The City of Angra on the XVI Century

Dominated the town, its castles, fortresses, artillery and ammunitions, pillaged the holdings of the inhabitants, crushed the resistance and executed or forced to labour at galleys their principals, because it pleased the occupant and the quietude and calmness of the island, Angra pursues with the fulfilment of its destiny of sea town.

It is not far neither forgotten the tragic month of August of 1583. In the memories of the people lasts the scenes of hangings on the public square. They saw the decapitation and quartering of the partisans of Dom António and the blooded heads of the patriots raised on the spears of the pikemen. The musketeers stroll yet on the frightened streets. Morions lookout from the forts battlements and, over the nearest hills, sentinels and guards watch the sea with determination. Nothing is seen, at a distance of fifteen miles, without the population being warned and the governor and captains given notice.

At Mount Brasil, in the Fachos, over two stone columns, which, by its high can be seen from the entire town, the watchmen give notice of the sails they see approaching. By placing one flag in the western column they sign the ships coming from Brasil, Guiné and Cap Verde. The same flag placed on the column on the opposed side indicates the vessels coming from the orient or from the septentrional parts. And always when the ships are more than five, the watchmen hoists up a bigger flag. Then in the fortresses of S. Sebastião and Saint António, in charged of the defence of the bay, and thus provided with gross artillery, the bombardiers stay in alert, close to the stone cannons and the culverins. The servants of the fire-arms pull the powder casks closer to the iron guns or the guns cast in bronze, keeping yet the coat of arms from France and the relieves seeded of lily flowers. And no ship may enter the port without permission.

Frequently cast anchor, not without having run through great dangers, storms and endless misery, ships from long journeys. They are the armies from the Western Indias, from China or from the Molucas, loaded with preciousness and mystery. They bring silks, damasks, silver and gold objects, porcelains, quantities of pepper, clove and nutmeg. They are the galleons from Western Indias, from Havana, Mexico, Peru, with the bilge brimful of cochinilha and ox-hide, enormous bunches of pearls and silver slabs, some times of eight and ten pounds. There are also ships from Portugal which bring salt and olive oil, plates of ceramic and china. And Flemish, French and Scotch, who come for pastel, to use in dyeing, and for trade in tissues or to get from the Spanish and Italians spices for better prizes. Many times, however, some galleon beaten by the storms, casts anchor in the bay. And all it brings are sad news, as when one hundred ships were lost in the cost of Florida.

On the beginning of August there are always big storms. When the winds blow from the South, the ships on the arbour run risks, specially the big ships from the Indias, so hard to maneuver, due to the weight of their load. Not rarely happens suddenly to come about a strong South wind, which rocks the galleons in a terrific way, throwing them against the steep and tearing them into pieces. To the town comes the distressed clamour of the crews, almost only sailors and slaves. The officers command the felling of the masts and the cut down of the shrouds. Guns are let off, asking for assistance. All the bells of the town call and the streets are full of alarm and screaming. But the tempest some times is so hideous that the ships cannot approach the cost. Neither those, who assist ashore, can be useful in any way.

To one galleon from Malaca, at anchor by the fortress of the presidio, the moorage broke. And having not enough people to repair them or cast the other anchor, it crashed on the steeps, after having abated the mastings. It sunk until the water reached the flush-deck. The wind turn round, afterwards, to Northwest, and the anger of the sea calmed down. The tempest softened. Without this change, all the other galleons which were in the port would have collapsed. On board, measures have been taken to save the men.

People from the island speak about the wreck of the galleon from Malaca and of the many and valuable merchandises which were lost. The trusses were floating and would come ashore. Some were collected from the sea. They brought spices which, in more than half became damnified.

But there is the Customhouse, home for the King’s duties. Noble house, all in carved masonry, it stands on the entrance to the port and in it dwell its purveyors, foremen and stevedores. And the leftovers were taken there, to prevent the lack of payment of the royal fifths and tithes.

By that time, there was in the island a singular man, to whom people paid distinct attention, amongst the foreigners of the port, who by night trolled on the dark taverns and gambling houses. Burned by the sun and the surf of the voyages, red and crisped hair, he stoop land in Sant’Iago day, 1589, coming from one of the five galleons returned from India. To some people, he was pilot of a lost galleon. Others would say, possibly merchant, perhaps adventurer (who knows?) a spy. By the roughness of his voice and the manners to deal with the Spaniards, he should be German, thought the people. But no. He was Dutch. His name was John Hug Van Linschoten. Every thing the foreigner saw and heard he would take notes of and sometimes they saw him designing. He assisted to the wreck of the galleon from Malaca and he wrote about it. And as he was in friendly relations with the foreman, and having this one asked him to stay on the island, taking care of the merchandises kept in the Customhouse, while he would take profit of a galleon going to Lisbon, he stayed on, for about thirty months, although very annoyed.

The unbelievable weariness, the extreme misery of a three years voyage, and on top of every thing, the lost of all goods were not enough to move the foremen and the storekeepers of the King, distant from prays and promises. But if they only could understand what this time the foreigner wrote in his papers, they would have read: “To obtain quick dispatch from these harpies, it is necessary to give them magnanimous gifts. Otherwise you will have to attend for three or four months, before they regulate the accounting with you. And if there is any thing precious on the galleons, it goes to them. It is true that they promised to pay. But they do what pleases them and you will not obtain justice against them”.
The foreigner drawn a beautiful design of the island, with all its circuit, seen from the South cost. In it he shows the town, from the S. Bento doors till those of St. Pedro, and the wide and straight streets, opened to the sea. Anchored on the bay, there are caravels and, afar, English galleons, involved by the smoke of the artillery. By the time, Lord Cumberland hanged around the islands, at times coming close Angra, at the distance of a musket shot.

In the Dutchman draw, the fortress of S. Sebastião shows its bastions, houses of ammunitions and bombardiers and, in a lower stance, a place, almost at the level of the water, where is settled the artillery. Close to the fortress, at the distance of an arbalest shot, towards the town, the Porto de Pipas, closed from land side by an high and wide wall. There, small and big boats are constructed and repaired and five or six ships from sixty to eighty tons can be safely anchored, because even if big tempests come, no harm will suffer. A streamlet, which serves twelve water-mills, runs through the middle of the town, down to the port. There are the Bicas, or fountains, close to the wharf. Through them all the seamen and armies.

On the most curved of the bay John Hug traced the long docks of masonry, sticking out from the sea and its superb entrance. In front, the Praynha, where many vessels and galleons are constructed, because the island harbours fifty shore carpenters. Ahead are Porto Novo, Dois Paus, Três Paus, the Fort of S. Benedito and, closing the bay from the North side, the fortress of Santo António.
From the pencil of the foreigner, the town emerges almost round. In one of the surrounding hills stands the Castle where lived the captain of the island and, under that, the house where he lives now, crowned with merlons, on the taste of the XV century, with its courtyard, its arches and flight of stairs in masonry.

This is 1591. The Sé, patronised by the Saviour, is an enormous, unfinished temple, almost in the middle of the town. Three bishops are bared there. It is served by five dignities. Four half prebendaries and ten priests celebrate there. From its service live one chanter, three parish priests, one chapel master, the organ player, sacristan, altar keeper, and eight young choir singers, its janitor and one toller. And it owns valuable pontificals and rich pieces in silver.

The Dutchman designed also the House of the Town Hall, with its stair cases in masonry, the Prison, the Square with its pillory, and the place of the hollows, granary of rich fraternities (receptacles full of wheat anafil, barbela, tremês and other strains). From the twelve fountains which make the town very fresh and plentiful, the main four. And he fixed all the monasteries and churches. The Conceição, “rich and gracious church of three aisles”, on the words of a historian, and having its own vicar, one priest and seven beneficiaries, S. Pedro and S. Bento. Up on the hill, S. Francisco, with its fifty monks and its fresh orchard and watered kitchen garden. The Esperança and S. Gonçalo monasteries. And the College, over de bay, where the monks of the Company were kept prisoners, during the change in the island, in result of their sympathy for Spain.

In the street called Direita, close to the Sea gate, John Hug placed the House of Misericórdia and the annexed Spirital, refuge of countless diseaded and beggars from the island, as well as others arriving from the sea, because this town is port of call of many seafaring.
About the island maladies, the foreigner wrote one day on his notes “there is an illness to which they call ‘ar’, being a kind of paralysis which takes the all body. And another called the ‘sangue’, is a pruning of blood through the face, around one eye, or in any other part of the body.”

Besides the churches and monasteries, there are many chapels. São Lázaro, with hospital for the leprous, Our Lady of Natividade, of the negros, Corpo Santo, from the seamen. Our Lady of the Remédios, S. Sebastião, Santos Cosme e Damião, São João, Santa Luzia Catarina, all of these the inquisitive foreigner has marked. He only could not count the fraternities, which are almost fifty, in all the parochial churches. And each week these fraternities have six messes. And they all are supported by alms coming from the people.
Frutuoso wrote: “The entrances of the town are so good that people easily can be provided of everything, because everything necessary is there, in great abundance and being sold at the doors and every where, as in Lisbon, except for wine and olive oil, which are sold only at the taverns, and the meat at the butchery, becoming, for this matter, like a small Lisbon.”

The streets awake at the sound of the cries. The bird trappers, who find enough occupation in selling canaries and in the bystreets of the docks, to eager purchasers of quails, guinea-hens and torcaz pigeons. There are the fruit sellers, caring apples, baioneses and anabais, melocotões and white figs. In accordance with the seasons, they bring quantities of orange and pearmains of several breeds. And they also sell lemons, earlier white figs and mulberries. And the Dutchman remarked the diversity of peaches “in unbelievable quantities”.

At the Sea Gates are the armies from the kingdom and foreigners refreshed and provided of black groupers and gorazes, salmonetes, dorados, sublime daffodils, heavy lobsters and crawfish. The all sea around is plentiful of fish and shellfish. Even close to the docks the boats are filled up with mullets, muges caught by fishing net, and many other sorts of fishery. Sharks are not eaten. But from their livers is extracted oil for the iron lamps.

The town pharmacists watch vendors of herbs, nightshade, pennyroyal, heath and other herbs for curative infusions. And they buy mangericões, roses and carnations, romerillo and rosemary, fine pasture existing in the island with which perfumed waters are produced. From S. Bento and Vale de Linhares get down baskets off lentil, broad been, peas and grain. From the vegetable-gardens which surround the town, are brought melons, cucumbers, pumpkins off many breeds, radishes, turnips, cabbage and other sorts of greenery. All is bought by the foremen of the galleons and the inhabitants of the houses of one or two stories.

The foreigner, who took note of everything he saw and heard, had to his notes: “We can see there another kind of fruit, which is sown exactly as corn, and which grows close to the root. It is almost round in shape, as a pea, and it tastes more or less like the leeks, but has a much harder peel.” It was eaten by the poor of the island. It was the chufa.
“A small Lisbon – continued Frutuoso, speaking of the town – where there are about forty tents of hammersmiths and locksmiths and seventy two of woodworkers and carpentry, and seventy of shoemakers, and three hundred masons and fifty sea carpenters and one hundred bombardiers, among whom there are twenty four of comedy, who have each one, by year, one moio of wheat and one barrel of wine and twelve thousand reis in money and one of them being master in doing salpetre sulphate and alum…”

One Italian, who came to the island before, in service of King Sebastião, wrote in his voyage diary: Questa citta e molto popolata;… è molto bella, e beeene acasata, con strade molto larghe e diritte. And having seen the carpentry done in the island, added: e quivi si fanno di molti belli scrittori di legname molto ecoelente. But not only scrittori (reach writing desks) had seen Pompeo Arditi, that was the Italian’s name. With the cedar and the dogwood, the yew and the pau branco, yellow woods, whites, all in pleasant colours, are used to construct chests and other furniture, taken afterwards in the galleons to Spain, were it is well valued.

“This island - refers the Dutch, for his turn - is well provided in various kinds of excellent woods, specially cedar, so much abundant that is used in a despicable way, to construct boats, cars and even as firewood.” At nightfall, closed the tends, officers and apprentices clime the new street of the Carrasco, and the Outeiro das Pedras. Few stop for some time on the fetid taverns, with its bough suspended by the door, where a very light wine is sold, which cannot be kept neither transported to the outside. But although abundant, some foreigners drink it as well as the thirsty soldiery and the poor from the island. The clergy and the rich usually consume wine from Madeira and Canárias.
Dom António asked: “Who are these slaves?” Ciprião de Figueredo answered: “they are prisoners, and I know them well, because they are from His Magesty service.” He then embraced them treating with regard and more distinction than the Lord, causing great astonishment among them. And he used this way with all of those that Ciprião de Figueiredo answered as not knowing, but to those he said he knew and were at his service. To those he would embrace, not mattering what they were.”… This has confide the impartial Frutuoso. The inhabitants of the island recall all of these, although they do not dare to tell to anyone but those of most confidence. Prudence does not harm anyone, on the contrary of what happens with the pistolets, halberds and daggers from the occupant.

Once, being the English in Terceira to load pastel, disguised of French, because this commerce was forbidden for them, soon they were exposed. Confiscated the ship, the men were secluded in the island. A few days after, however, they found a way to escape, in a fishermen’s boat, which they caught, in a hidden point of the coast. Sailing it they met a chip from Cumberland, which - by chance? - was on this side. The master of the ship and the foreman stayed ashore, where they had pay a bail. It was said that it was a skillful move from the resistance. And some suspects would have suffered on this account big troubles.

It happened another time, and this was in Mars, that an English ship of twenty tons, incapacitated of using all its sails due to the storm, was found by Spanish ships, which were coming from Sevilha with soldiers. Two other ships came in its help. They could easily have saved it, if it was not for the artillery from the town and castel. The Englishmen arrested aboard the ship were chained two in two. Worst destiny, however, awaited them. Brandishing a blade, a Spanish flag-bearer fling down to the defenceless prisoners, killing six on running. Two others, to avoid such destiny, threw themselves to the sea. They died drowned.
All this happened at eyesight from the island.
On the seventh of August of 1590 - refers John Hug - twenty English ships, from which five belonged to the Queen, presented themselves in front of Terceira Island, under the commandment of Captain Martin Forbisher, waiting for a Spanish fleet on its return from Western Indias. “Great was, for this reason, the alarm among the population. English privateers had already disembark in smaller islands, Graciosa and Faial. With the surprise of all they had dare. They took caravels and treasures. Yes, treasures, because the truss coming on the ships are sometimes of valuable matters. When Álvaro Flores de Quiñones left here, in safe, the charge he was bringing, five hundred millions in silver were unloaded on the dock. People from the island astonished, for they have never seen such a fortune, in gold, pearls and rare merchandises.

Returned from Havana, were one day anchored half a mile from the cost, two galleons caring. In value, three hundred thousand ducats. The English took them just there, at the sight of the town.
Another time, it was a ship from Spain. She was entering the bay when the English privateer appears at her encounter. They attacked each other with gun shoots. And having the Governor noticed, he sent two caravels in help of the ship, which was supplied with twelve cannons. The English galleon had no more then three, but before they could reach her, the caravels saw the Spanish ship sunk. On this they could thirty men. Fifty died drowned. Many corps ran ashore at the port.

The foreigner who was still in the island, took notes of all these occurrences. And when twelve ships where lost, afar from Terceira, he wrote in his papers: “For twenty days nothing else could be done but remove the dead bodies which came ashore”. To all these astonishing facts two things were always tied: The gold and the death. The inhabitants of the town knew it long ago.


Emanuel Félix, 1967 Translaction by Antonieta Costa