The District of Ponta Delgada was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes (Adjacent Islands 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...

), consisting of the dependent eastern islands of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. The district of Ponta Delgada, not to be confused with the modern municipality of Ponta Delgada, existed until 1976 when it was abolished in the favour of the autonomy charter of the 1975 Portuguese Constitution.

History

By decree, on 18 July 1835, Mouzinho da Silveira established the districts of the Ilhas Adjacentes as part of his administrative reforms of local government. The provinces were extinguished, and the administrative and fiscal districts were created that included the eastern and western groups of islands: centred on Angra do Heroísmo and Ponta Delgada. This was followed in 1833 by an independence movement by the recently-promoted centre of Horta, forcing by 28 March 1836 division the Azorean territory into three districts. During this process Ponta Delgada did not change, and remained defined by the two eastern islands and islets of the Formigas.

During the Estado Novo

Estado Novo

There have been two regimes known as Estado Novo :*Estado Novo , the period from 1937 to 1945, under the leadership of Getúlio Vargas...

 regime of António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...

 the region obtain a level of districtal autonomy, especially after 1940.

The Autonomous District of Ponta Delgada was extinguished, along with the other districts (Horta

Horta (district)

The District of Horta was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes , consisting of the dependent western islands of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Angra do Heroísmo) on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of theJunta Regional dos Açores (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region's transition to constitutional autonomy.

With regional autonomy the districts were completely abolished: the 1976 Portuguese constitution defined in law the status of Autonomous Region

Political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

The political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores is the standard paralegal constitutional framework for the autonomy of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores...

 without the existence of districts. Local government authority and administration fell to the upper-level Local Administrative Units

Lau

Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...

(the municipalities) and second-tier LAU

Lau

Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...

 IIs (the civil parishes).

Geography

The district covered about 800 km² and included the two islands of Santa Maria

Santa Maria Island

Santa Maria , Portuguese for Saint Mary, is an island located in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago and the southernmost island in the Azores...

 and 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...

 and the small islets of the Formigas.

Consequently, the district included the six municipalities of:

• Lagoa
• Nordeste
• Ponta Delgada
  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,...
  
  (former capital)
• Povoação
  Povoação
  Povoação is a municipality located in the southern part of São Miguel Island in the Azores. It has a population of 6,696 inhabitants and a total area of 108 km².-Geography:...
  
  
• Ribeira Grande
• Vila Franca do Campo
  Vila Franca do Campo
  Vila Franca do Campo is a town and a municipality in the southern part of the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores...
  
  
• Vila do Porto
  Vila do Porto
  Vila do Porto is the single municipality, the name of the main town and one of the civil parishes on the island of Santa Maria, in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of Azores...
  
  

The largest municipality by population used to be Ponta Delgada

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,...

, the least populated area was Vila do Porto

Vila do Porto

Vila do Porto is the single municipality, the name of the main town and one of the civil parishes on the island of Santa Maria, in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of Azores...

.