An autonomous region of Portugal and the westernmost area of Europe, Azores (Portuguese:
Açores) is a volcanic archipelago located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, west of mainland Portugal itself. It consists of nine islands, São Miguel being the largest, and has three capitals on different islands: Angra do Heroísmo on southern Terceira, which is home to the Judiciary, Horta on Faial, which is home to the Regional Assembly, and Ponta Delgada on São Miguel, which is home to the President and is also the largest city of the region.
The region is known for its endemic animals and plants, with about 411 out of 6112 terrestrial species being endemic, new species still being found regularly in the Azores, and the archipelago laying in the Palearctic ecozone and having a unique biome that includes the macaronesian subtropical laurissilva.
The islands were originally uninhabited, with São Miguel first being settled by Portugal in 1444. The capital of the region was originally Vila Franca do Campo, but it was wrecked by an earthquake in 1522 with about 5,000 casualties, so the capital was changed to Ponta Delgada, and later split into the three capitals in 1836 when the archipelago was divided into three districts, with Vila Franca do Campo eventually being rebuilt and becoming a thriving fishing and yachting port. Many prominent figures visited the islands in the 18th and 19th century, including Almeida Garrett, Chateaubriand, Prince Albert of Monaco, and Mark Twain, who described his time in the Azores in The Innocents Abroad. An eruption of the volcano Capelinhos in 1957 caused the evacuation of nearly 3,000 residents of the island. Most of them wound up settling in the United States, particularly in southeastern Massachusetts, and that area still has a large Azorean-American population.
São Miguel Island has the only tea plantation in Europe, Gorreana.
The Azorean flag
This flag is a rectangular bicolour of a field unevenly divided into blue on the hoist and white on the fly, with a stylized golden goshawk superimposed in the center surmounted by nine five-sided stars in a semi-circular arch, and the Portuguese lesser arms placed in the top left corner of the flag. Blue and white were traditional colours used by the Portuguese nation.
Azorean anthem
Deram frutos a fé e a firmeza
no esplendor de um cântico novo:
os Açores são a nossa certeza
de traçar a glória de um povo.
Para a frente! Em comunhão,
pela nossa autonomia.
Liberdade, justiça e razão
estão acesas no alto clarão
da bandeira que nos guia.
Para a frente! Lutar, batalhar
pelo passado imortal.
No futuro a luz semear,
De um destino com brio alcançado
colheremos mais frutos e flores;
porque é esse o sentido sagrado
das estrelas que coroam os Açores.
Para a frente, Açorianos!
Pela paz à terra unida.
Largos voos, com ardor, firmamos,
para que mais floresçam os ramos
Para a frente! Lutar, batalhar
pelo passado imortal.
No futuro a luz semear,
de um povo triunfal.
—
Bore fruits, faith and strength
in the splendour of a new chant:
the Azores are our certainty
for the glory of a people.
Forward! In communion,
for our autonomy.
Freedom, justice and reason
are kindled in the high light
of the flag that guides us.
Forward! To struggle, to battle
for our immortal past.
In the future to cast the light,
Of a destiny with dignity achieved
we shall pluck more fruits and flowers;
because that is the sacred sense
of the stars that crown the Azores.
Forward, Azoreans!
For peace united with land.
High flights, with passion, we draw,
so that may flourish the branches
Forward! To struggle, to battle
for our immortal past.
In the future to cast the light,
of a triumphant people.
