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AzoresThe Azores may have been known to the ancients and were included on a map in 1351. Portuguese sailors reached them in 1427 or 1431, but colonization did not begin until 1445 under Diogo de Sevilha or Gonçalo Velho Cabral (who may have been there in 1431). During the colonial period, the Azores were a stopover point for treasure fleets returning from the New World, and many ships were lost there due to hurricanes or pirates. The islands were used as a place of exile and were also the site of naval battles between the English and the Spanish. In the 19th cent. they were used by supporters of Maria II against Dom Miguel. In the 20th cent., there has been a large outmigration to the United States.
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- Flores, island, Azores
Flores, island (1991 pop. 4,435), 58 sq mi (150 sq km), Horta dist., in the N Atlantic, the most westerly of the Azores, Portugal. Santa Cruz is its chief town. Cattle raising is the main indu...
- Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada, city (1991 pop. 21,091), capital of Ponta Delgada dist., in the Azores, Portugal. An important port on São Miguel island, it is the largest city and chief commercial center of t...
- Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo, town (1991 pop. 11,672), capital of Angra do Heroísmo dist., Portugal, in the Azores, on Terceira island. It is a port and was until 1832 capital of the Azores. There is an ...
- Graciosa
Graciosa, island (1991 pop. 5,600), 24 sq mi (62 sq km), Angra do Heroísmo dist., in the N Atlantic, one of the central Azores. The chief town is Santa Cruz.
- Horta
Horta, town (1991 pop. 4,907), capital of Horta dist., in the Azores, Portugal, on Faial island. It has an excellent harbor with shipyards and is a military air base.
- Faial
Faial, island (1991 pop. 15,155), 66 sq mi (171 sq km), in the N Atlantic, one of the central Azores, Portugal. It is in Horta dist., named for the island's chief town and port, Horta. Fruit a...
- Gordon, Adam Lindsay
Gordon, Adam Lindsay, 1833–70, Australian poet, b. the Azores. In 1853 he went to South Australia, where he joined the mounted police and later became famous as a steeplechase rider and horse ...
- São Miguel
São Miguel, island (1991 pop. 126,388), 288 sq mi (746 sq km), one of the E Azores, in Ponta Delgada dist., Portugal. It is the largest island of the archipelago, and its principal city, Ponta...
- Sargasso Sea
Sargasso Sea, part of the N Atlantic Ocean, lying roughly between the West Indies and the Azores and from about lat. 20°N to lat. 35°N, in the horse latitudes. The relatively still sea is the ...
- Terceira
Terceira, island (1991 pop. 59,248), 153 sq mi (396 sq km), in the N Atlantic, one of the central Azores, Portugal. The chief town is Angra do Heroísmo, which gives its name to the district. G...
