Pilar da Bretanha
Encyclopedia
Pilar da Bretanha is a civil parish in the municipality of Ponta Delgada
on the island of São Miguel
, in the Azores
. It only became an independent parish recently; on July 10, 2002, it was broken-off from the civil parish of Bretanha along with Ajuda da Bretanha.
The chronicler and historian, Father Gaspar Frutuoso
identified the region of Bretanha in the early part of the 1870s. As he wrote:
The name remained, although the number of English residents was small in proportion to the Portuguese that settled here. Frutuoso continued to identify a small community of 82 homes (in a region that extended from Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (in the northeast to Mosteiros in the northwest) and whose residents cultivated wheat fields and collected woad
plants for export. Frutuoso, in particular, identified local resident Braz Alvres a descendant of one of the earlier settlers who gve his name to one of the peaks in the area (Pico de João Alvres), and who continued to tend his lands in the grotto of João Bom. Similarly, Pico da Mafra (which is located between Bretanha and Mosteiros), which was named for a settler who came from the area of Mafra on the continent.
It was Baron Fernandes, another resident of the grotto of João Bom, who discovered an interesting agricultural technique in order to perpetuate consistent crop yields in this region. In 1550, he came upon the idea of planting the pulse
Lupinus albus
around the edges of his wheat crops, which had the effect of fortifying the wheat. He did the same for his beans, and discovered the same effects. The practice of using the pulse soon disseminated throughout the island and archipelago. Then, when another settler, Lopo Pessoa, arrived on the island he went one step further; he began to alternate his crops annually, between pulse and wheat, to increase his yields.
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
on the island of São Miguel
São 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...
, in 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...
. It only became an independent parish recently; on July 10, 2002, it was broken-off from the civil parish of Bretanha along with Ajuda da Bretanha.
History
In a description by Francisco A. Chaves e Melo, the church in Pilar appeared as the center of religious life in this zone, before 1716, an area that encompassed not only present-day Pilar, but also the local community of João Bom. Little is known of the original chapel, which was dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Pilar, except for the writings of Dr. Ernesto do Canto, on his treatises on religious sanctuaries of São Miguel, titled O Preto no Branco. In his work, the author refers to the last testament of Captain João de Sousa de Vasconcelos, resident of Bretanha, who left certain items to the chapel in his will (March 16, 1728). Owing to its state of ruin in the second half of the 19th Century, the chapel was reconstructed, taking on the church's current dimensions.The chronicler and historian, Father Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso
Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
identified the region of Bretanha in the early part of the 1870s. As he wrote:
- They refer to this place as Bretanha [which means "pertaining to Britain"]...because the land is high and rugged, and they called the older residents High Bretons; others say that, in the past, on those lands their lived and worked a Britian.
The name remained, although the number of English residents was small in proportion to the Portuguese that settled here. Frutuoso continued to identify a small community of 82 homes (in a region that extended from Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (in the northeast to Mosteiros in the northwest) and whose residents cultivated wheat fields and collected 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...
plants for export. Frutuoso, in particular, identified local resident Braz Alvres a descendant of one of the earlier settlers who gve his name to one of the peaks in the area (Pico de João Alvres), and who continued to tend his lands in the grotto of João Bom. Similarly, Pico da Mafra (which is located between Bretanha and Mosteiros), which was named for a settler who came from the area of Mafra on the continent.
It was Baron Fernandes, another resident of the grotto of João Bom, who discovered an interesting agricultural technique in order to perpetuate consistent crop yields in this region. In 1550, he came upon the idea of planting the pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
Lupinus albus
Lupinus albus
Lupinus albus, commonly known as the white lupin, is a member of the genus Lupinus in the family Fabaceae. It is a traditional pulse cultivated in the Mediterranean region.- Description :...
around the edges of his wheat crops, which had the effect of fortifying the wheat. He did the same for his beans, and discovered the same effects. The practice of using the pulse soon disseminated throughout the island and archipelago. Then, when another settler, Lopo Pessoa, arrived on the island he went one step further; he began to alternate his crops annually, between pulse and wheat, to increase his yields.