Fajã Grande
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| Fajã Grande | ||
| Freguesia de Fajã Grande | ||
| Civil Parish | ||
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| Name origin: compound name, Portuguese for "Great Delta" | ||
| Country |  Portugal |
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| State |  Azores |
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| Island | Flores | |
| Municipality | Lajes das das Flores | |
| Center | Fajã Grande | |
| - coordinates | 39°27′14″N 31°15′45″W / 39.45389°N 31.2625°W | |
| Highest point | Rocha da Fajã | |
| - elevation | 732 m (2,402 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 39°27′29″N 31°13′57″W / 39.45806°N 31.2325°W | |
| Lowest point | Sea Level | |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | |
| Area | 39.55 km2 (15 sq mi) | |
| - metro | 12.55 km2 (5 sq mi) | |
| Population | 225 (2001) | |
| Density | 17.9 /km2 (46 /sq mi) | |
| Founded | 1861 | |
| Civil Parish | Executive & Civil Committee | |
| President/Mayor | José Teodósio Fragueiro | |
| - Chairperson | Victor José Lourenço Fagundes | |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) | |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC-2) | |
| Código Postal & Codex | 9960-040 Fajã Grande | |
| Country Code & Fix Line | +351 292 | |
| Denonym | Florense; Fajãgrandense | |
| Patron Saint | São José | |
| Offices | Rua Senador Andre Freitas | |
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.
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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 Miguel, 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:
- There, about a quarter league is Fajã, called "Big" [referring to its name Big/Great Fajã] which offers bread and woad on elevated land, with a few births for Caravels, 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 limpets and cowrie shells; and in front of this point, which forms a bay, where many type of ships anchor, including Carracks from India. 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, 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), 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, on July 1676. To create the new parish of Fajãs, the local community in Ponta da Fajã was de-annexed from the 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. 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 issue. At the time, Father António Cordeiro, writing around 1720, affirmed that the Fajãs included about 80 homes. The debate was finally ended by the Civil Governor, Luís Teixeira de Sampaio, who reported on April 3, 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 the community, and the problem caused by annual floodings along the Riberia Grande river (responsible for cutting 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 April 4, 1861, King Pedro V of Portugal decreed the creation of a new ecclesiastical parish, to include Ponta, Fajã Grande and Cuada, centered on the church of São José da Fajã Grande (the responsibility of the Bishop of Angra, friar D. Estêvão de Jesus Maria, dated June 20, 1861. The parochial church was constructed from the small chapel (which was built in 1755, and blessed on May 24, 1757); the new temple was blessed on August 1, 1850, after three years of construction (it was completed in 1849). Due to the support of an emigrant to America, José Luís da Silveira, the church was remodeled in 1880. Later, in the area of Ponta da Fajã another church was constructed (the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo), which was in use until 1922, and on September 28, 1969, another chapel in Ponta was created, 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 .[1]
Geography
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Physical Geography
The village is located in a extensive fajã (a delta 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 is located at the base of the plateau.
Off the western coast, the Monchique Islet, is the westernmost point of the Azores (and Europe).
Human geography
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.
Notes
- ^ A recent plan to remove building restrictions by the residents was not supported
Bibliography
- Cordeiro, António (1717). História Insulana das Ilhas a Portugal Sujeitas no Oceano Ocidental. Imprensa de António Pedroso Galvão, Lisboa Occidental.
- Gomes, Francisco António Nunes Pimentel (2003) [1997]. A Ilha das Flores: da redescoberta à actualidade (Subsídios para a sua História) (2nd ed.). Câmara Municipal das Lajes das Flores.
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