Praia do Almoxarife

Located in the municipality of Horta, Praia do Almoxarife is a civil parish of the archipelago of the Portuguese Azores. Ironically, for its history (it was the beachhead of early settlement on the island), its population has not grown significantly since it was settled. It has, although, become an important summer destination and tourist center for its long black sand beach.

Geography

Nestled between Lomba da Espalamaca and Lombda dos Frades, the parish is primarily a agricultural settlement. Bisected by the eastern Regional Road E.R.1-1ª, the community is divided to an eastern beach community, and western pastureland that extends westerly to the island's caldera.

History

The settlement of Praia was originally a beachhead of settlement, first as landing point of explorers and then by new colonists. In 1466, Josse van Huerter and his Flemish compatriots landed on the beach in a misguided hope of discovery precious metals (in particular tin and silver). There settlement abridged the Lomba dos Frades, where they stayed for about a year. Eventually, there was a falling out between Huetere and his people, and he narrowly escaped the island. He returned in 1466-67, with a contract from the Duchess of Burgandy to settle and populated the islands in the name of the crown of Portugal. Quickly, he discovered that the limitations of the area continued, and he abandoned the settlement in favor of the adjacent valley (later known as the Valley of Flamengos); some chroniclers of the island blame this on lack of a potable water source.^[1]

But some continued in this region, where a small settlement persisted through the decades. Praia, likely, received its full name (which is of Moorish or Islamic origin) for being the point of settlement for the administrator of lands or royal treasurer on the island; almoxarife means treasurer, a term now in disuse in Portugal that refers to an agent responsible for guarding, distributing, inventorying goods or supplies. On September 12, 1597 English corsairs sacked and burned down the parish.

By 1643, Friar Diogo Chagas, noted that 305 people lived in the community.^[2].

It was on February 1, 1718 that many residents gathered at the Casa da Câmara (in Horta) following the catastrophic eruption on the island of Pico, which affected the parishes of Santa Luzia and Bandeiras. The local populous then made a procession to the Church of Conceição, with a statue of Senhor Santo Cristo, and united with a similar statue of the Virgin Mary, they prayed for mercy. During the course of their benedictions the community made a pledge to celebrate masses of penance, devotion and thanksgiving on future anniversaries in the name of Senhor Santo Cristo; as they pledged "for every year as long as the earth existed...at the municipality's expense...with all officials...assisted by all communities, to be made at your church of Praia...at all expense necessary".^[3] Following the beginning of the First Portuguese Republic until 1926, owing to a Jacobin secularism, the celebrations were not made. After the 1926 earthquake, a new petition by citizens, to renew the tradition, was forwarded to the Interior Ministry, where the minister authorized the chief of the district to renew the tradition.

Economy

Due to its relative proximity to Horta, the community has become a surrogate for tourist and summer vacationers due to its beach. This is steadily becoming as important to its primary sources of income associated with agriculture and dairy production located to the west of the Regional Road.

References

1. ^ MONT'ALVERNE, Agostinho de (OFM). Crónicas da Província de São João Evangelista das Ilhas dos Açores (2ª ed.). Ponta Delgada (Açores): Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada, 1986.
2. ^ CHAGAS, Frei Diogo das (OFM), Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de Várias Flores, Secretaria Regional da Educação e Cultura, Direcção Regional dos Assuntos Culturais, Universidade dos Açores, Centro de Estudos Doutor Gaspar Frutuoso, 1989 (pp.478)
3. ^ RIBEIRO, Fernando Faria, "Em Dias Passados: Figuras, Instituições e Acontecimentos da História Faialense", Nucleu Cultural da Horta, 2007 (pp.37-38)

v • d • e Parishes of Horta municipality Angústias | Capelo | Castelo Branco | Cedros | Conceição | Feteira | Flamengos | Matriz | Pedro Miguel | Praia do Almoxarife | Praia do Norte | Ribeirinha | Salão

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