the responsibility of the Bishop of Angra
, friar
Estêvão de Jesus Maria, dated 20 June 1861. The parochial church was constructed from the small chapel (which was built in 1755, and blessed on 24 May 1757); the new temple was blessed on 1 August 1850, after three years of construction (it was finally completed in 1849). Due to further support from American emigrant José Luís da Silveira, the church was remodelled in 1880. A new church was later constructed in the area of Ponta da Fajã (the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo) and remained in use until 1922. Similarly, on 28 September 1969, a chapel in Ponta was completed, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Fátima.
Landslides around the area of Ponta da Fajã in 1987 resulted in the declaration of this zone as high risk resulting in the express prohibition of new buildings and future remodeling of existing homes. Further landslides around Covas, in 1991, resulted in new laws to restrict residents in the area, which was ignored by the 20 inhabitants, who have maintained existing buildings .
Situated on the plateau are four large crater lakes, Lagoa da Caldeira Funda (Lake of the Deep Crater), Lagoa da Caldeira Comprida (Lake of the Long Crater) and Lagoa da Caldeira Branca (Lake of the White Crater) which are full throughout the year, and the peat-covered Lagoa da Caldeira Seca (Lake of the Dry Crater) which only occasionally becomes flooded. The Lagoa dos Patos (Lake of the Ducks) is located at the base of the plateau.
Off the western coast, the Monchique Islet
, is the westernmost point of the Azores (and Europe).
The escarpment surrounds the community composed of three nuclei: Fajã Grande (the largest population), Ponta da Fajã Grande (a narrow strip between the coast and Rocha da Fajã), and Cuada (a settlement located on a plateau bordering the parish of Fajãzinha
to the south). Cuada, for many years, was a collection of uninhabited homes, but today it has been rejuvenated by rural tourism, and classified as an Area of Municipal Interest.
The port at Fajã Grande, once an important commercial port, has lost much of its importance and is now used recreationally and, only rarely, for disembarking commercial goods. The entire zone is valued for its coastal waters, attracting both swimmers and surfers from around the island.
Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores is municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern portion of the island of Flores and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except for the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. It has a population of 1,491 inhabitants and a...
in the archipelago of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. In the most recent census reported, the parish had 225 inhabitants in an area of approximately 12.5 km²; its density is 17.9/km². Although it is a relatively small population, it is one of the largest centers in the municipality of Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores is municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern portion of the island of Flores and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except for the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. It has a population of 1,491 inhabitants and a...
(about 17 km from the municipal seat) and the westernmost village in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
History
The western coast of Flores was slowly occupied in the middle of the 16th Century, with the first population centers forming in the beginning of the 17th Century. The first settlers were captained by João Soares, from the island of São MiguelSão Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...
, and who settled in Lajedo
Lajedo (Lajes das Flores)
Lajedo is a civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores on the island of Flores, in the Azores. The population in 2001 is 107, its density is 6.73/km² and the area is 15.9 km²....
. The fertile land permitted the cultivation of woad
Woad
Isatis tinctoria, with Woad as the common name, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem...
, one of the most important commercial ventures in the Azores. As the Azorean chronicler Father Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
writing in the 16th Century, indicated, that the colonists benefited from the abundance of water and easy access to the sea:
- "There, about a quarter league is Fajã, called "Big" [referring to its name Great/Grande Fajã] which offers bread and woad on elevated land, with a few berths for CaravelCaravelA caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
s, it produces at least 50 moios [Portuguese unit of solid measure] of bread and woad, and where, also, there is shellfish and fish of all kinds, and along its cape a beach, half a league in size, where there is always a strong ocean current; and from there, another half a league, the cliffs are covered with much urzela [a lichen], and large rocks, that spawn an infinity of seafood and large crabs, and from here, there is an explosion of rocks that fall to the sea, like a guns spray, where we find limpetLimpetLimpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
s and cowrie shellsCowryCowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries...
; and in front of this point, which forms a bay, where many type of ships anchor, including Carracks from IndiaPortuguese IndiaThe Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
. In the middle of this anchorage a great river-valley falls from the cliffs to sea."
Although being populated for less than a century, Fajã Grande was already a center of commercial activity; caravels arriving from India were likely to stopover in Fajã Grande since it was one of the first ports to be discovered on their return. On the port of Fajã Grande, Father José António Camões
José António Camões
Father José António Camões , a Florense , a Catholic priest, poet, historian, and author of various works of satire, including his heroic satire O Testamento de D...
, noted the following about its installations:
- "...there is a small breakwater called Baixa d’Agoa. Continue down until you get to the port of Fajã Grande, which has in the middle a great mound of sand and rock called Calhau da Barra. Within this Calhau is a large "puddle" called the Poção, which gives refuge to ships that arrive from the sea."
The fertility of the land permitted the cultivation of the lichen Rocella tinctoria (Roccellaceae
Roccellaceae
The Roccellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Arthoniomycetes. Most taxa are lichenized with green algae, although some are lichenicolous, growing on other lichens.-Species...
), a plant sought after by many of the commercial interests in the region eager to support the dye industries of Europe. The abundance of fresh water, and port, also made Fajã Grande an important stopover for pirates and privateers; while other communities in the archipelago lived in fear of pirates, Fajã Grande maintained a collaborative relationship and sold consumables to local crews.
It was likely one of the most prosperous communities in the western coast, resulting in its de-annexation from the neighboring parish of Lajes das Flores
Lajes das Flores (parish)
Lajes das Flores is an Azorean civil parish, and municipal seat of the municipality of Lajes das Flores; it is an administrative division that occupies an area of 18.45 km², has a population of less than 540 residents , or approximately 29.3 inhabitants/km²...
, in July 1676. To create the new parish of Fajãs, the local community in Ponta da Fajã was de-annexed from the neighbouring parish of São Pedro de Ponta Delgada and integrated into the new administrative and ecclesiastical division. The formal delimitation of the parish was presided by Father Domingos Nunes Pereira, and the new Fajãs parish priest Father André Alves de Mendonça, on 12/13 July, 1676.
Writing around 1720, Father António Cordeiro
António Cordeiro
António Cordeiro was a Catholic priest in the Society of Jesus, Azorean historian, author of the classical chronicle Historia Insulana, and first to publish a public opinion on the form of governance for the archipelago of the Azores.-Biography:António was the sixth and final child of António...
, affirmed that the Fajãs included about 80 homes.
The creation of an autonomous parish in Fajã Grande dates back to 1855, when the administration of the District of Horta attempted to resolve the call by its residents to create a new civil parish. The debate was finally ended by the Civil Governor, Luís Teixeira de Sampaio, who reported on 3 April 1857, that a single parish of Fajã Grande was desirable, owing to its distance from the community of Fajãzinha
Fajãzinha
There is also in Cape Verde, see Fajãzinha, Cape VerdeFajãzinha is a civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores located 15 km from the town of Lajes das Flores, on the western coast of Flores. It is one of the least populated on the island. In 2001 its population was 105 inhabitants...
(then parish seat), the size of its community, and the problem caused by annual floodings along the Riberia Grande river, which regularly cut links annually. Local narratives mention several instances when the Ribeira Grande impeded travel to Fajãzinha, resulting in the faithful having services at the Pedra da Missa (Stone of Mass), an elevated point on the river bank where they gathered, prayed and then dispersed after celebrating the liturgy. Governor Sampaio also noted that American whaling and high-seas travel had brought a new importance to the village, also justifying a rethink of the existing administrative divisions. Finally, on 4 April 1861, King Pedro V of Portugal
Pedro V of Portugal
* Duke of Barcelos* Marquis of Vila Viçosa* Count of Ourém* Count of Barcelos* Count of Arraiolos* Count of Guimarães-Honours:* Knight of the Garter* Knight of the Golden Fleece-Ancestry:...
decreed the creation of a new ecclesiastical parish, to include Ponta, Fajã Grande and Cuada, centred on the Church of São José da Fajã Grande (the responsibility of the Bishop of Angra
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo , locally referred to as Angra, is a municipality and city on the island of Terceira, within the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. The municipal area has a population of 35,581 and an area of . Along with Praia da Vitória to the north, it is one of two municipal...
, friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
Estêvão de Jesus Maria, dated 20 June 1861. The parochial church was constructed from the small chapel (which was built in 1755, and blessed on 24 May 1757); the new temple was blessed on 1 August 1850, after three years of construction (it was finally completed in 1849). Due to further support from American emigrant José Luís da Silveira, the church was remodelled in 1880. A new church was later constructed in the area of Ponta da Fajã (the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo) and remained in use until 1922. Similarly, on 28 September 1969, a chapel in Ponta was completed, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Fátima.
Landslides around the area of Ponta da Fajã in 1987 resulted in the declaration of this zone as high risk resulting in the express prohibition of new buildings and future remodeling of existing homes. Further landslides around Covas, in 1991, resulted in new laws to restrict residents in the area, which was ignored by the 20 inhabitants, who have maintained existing buildings .
Geography
Physical Geography
The village is located in an extensive fajã (a small area of flat fertile land at the bottom of a seaside cliff composed of volcanic and geomorphological debris) on the western coast and delimited by the Rocha da Fajã escarpment (that extends from the northwest to southeast border) and the Ribeira Grande river along the south. The escarpment is an almost shear cliff face, approximately 600 meters in some places. The rest of Fajã Grande is formed from erosional forces along the Rocha da Fajã, producing a rich soil, although rocky, that is nutrient-rich (albeit rocky) due to the abundance of water from river tributaries. The escarpment is also a protective feature, permitting the cultivation of orchards and small parcels, and yams in the well-irrigated parcels along the river. Above the Rocha, about 550 meters, the parish extends onto an irregular plateau covered in natural vegetation and peat. The excessive precipitation in this region (which usually exceeds 4,000 mm annually) means that the river-valleys are always flooded or inundated. The northwest border extends along the western coast of the parish on a strip of land adjacent to the escarpment.Situated on the plateau are four large crater lakes, Lagoa da Caldeira Funda (Lake of the Deep Crater), Lagoa da Caldeira Comprida (Lake of the Long Crater) and Lagoa da Caldeira Branca (Lake of the White Crater) which are full throughout the year, and the peat-covered Lagoa da Caldeira Seca (Lake of the Dry Crater) which only occasionally becomes flooded. The Lagoa dos Patos (Lake of the Ducks) is located at the base of the plateau.
Off the western coast, the Monchique Islet
Monchique Islet
The Monchique Islet or Ilhéu de Monchique is a small island, west of the village of Fajã Grande, Flores Island, in the western part of the Portuguese Azores. It lies just over a mile north-northwest of Ponta de Fenais and is considered the westernmost point of Europe...
, is the westernmost point of the Azores (and Europe).
Human geography
Fajãzinha
There is also in Cape Verde, see Fajãzinha, Cape VerdeFajãzinha is a civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores located 15 km from the town of Lajes das Flores, on the western coast of Flores. It is one of the least populated on the island. In 2001 its population was 105 inhabitants...
to the south). Cuada, for many years, was a collection of uninhabited homes, but today it has been rejuvenated by rural tourism, and classified as an Area of Municipal Interest.
The port at Fajã Grande, once an important commercial port, has lost much of its importance and is now used recreationally and, only rarely, for disembarking commercial goods. The entire zone is valued for its coastal waters, attracting both swimmers and surfers from around the island.