Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz da Graciosa (ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈkɾuʒ ðɐ ɣɾɐsiˈɔzɐ) is a Portuguese
municipality
on the island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores
. Its population was 4,777 inhabitants (in 2001), and included four local parishes, and one municipal government structure, that administered the entire island
.
around 1450. One of the first settlers was Vasco Gil Sodre.
The early settlement was primarily agrarian, but by 1486 its population had grown sufficiently to warrant the founding of the vila (or town) of Santa Cruz in 1486, while Praia
lost this role.
Between the 16th-17th century, Graciosa was regularly attacked by pirates and privateers, which obliged the local government to construct fortifications along the island's coast for defense.
Over the centuries Santa Cruz was visited by important travellers. The Jesuit António Vieira, who stopped in the village after a shipwreck while returning to Lisbon from Brazil. Later the French writer Chateaubrian, in 1791, whilst fleeing the horrors of the French Revolution stopped in Graciosa en route to America. In 1814, a young Almeida Garret wrote some of his first verses, already a revelation of his budding talents. Finally, in 1879, Prince Albert of Monaco, notable for his oceanographic and maritime studies, stopped in Graciosa and visited Furna do Enxofre. He was one of the first to descend the volcanic chamber using a rope ladder.
The construction of the port in Praia, and the northern aerodrome, were important in breaking the island's isolation and concentration on agriculture.
The population centers on the island, apart from appearing dispersed, are concentrated along the road network. This is typical of many of other Azorean islands, usually colonized along important corridors corresponding to river-valleys or open terrains. Consequently, urban development has been conditioned by the islands geomorphology resulting in four principal axes of settlement supporting 80% of the islands population:
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
on the island of Graciosa, 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...
. Its population was 4,777 inhabitants (in 2001), and included four local parishes, and one municipal government structure, that administered the entire island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
.
History
While the date of its first discovery is uncertain, it is known that its first settlers arrived from the island of TerceiraTerceira Island
Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” , Terceira is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km²...
around 1450. One of the first settlers was Vasco Gil Sodre.
The early settlement was primarily agrarian, but by 1486 its population had grown sufficiently to warrant the founding of the vila (or town) of Santa Cruz in 1486, while Praia
Praia (Azores)
Praia is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, on the island of Graciosa, in the Azores...
lost this role.
Between the 16th-17th century, Graciosa was regularly attacked by pirates and privateers, which obliged the local government to construct fortifications along the island's coast for defense.
Over the centuries Santa Cruz was visited by important travellers. The Jesuit António Vieira, who stopped in the village after a shipwreck while returning to Lisbon from Brazil. Later the French writer Chateaubrian, in 1791, whilst fleeing the horrors of the French Revolution stopped in Graciosa en route to America. In 1814, a young Almeida Garret wrote some of his first verses, already a revelation of his budding talents. Finally, in 1879, Prince Albert of Monaco, notable for his oceanographic and maritime studies, stopped in Graciosa and visited Furna do Enxofre. He was one of the first to descend the volcanic chamber using a rope ladder.
The construction of the port in Praia, and the northern aerodrome, were important in breaking the island's isolation and concentration on agriculture.
Human geography
The territory of Graciosa Island consists of one municipality, Santa Cruz da Graciosa (4,780 inhabitants in 2001), which is divided into four civil parishes:- Santa Cruz - the seat of the municipality and principal urbanized population on the island, located on eastern coast;
- São Mateus da PraiaPraia (Azores)Praia is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, on the island of Graciosa, in the Azores...
- a historic village and once-municipal seat, until it was unincorporated in the 19th century; - GuadalupeGuadalupe (Santa Cruz da Graciosa)Guadalupe is a parish in the district of Santa Cruz da Graciosa in the Azores. The population as of 2001 was 1,306. Its density is 63.6/km² and the area is 20.55 km²....
- the principal rural population on the island; - LuzLuz (Santa Cruz da Graciosa)Luz is a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa on the island of Graciosa in the Portuguese Azores. The population was 735 , in an area of 11.85 km² ....
- civil parish better known locally as "Sul" (South), located along the southern coast of the island.
The population centers on the island, apart from appearing dispersed, are concentrated along the road network. This is typical of many of other Azorean islands, usually colonized along important corridors corresponding to river-valleys or open terrains. Consequently, urban development has been conditioned by the islands geomorphology resulting in four principal axes of settlement supporting 80% of the islands population:
- along the valley separating the Caldeira Massif from the rest of the island, between the village of Praia and Carapacho, Fonte do Mato, Pedras Brancas and Luz;
- around Serra das Fontes, the axis between Santa Cruz and Santo Amaro, including Fontes and Guadelope, as well as two branches to Pontal by way of Pedras Brancas, and southeast to include Almas, Manuel Gaspar, Ribeirinha and Brasileira;
- from Santa Cruz to Rebentão, around Pico da Hortelã, and northeast to Vitória;
- from Dores to Bom Jesus and along the coast to Vitória, this region is a vast landscape of many disperse settlements, different from the rest of the island.