Horta, Azores

The Bay of Horta showing the main settlement as it appeared in 1589

In 1467 the Flemish nobleman Josse van Huerter returned to Faial on a second expedition, this time disembarking along the shore of what would be known as Horta Bay. He built a small chapel which would later form the nucleus of a small community known as Horta, a name possibly derived from the transliteration of his name. In the Portuguese language the word horta means "orchard," another possible origin of the settlement's name. The infante D. Fernando, Duke of Viseu, granted Huerter the first captaincy of the island on February 2, 1468.

Unlike on other Azorean islands, Flemish peasants and business interests were not the first settlers of Faial. The first Faialense settlers were generally farmers from continental Portugal—particularly northern Portugal—hoping to escape poverty. Huerter eventually cultivated new business opportunities in Flanders, attracting a second wave of Flemish settlers under the stewardship of Willem van der Haegen (later transliterated to Guilherme da Silveira), who brought Flemish administrators, tradesmen, settlers, and other compatriots to settle on Faial.

Huerter's son Joss de Utra (who would become the second Captain-General) and his daughter D. Joana de Macedo (who married Martin Behaim at the Santa Cruz chapel) continued living on Faial long after van Huerter’s death. In 1498 King Manuel I of Portugal decreed Horta elevated to the status of vila (town), as its center had grown to the north from the area around the Santa Cruz chapel. The island prospered by exporting wheat and woad-derived dyes.

On June 28, 1514, the parish of Matriz do São Salvador da Horta was constituted and services were begun. In 1567 the cornerstone of what would be the Fort of Santa Cruz was laid. Horta's increasing population compelled the creation of the parishes of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (July 30, 1568) and Nossa Senhora da Angustias (November 28, 1684) by the diocese of Angra. As two nuclei developed around Santa Cruz and Porto Pim, growth also extended around the older Matriz, where the Tower Clock now stands, and the public square, where Alameda Barão de Roches now exists. Public buildings were erected between Rua Visconde Leite Perry and Rua Arriage Nunes and eventually the town hall and court offices moved to the former Jesuit College, after the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal in 1758.

In 1583—during the beginning of the Iberian Union—Spanish soldiers under the command of D. Pedro de Toledo landed in Pasteleiro on Faial's southwestern coast. After skirmishing at the doors of the fort, the Spanish executed Captain of Faial António Guedes de Sousa. Four years later George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland—while commanding a fleet of 13 British ships in the Azores Voyage of 1589—captured a Spanish ship and then plundered Faial's churches and convents, profaning them and destroying reliquaries and crucifixes. The British captured several artillery pieces and set fire to houses within the Fort of Santa Cruz. In 1597 a new British force under Walter Raleigh, second in command to Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, sacked and burned religious buildings and churches in Horta and the neighboring parishes of Flamengos, Feteira, and Praia do Almoxarife. The constant threat of privateers and pirates forced the construction of several forts and lookouts.

In 1643, Horta had about 2579 inhabitants and 610 homes. In 1675 D. Frei Lourenço, Bishop of Angra, authorized the renovation and re-ornamentation of the chapel of Santa Cruz. This work was completed in 1688.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Horta was a small town extending along the shoreline. It was peppered by various convents and churches, but little commerce and almost no industry. However, due to its central location in the Azores and Atlantic Ocean, it prospered as a stopover on important commercial routes between Europe and the Americas. For a time Horta was a center of commerce and travel, particularly as a gateway for Azorean orange exports and exports of wine from Pico Island, as well as an important stop for North American whalers, and later as a refueling port for coal-powered ships during their transatlantic passages.[4]

A vista of the village of Horta, Faial from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, c.1842 (Purrington & Russel)

In 1804 John Bass Dabney (1766–1826), the United States Consul General in the Azores, married Roxanne Lewis and moved to a home in Horta.[4] Their son Charles William Dabney (who later married Francis Alsop Pomeroy) succeeded his father in this position and played an important part in the history and economy of Horta and Faial.[4] This was helped by the construction of a commercial port in 1876 and the installation of transatlantic telegraph cables in 1893. The Dabney family steered the island's economy for 83 years with good effect on the dynamic growth of the port, the export of oranges and Verdelho wine from Pico, and commerce related to the whaling industry.[4]

On September 26, 1814, the American privateer brig General Armstrong, under the command of Samuel Chester Reid, was sunk by three ships of the British Royal Navy under the command of Robert Lloyd.[4] After being forced to scuttle his ship, Reid formally protested the ship's destruction in a neutral port, criticizing Portuguese incapacity to defend their own waters.[4] Her principal piece of naval artillery, the cannon "Long Tom", was later recovered from Horta Bay. It was eventually offered to General Batcheller, the United States Minister in Lisbon, in compensation. General Batcheller returned to Horta to pick up the cannon and delivered it to New York City on board the ship USS Vega on or about April 18, 1893.

On July 4, 1833, the vila of Horta, through the initiative of the Duke d'Ávila and Bolama, was elevated to the status of city and the district capital as a reward for Faial's support of Liberal forces during the Portuguese Liberal Revolution. The city hall's coat of arms were changed to read “My Loyal City of Horta” by decree of King Luís I of Portugal on May 3, 1865.

Construction of Horta's commercial port in 1876 increased the city's international importance. On August 23, 1893, the first telegraph cables linking Horta (Alagoa) and Lisbon (Carcavelos) made Horta a link in transatlantic communication. The presence of several foreign cable companies in Horta increased the economic activity and development, urban growth, and frequency of cultural and sporting activities on the island. Between 1893 and 1969 Horta was an important post in intercontinental communications.

A view of Horta harbour from the German battleship Schlesien before the outbreak of World War II

Horta entered into the annals of early aviation history when United States Navy Captain Albert Cushing Read completed the first Atlantic leg of the first transatlantic flight when he landed his Curtiss NC-4 floatplane in the Bay of Horta in May 1919.

In 1921 Dutch seagoing tugboats began using Horta as a stopover. After a hiatus during World War II, they returned during the period of European reconstruction.

After 1939 Horta was a scheduled waypoint on the transatlantic flying boat routes between North America and Europe, including the Pan Am Clipper fleet which docked in Horta harbour.

By 1960 yachts started using Horta’s sheltered port during transatlantic voyages.

On 24 August 1971, in the civil parish of Castelo Branco, President of Portugal Américo Tomás inaugurated the Horta Airport. Since 1972 the Sociedade Açoreana de Transportes Aeréos (which was the forerunner of SATA Air Azores) has provided scheduled flights from Horta to the islands of the triangle (Central Group). During the 1980s TAP Air Portugal, the national flag carrier, established direct service from Horta to Lisbon, while further fleet improvements allowed SATA to directly link Horta with all Azorean islands. Following major renovations in December 2001, the airport was designated an international airport, although no foreign airlines have scheduled or charter flights arriving at Horta Airport.

Periodic improvements to Horta harbour allowed the city to become a stopover for yachts and cruise ships and provide ongoing assistance to transatlantic voyagers. This was facilitated when the municipal authority inaugurated a 300-slip marina on 3 June 1986. Horta harbour is a fleet centre for the Azorean ferry lines Transmaçor and Atlanticoline, resulting in new investments and the construction of a secondary pier for inter-island passenger traffic.

Horta has the typical humid subtropical climate with significant Mediterranean influences associated with the Azores. Horta, along with nearby Madalena is one of the Azorean cities most prone to high temperatures, and unlike Angra do Heroísmo and Ponta Delgada, temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) have been recorded on a few occasions. Averages, however, are extremely similar to the aforementioned cities. Precipitation averages about 962 millimetres (37.9 in) per year and is concentrated from September to February. On average November is the wettest month, while July is the driest. Temperatures are mild to warm year-round and average 20 °C (68 °F) in the daytime and 15 °C (59 °F) at night.

Three parishes comprise the urban area of the city of Horta (the urbanized area and historical center): Angústias, Conceição, and Matriz. The remaining parishes comprising the rest of the municipality are located along the Regional E.R.1-1ª road network, and includes lands from the ocean to the central volcano (with the exception of Flamengos, which is the only landlocked parish). Faial Island, comprising Horta's urbanized area and the parishes, has an area of 173.06 square kilometres (66.82 sq mi)[2]

• Capelo - located in the western portion of the island that includes the most recent historic volcanism on the island; location of the Capelinhos Volcano and Recreational Forest Park
• Castelo Branco - located on the southern coastal area between Capelo and Feteiras; location of Horta International Airport
• Cedros - largest civil parish and agricultural lands, located on the northern coast between Capelo and Salão
• Feteira - southern parish located between the urbanized core of Horta and Castelo Branco; primarily agricultural activities in transition into suburban community of Horta
• Flamengos - the only landlocked civil parish on the island, established by original settlers from the Low Countries of Europe
• Pedro Miguel - located to the north of Praia do Almoxarife, along the eastern coast
• Praia do Almoxarife - original settlers disembarked along the beach of Praia do Almoxarife during the original 1465 and 1467 expeditions; currently the main tourist beach community on the island
• Praia do Norte - located between Cedros and Capelo, a zone affected by historic volcanism from the Capelo Volcanic Complex
• Ribeirinha - a civil parish occupying the ancient geological zone that formed the island of Faial
• Salão - settled by Spanish during the Iberian Union, and located between Cedros and Ribeirinha

In 2011, the national census discovered a resident population of 15,038: a slight decrease from the 2001 population (15,063 inhabitants).[1] Yet, the number of aggregate families grew significantly (4795 to 5465 families reporting their participation in such groups), an increase from 2.8 to 3.1 people per family. Similarly, there has been a 21.69% increase in the number occupied buildings within the municipality.[1]

Horta and its marina from Monte da Guia

The centre of Horta, with a view that includes the Câmara Municipal (left foreground) and Carmo Church (right background)

"I love Horta like loquats! I had a longing of what was, I don't know how, of here. Everything imagined is more or less frustrated when we comprehend: but in Horta, no, it is exceeded. At the end of the Rua do Mar are the built-up homes; over the unique celebretated road of the town are the alleyways that descend to the coast and provide a modest contribution to the fires and transit." (Vitorino Nemésio, O Corsário das Ilhas)

From Espalamaca or Monte da Guia, the city of Horta is typical of insular Portuguese coastal communities and the urban traditions of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The city is seaward looking, much like Angra do Heroísmo or Velas. It is rounded by several volcanic cones located to its southern and eastern margins, the most prominent being Monte da Guaia, Monte do Carneiro, and Monte Escuro. Horta is centered along its principal avenue—referred to as either Avenida Marginal or Avenida D. Infante Henriques—and cut by several smaller roads. The city's historical center lies to the north near Espalamaca, with a grouping of north-south and east-west roads developed during initial colonization. The population of Horta's urban center during the first decade of the 21st century was about 7,000.[3]

Horta grew from streets such as:

• Rua Vista Alegre/Ladeira da Paiva/travessa Almeida Garrett (that includes the Church Matriz, and Convent of Saint John);
• Rua Advogado Graça/Travessa do Poiso Novo (where the original Casa da Câmara and Convent of Glory were situated);
• Rua de São Paulo;
• Rua de São Pedro and Travessa da Misericórdia; and,
• Rua Dr. Azevedo and Calçada M. Vila, near the entrance to the Largo do Colégio.
• Rua de São João
• Rua Ten. Aragão (currently between the Império dos Nobres and the Sociedade Amor da Pátria)
• Rua da Conceição/Alameda Barão de Roches/Rua D. Pedro IV/Rua E. Rebelo, with the Pelourinho, the Casa da Câmara and older urban prison (Cadeia), the Convent of Glory, this area constituted the original Vila of Horta. The oldest dwellings and the older ornate façades are located in this area.
• Rua Maestro Simaria, located near the Rua Serpa Pinto, and the ancient Largo do Colégio Jesuíta;
• Rua Conselheiro Miguel da Silveira, and open to the Avenida Marginal.

These streets formed from the central colony along hills parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ocean. Littoral growth was made cautiously until the town square, civic center, town hall, and local water wells were built along the seashore in both directions. Religious institutions generally mark the extent of urbanized–rural limits (as the Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Convent of the Capuchos do today to the northeast).

Modern Horta grew beyond the limits of this early colonization. A secondary nucleus grew in the area of Porto Pim, and infilling occurred sporadically until a crescent formed along the banks of the east coast, only contained by Ponte de Espalamaca to the north and open ocean to the south. The cinder cones in the south likely protected settlers and ships from the north Atlantic weather systems. Horta grew slowly into the river valleys of Faial's interior, linking the parishes of Flamengos to the west and Feteira to the southwest to form an incomplete urbanized mass. The nodes of growth basically follow the road network, including the recently completed "Scute" (freeway) that bypasses the southern E.R.1-1ª road between Angustias and Feteira.