Terra Chã

Parochial church of Nossa Senhora de Belém da Terra Chã

Império do Espírito Santo do Terreiro

The earliest document refers to the "Charcão", which is a toponymic derivative of charco (meaning: "a standing pool of water, which is not too deep, but filled with a mixture of unfiltered particulates"). This may have been a reference to wetlands, probably the first and only native water sources. Initially, the area around the present parish was a source of firewood for many of the residents of the town or settlers along the southern coast.[4]

Early colonists to the area that is now Terra Cha (then part of the parish of São Pedro da Angra) were helped by a source of potable water. Ground water from many aquifers in the area, and a sloping landscape, along with the construction of many cisterns, provided a steady source of water, facilitating the colonization of the region (as evidenced from records which refer to the "town" of Terra Chã during the first century).[5] Over time, these small pockets of settlement began to take shape, supported by reliable sources of water and the cultivation of vineyards and orchards.

The earliest recorded reference to Terra Chã da Silveira is in the testament of Pero Anes do Canto, who owned lands in this region between 1482 and 1515.[6][7] His lands covered a large area that extended along the coast, in the parish of São Mateus da Calheta, up to Silveira on the periphery of Angra, and into the interior, to the base of Charcão ("the cone").

After 1572, Terra Chã was integrated into the religious parish of São Pedro de Angra, created after the division of the rural areas of the parish of Sé whose lands extended to the northwest in the direction of the island's interior plateau.

Consequent to the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, Sebastião Álvares, a rich Angrense merchant, and his wife Grácia Fernandes built a primitive chapel to fulfil their vow to the Virgin of Belém.[8] The legend associated with this vow is linked to the garrison of French troops that was presumably stationed on Terceira to support António, Prior of Crato. On one particular occasion, a group of French soldiers assaulted the home of Sebastião Álvares but the family survived without injury. As gratitude for divine intervention from the assault, the wealthy merchant constructed a chapel where, today, the parochial church of Nossa Senhora de Belém is erected. However, the date inscribed on the front façade of the church (1570), apparently the date of its founding, conflicts with the religious promise made by Sebastião Álvares in 1574.

In 1674, during the structuring of island administration, Terra Chã was elevated to the status of a religious parish within São Pedro de Angra, with its seat in the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Belém (still today the centre of parochial life). Even for its small population, the chapel was diminutive and did not permit large services. For this reason, there was a desire for a spacious temple, which made João Moniz Corte Real[9]) (a descendant of the original founder) cede lands around the chapel to construct a new church in its place. However, the beginning of the Liberal Wars, in which Corte Real was an important contributor, delayed the building of the new church, and it was only on 21 November 1846 that the cornerstone was placed. The lack of funds slowed its construction throughout the following years, and only in 1857, did the first services occur.[1]

Being a densely forested zone with a labyrinth of small roads between its orchards and the residence of a Miguelist supporter (João Moniz Corte Real),[9] Terra Chã became a place of refuge for absolutist sympathizers after Liberals took power in the city of Angra.[1]

During the Liberal Wars, a local absolutist resistance movement took shape in Terra Chã against the Liberals, using tenets of guerrilla warfare.[9] It became the centre of the resistance movement during the war. Two guerrillas from Terra Chã became celebrated: Boi Negro (English: Black Bull) and Rasgado (English: Ripped/Torn). Terra Chã was so well known for its guerrillas that Francisco Lourenço Valadão Júnior referred to Terra Chã as the alfobre de guerrilhas (English: Germinator of Guerrillas).[1][10]

Some of the events of the guerrilla war are reflected in the toponymic names of the localities in the parish, including Casas Queimadas (English: Burned Casas) and Guerrilhas (English: Guerrillas).[11] Casas Queimadas was named for an event where the home of André Machado Lemos, who lived with his family in a ranch along Caminho dos Regatos, was burned down. In 1828, a liberal emissary who travelled to Doze Ribeiras was attacked by a group of guerrillas attempting to seize a dispatch he was carrying. The Liberal took refuge in the home of André Lemos, and the soldiers attempted to burn down the home with all its contents and occupants. In the end, good sense prevailed on the part of the guerrillas who saved Lemos' family. Consequently, the home was referred locally as the casa queimada: the area name evolving from the place name over time.[1][11]

During World War II, Terra Chã was the centre of hospital services that were established to provide support to the Portuguese Expeditionary Forces, English military forces and American soldiers.[12] The evolution of the Hospital Militar da Terra Chã and its role during the war started when it was constructed in front of the parochial church and became functional on 6 October 1943. The primary purpose of the hospital was to support the Portuguese Expeditionary Forces stationed on the island of Terceira, and English servicemen who disembarked.[12] The hospital facility was further extended to American soldiers who used the installations at Lajes Field. In 1946, with the redeployment of Portuguese Expeditionary and English military forces from Lajes (substituted by the aforementioned American military), the Terra Chã Military Hospital fell under the administration of Air Base No.4, receiving on 9 September 1946 the designation Hospital Militar da BA4 (Terra-Chã).[13] This title remained until 13 August 1972, when under Decree No.296/72 14 August,[1][14] the Portuguese Armed Forces reorganized the health care system (Portuguese: Serviço de Saúde da Força Aérea Portuguesa) and rationalized various other administrative functions. At that time, the hospital was designated the Núcleo Hospital Especializado da Força Aérea 2 (NHEFA2) (English: Specialized Hospital Centre of Air Force 2).[13]

It was the only Portuguese Air Force hospital between 1946 and 1975, when it was de-activated under Decree 525/75, 25 September,[12][15] and Air Force services were concentrated in Lumiar, Lisbon, eventually becoming the Air Force Hospital. By the middle of the 1960s, the hospital in Terra Chã was used by military servicemen injured and evacuated from operational theatres of the Portuguese Colonial Wars in Africa.[13] Hundreds of servicemen passed through the institution, which was important in altering the social structure of the parish. Its ranks were visited by notable medics who collaborated with the staff at the hospital in Angra.[16] Among these was the military doctor Viriato Garrett,[13] who arrived in Terceira in 1941 with ensigns from the militia, and who worked almost exclusively at the Angra Hospital since its founding.[13] His activity as surgeon was particularly intense after 1957, when he joined the ranks of the Portuguese Air Force (FAP). He was promoted to Medical Captain and stationed at Air Base No.4, where he remained until the closing of the institution, becoming director of the hospital after 1966.[13]

Following the war, during the 1960s, it served to treat defence forces returning from the Portuguese Colonial Wars in Africa. Following the closure of the hospital in 1966, the military hospital building served as a refuge for displaced colonial troops (Portuguese: Os Retornados as they were referred) returning from the independent colonies. But by 1976, the building was transferred to the newly established Instituto Universitario dos Açores (English: University of the Azores) to serve as its Angra Campus. In 2004, the campus was transferred to new facilities in Pico da Urze, and the building transformed into a technological park affiliated with the university.

• 1825 – 6 September – Elevated to a religious parish by King John VI of Portugal;
• 1835 – 26 November – Borders delimited and civil administration of the parish of Terra Chã by King John VI of Portugal;
• 1846 – 21 November – Cornerstone placed on the parochial Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém;
• 1857 – Conclusion, consecration and opening of the parochial Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém;
• 1861 – Foundation of the Império do Espírito Santo da Terra Chã;
• 1864 – First population census using modern demographic criteria in the parish (1391 inhabitants);
• 1943 – 6 October – Constructed, in context of the Second World War, the Hospital Militar da Terra Chã (English: Military Hospital of Terra Chã) destined to support the Portuguese Expeditionary Forces, stationed on the island of Terceira, as well as British and American servicemen;
• 1958 – Foundation of the Império do Espírito Santo da Boa Hora;
• 1993 – Foundation of the Império do Espírito Santo do Bairro.

A view of Terra Chã, as seen from the Miradouro das Veredas, with the flank of Serra da Santa Bárbara on the right

The territory was formed by mostly basaltic magma within the last 100,000 years. Fissural eruptions around the area of Pico da Bagacina produced fluid lava that flowed to the coast of the island.[18] The accumulation of successive flows produced a planar landscape with a surface covered in clinker geology. This layer was a combination of lightly dense lapilli and pyroclastic deposits that originated from the small cones in the immediate vicinity of the parish, namely Pico da Urze and Pico da Boa Hora. As a consequence of the genesis, the soils are exclusively arid or semi-arid regosols, with a predominance of sedimentary basalts resulting in the easy degradation of clinker topography, known more commonly as biscoitos (in the Azores) or breccia.

The exceptions to this occur along the flanks of Charcão and the upper altitudes around Veredas and Matela, zones of older rock (greater than 3 million year), composed of trachybasalt and trachyte that correspond to the formation of the Guilherme Moniz-Cinco Picos volcanic complexes.[18] This zone, which follows a visible contour in the transition to the flatter parts of the parish, corresponds to the coast of the proto-island of Terceira and is marked by weathering, presented by some boulder formations typical of trachybasalt evolution of the landscape. It is covered primarily by pyroclastic trachytes, derived from the great eruptions after the post-caldera eruptions in the Serra da Santa Bárbara, and local activity around Matela, where a dense layer of pumice affected hydrothermal circulation. These local soils are more evolved, deep, and primarily andosols.

This genesis and geomorphology in Terra Chã resulted in two types of landscapes:

• A planar region (where the population is located) with a gentle incline of less than 3% that extends toward the north-northwest direction between the extreme south of Canada de Belém and the area around Pico da Bagacina. Soils are poor in this region, essentially breccia, very porous and, for that reason, deprived of functional water courses. This is an area of little agricultural value, but still, occupied at its lower limits by orchards and pasture which include Eucalyptus globulus and Pittosporum undulatum that have survived since the middle of the 20th century. The higher altitudes constitute poorer, semi-natural lands that have been used traditionally for the raising of bulls;
• A minor region, in the northeast of the parish, that corresponds to the western flank of the Guilherme Moniz massif (Charco) and a plateau in the area of Veredas/Matela, which has an accented relief, composed of pūmex and soil, that is easily transportable and of relative agricultural value. The region itself, due to its altitude and sloping landscape does not support settlement, but its soils are arable and occupied by a majority of the better pasturelands in the region. In areas with steeper inclines or that have experienced significant hydrothermal circulation (around Matela primarily), there exist patches of forest dominated by Cryptomeria japonica, as well as a stand of old-growth laurissilva forest.

The urban structure is a mixed pattern of use, with a linear alignment typical of older rural Terceirense areas established around historical roads. Its roadways flow from the Portões de São Pedro towards Boa Hora and link the city of Angra to Doze Ribeiras, in addition to the settlements in the southwest and west of the island (the old Caminho de Cima, today the Estrada Municipal E.M.501).

Onto this network are natural patches of relatively urbanized settlements, constituted of recently constructed residential zones (mostly built after the 1980 earthquake) and of a markedly suburban character. This structure has resulted in the following nuclei:

• Boa Hora – a settlement located along a road from Angra, that splits off to the west (in the direction of Doze Ribeiras) and to the north (towards Pedregal on the way to Posto Santo, Veredes and the centre of the island). It is an old centre, with many historic buildings that were homes to important burgher families of Angra. It has its own Império to the Holy Spirit, site of annual festivals and community life;
• Belém – the oldest place and most centrally located parish, developed linearly along the Caminho de Cima (Estrada Municipal E.M.501), and including access to Belém-Largo da Igreja-Caminho de Belém-Terreiro-Dois Caminhos. This settlement is the centre of the parish, site of the parochial Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém, the Império do Espírito Santo de Terreiro and parish seat for a number of institutions, including Junta de Freguesia, Casa do Povo, primary school[19] and kindergarten, Campus of the University of the Azores (the old Military Hospital Air Base No.4) and the recreational centre. Various manors punctuate this agglomeration, giving it a distinct character along the urban periphery;
• Bairro da Terra Chã – situated south of the parochial church and west of the Canada de Belém, it includes the residents in the Canada de Belém and Canada do Rolo, which grew from the neighbourhood (Portuguese: barrio) constructed to house residents after the 1 January 1980 earthquake,[20] and subsequently improved and expanded. Today it is a principal residential nucleus of the parish, with Império and community centre, but functions as more of a bedroom community of Angra, whose population are largely recent transplants. The Canada de Belém is the older nucleus, having evolved linearly along the main road that connects the parish church along the Caminho do Meio and Caminho de Baixo (in São Mateus da Calheta), having its own Império since 1959;
• Fonte Faneca – another nucleus of a linear character, it developed along the road that splits into Dois Caminhos and extends into the interior of the island. It is an older consolidated agglomeration, although there has been a great deal of growth over the past decade, due to the improved accessibility to Angra;
• Ladeiras e Guerrilhas – concentrated along the roadway between Dois Caminhos and the parish frontier with São Bartolomeu de Regatos, in addition to the area in Caminho de Cima (between Dois Caminhos and Guerrilhas), this locality includes the higher altitude Canada da Francesa, adding a suburban character to the zone. Being the more elevated part of the parish, it includes scrub and forests of Eucalyptus and Incense, and was traditionally inhabited by woodsmen and shepherds tending to wild cattle.

The parish of Terra Chã has an extensive number of farms, which have historically been the place of residence and holiday homes of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy of Angra do Heroísmo.[21] The estates of these landlords were made up of a house, large yards with manicured gardens, orchards, vineyards, pastures and water fountains. Example of these properties include Solar dos Corvelos, Quinta de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, Quinta da Boa Hora, Quinta das Casas (Quinta de Santa Luzia), Quinta dos Simões, Quinta dos Prazeres, Quinta de Nossa Senhora da Guia and Quinta Viana, in addition to other estates along Canada do Fisher (Pedregal), the Quinta do Loura (Quinta do Boi Negro) and Árvore Grande (Canada de Belém).[21]

The first census in Terra Chã was conducted in 1864.

Demographically, the parish of Terra Chã (as with other communities on the island of Terceira) was marked by emigration, first to Brazil, then to the United States and finally to Canada. Also, the 1 January 1980 earthquake,[20] which caused major damage on the island, triggered a wave of resettlements into Terra Chã. The effect of this demographic shift into the parish, caused by the resettlements into the Bairro da Terra Chã, are visible in the numbers after 1991 when the population of the parish almost doubled.

It is located at an average elevation of 23 metres (23 metres (75 ft)) above sea level.[23]

• Estate of Boa Hora (Portuguese: Quinta da Boa Hora), one of the signeurial homes and estates of 18th-19th century property-owners, personal residence of the Barcelos family and their descendants;
• Scenic Overlook of the Veredas (Portuguese: Miradouro das Veredas)

• Império do Espírito Santo do Terreiro – dating back to 1861, the Corvelo family were great patrons of this império, and who annually contributed bread and meat to the poor, as well as asylum and comfort for the poor of the village. The festivals to the Holy Spirit are celebrated in Pentecost Sunday (during the festival of the First Bode), and on Trinity Sunday (festival of the Bodo da Trinidade)[27]
• Império do Espírito Santo da Boa Hora
• Império do Espírito Santo do Bairro da Terra Chã
• Parochial Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém
• Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Boa Hora – constructed in the 17th century
• Chapel of Conceição – constructed in the 19th century
• Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Rosário – constructed in the 18th century

• Gregório, Rute Duas (2001), "Uma Exploração Agro-pecuária Terceirense (1482–1450)", Arquipélago História (PDF) (in Portuguese) (2 ed.), Terceira (Azores), Portugal: Universidade dos Açores, pp. 13–50
• Canto, Ernesto do (1883), Os Corte-Reaes; memoria historica, acompanhada de muitos documentos ineditos (in Portuguese), Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal: Archivo dos Açores, p. 21, retrieved 5 January 2011