GEOGRAPHY
Santa Maria belongs to the eastern group, and lies 55 miles south of São Miguel. It is the third smallest island of the Azores, its surface area is about 97,42 Km² and its maximum length and width are 18 Km and 10 Km, respectively. The island is situated at 28° 08' West longitude and 37° 43' North latitude. Your first sensation will be a sense of peace and tranquility, a sensation common to the Azorean Islands.
HISTORY
The date of the discovery of Santa Maria is unknown. What we can be sure of is that Portuguese caravels reconnoitred its coast in 1427 and that Gonçalo Velho Cabral, a navigator in the service of Prince Henry and a knight of the Order of Christ, brought cattle to Santa Maria.
The first island of the Azores to be peopled, a handful of pioneers went ashore from caravels and settled at Praia dos Lobos, along the stream called Ribeira do Capitão. João Soares de Albergaria, a nephew of the first captain-donee and his heir, gave new life to the settlement of Santa Maria, bringing over families from mainland Portugal, mainly from the Algarve.
Development was rapid until the end of the 15th century, and led to the fact that the first town charter in the Azores was granted to the place called Porto, which since then has been known as Vila do Porto. Until the end of the 17th century, the prosperity of the island was based on woad, which was considered the best in the archipelago and existed in abundance, and on archil, both exported to the dyeing shops of Flanders. Wheat was also grown, and was in demand in continental Portugal tp supply the Portuguese strongholds in North Africa.
The true pirates were to come in the 16th and 17th centuries, with attacks by English, French, Turkish and Algerian corsairs who, in spite of the fortifications that had been built, burnt and pillaged the island and carried off prisoners as slaves and hostages. In 1616 Santa Maria was occupied for five days by Moroccan pirates who returned in 1675 and carried out numerous atrocities.
Devoting its energies to agriculture, in which the predominant crops were grapes, wheat, maize, potatoes, yams and fruit, and also to livestock raising and dairy products, Santa Maria passed through the 18th and 19th centuries without much upheavels, excluding the presence of a small number of young men among the troops that took part in the landing at Mindelo and the siege of Oporto in 1832, during the struggle between liberals and absolutists. The construction in 1944 of the airport, of great strategic value during the 2nd World War and a compulsory point in Atlantic crossings until the end of the 60s, brought it new dynamism and progress.
The introduction of new types of aircraft with a greater range has gradually reduced traffic at the airport, but the future of the island is viewed with hope on the basis of the adequate use of its natural resources and geographical position.
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