GEOGRAPHY
The island of Flores, with an area of 143.11 km2, is 17 km long and 12.5 km at its widest point. The highest part of the central plateau is Morro Alto with an altitude of 914 metres. The island is situated on 31º 59' west longitude and 39º 25' north latitude.
HISTORY
The discovery date of the islands of Flores and Corvo is a controversial issue, although it is known that it took place after that of the other seven islands of the Azores. It is said that Flores was sighted in 1452 by Diogo de Teive and his son Initially called São Tomás or Santa lria, its name was soon changed to Flores, literally "Flowers" on account of the abundance of wild flowers that covered the whole island, the seeds of which were possibly brought from Florida, in North America on the feathers of migratory birds. The initial settlement is attributed to the Fleming Wilhem van der Haagen (Guilherme da Silveira, as he was known to the Portuguese),who left it after a few years and settled on the island of São Jorge. This was no doubt due to the remoteness of Flores and the lack of regular shipping connections that would allow the export to Flanders of the dye-yielding plant called woad.
He was followed in the 16th century by farmers from various regions of Continental Portugal who began to plough fields and produce wheat, barley, maize, vegetables, archil (a lichen used in dyeing) and woad.
During that period the settlements of Lajes and Santa Cruz received town charters. Far removed from other Islands of the archipelago, with few export products, the island of Flores was almost completely isolated for centuries, a situation broken by rare visits of ships that look on water and bought provisions there.
Also cargo boats from Faial and Terceira which came to fetch sperm whale oil, honey, cedar-wood. butter, lemons. oranges. smoked meats and, at times, ceramics from the local potteries and, in exchange, left woollen and linen clothes and other goods. This isolation did not prevent the island from the sacking by an English fleet in 1587, nor did it prevent other pirates from attacking and pillaging it, including one who according to tradition, took refuge in the Enxaréus grotto.
American whaling ships frequented the waters of the Azores from the middle of the 18th century to the end of the 19th. They hunted the sperm whale and recruited sailors and harpooners from among the population. Many of these recruits later became the captains of sailing vessels, outstanding of which was the "Wanderer" which sailed until 1924 and was considered the most beautiful American whaler. The development of agriculture and stock-breeding, improvement of the port facilities, construction of an airport and the presence of a French satellite tracking station, are recent events that have opened new horizons for progress on the island.
Death of a pirate.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Azores served as a base for the restocking and protection of the Spanish galleons filled with valuable treasure from Mexico and Peru and, for that reason, their waters were infested by pirates. In 1591, a fleet of 16 English privateers, under the command of Sir Thomas Howard, cast anchor off the north coast of Flores to plunder the island, allow the crew to rest and wait for the galleons to arrive. Warned in time of the presence of a Spanish defence squadron with a larger number of ships, the English fleet, except for the Revenge under the command of Sir Richard Grenville, was able to withdraw rapidly.
Sir Richard delayed his flight, either waiting for his crew's return, or he thought that the approaching sails belonged to the galleons filled with treasures having been sighted, and choosing to fight instead of running away, the Revenge threw herself at the Spanish fleet and for hours resisted heroically the attacks of many enemy vessels until she was boarded and her last twenty defenders, among them Sir Richard Grenville, were taken prisioner by the flagship San Pablo. Sir Richard died 2 few days later. This heroic deed the subject of a poem by Tennyson, is viewed by some historic artist as a demonstration of the "intolerable pride" and "insatiable ambition" of Sir Richard Grenville, which made him hated by men under his command and feared by his enemies.
The Odyssey of the "Alabama".
During the American Civil War the Southern forces used privateers as one way to attack the Northern merchant navy. The most famous of them all was the "Alabama" which, built in England in 1862, came to receive her armament and ammunitions near Flores and then immediately started out in pursuit of the Northern whalers which were in local waters and rapidly sank them. After that, the "Alabama" continued as a privateer, sinking about 70 ships until, in June 1864 she was attacked and destroyed by the "Kearsarge", of the United States Navy in the area of the English Channel. The transfer of the "Alabama" to the Confederates cost England an indemnity of over 15 million dollars in gold for the damages she had caused. One of the crewmen of the "Alabama", was a brave sailor from the island of Corvo who, after his adventures, was nicknamed Alabama. His descendants still live on Corvo.
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