page_title: Almagreira (Vila do Porto)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Almagreira (Vila do Porto) / History
caption_attribution_description: Português: Forte de São João Baptista da Praia Formosa, freguesia da Almagreira, Ilha de Santa Maria, Açores: vista superior.
context_page_description: Almagreira is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Porto on the island of Santa Maria, in the Portuguese autonomous region of Azores. The population in 2011 was 599, in an area of 11.22 km². Bordering all other parishes of the island, it is located northwest of Vila do Porto.
context_section_description: It is unclear when this area was first referred to as Almagreira, but it stemmed from the exploration of a type of clay common in the area; from the name almagre, for a lead-rich red clay, used for pigment. The importance of this clay was later mentioned in a local poem:
  "It was the clay of Almagreira/that moulded our luck/this sailor's luck/Between the ocean and the north wind"
  The beachhead, today Praia Formosa, was first referred to in the Castillian Açores Insulae map, authored by Luís Teixeira and dated to 1584, as the Plaia Hermosa. The same author, in his map Descripçam da Ilha de Santa Maria, in 1587 (today located in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale de Florença), referred to the area of Almagreira as the Parish of Figueira (Portuguese: Paróquia da Figueira)”, noting the ancient hermitage dedicated to Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, and a small population of 40 neighbours, in addition to the aforementioned Praia Fremosa.
  In addition to the Chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Our Lady of Medicine), the parish is also the location of several other temples: Church of Nossa Senhora do Bom Despacho (Our Lady of Good Tidings), which evolved from a small chapel constructed in the 18th century, as well as the Church of Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Mount) and Nossa Senhora da Graça (Our Lady of Grace), both constructed in the 19th century.
  It was in Porto Formosa that English (1599) and later Barbary coast pirates (June 1616) first attacked the island. The second assault, which was the most calamitous and damaging, resulted in islanders soliciting (formally, since about 1599) provisions for the islands defence.
  There are also vestiges of a 16th–17th century Fort of São João Baptista that was used to protect the location from pirate attacks.
  The bishop of the Diocese of Angra, António Caetano da Rocha, on 2 December 1766 created a new parish, "...the third of the main Church to benefit that people and most populous parish that reside in that par of the mountains". It was during the 19th century, that thee twelfth Commander in the Order of Christ on Santa Maria, Diogo José Ferreira de Eça e Menezes, third Count of Lousã, who organized the collection of funds to support the creation of a specific Curato Sufragâneo da Matriz na Almagreira (clergy) to reside at the Church of Bom Despacho.
  The lands of the northern plateau of the parish were recorded as the most productive on the island, with extensive fields that produced wheat; Lieutenant-Colonel José Carlos Figueiredo, writing in 1815, while in service on the island noted: "...site of the best lands, in squared fields and a good plain of orchards...". The first primary school began offering classes in 1864. The ex-Constitution, Canarias, known locally as the sunken boat, was a Spanish-registered ship, which, on 13 November 1871, sunk in Praia Bay.
  The civil parish, owing to the dramatic growth, separated from the parish of Nossa Senhora de Assunção (Vila do Porto) by decree on 25 October 1906, an area that included the communities of Bom Despacho Velho, Brasil, Brejo de Baixo, Brejo de Cima, Brejo do Meio, Carreira, congro, Courelas, Covas, Farropo, Fonte do Mourato, Fonte Nova, Graça and Praia. Much later, a Casa do Povo (community centre) was founded on 6 October 1966, but electricity only reached the parish in August 1971. At the time, its population has sustained itself on agriculture, woven handicrafts, woollen sweaters and bedspreads.
caption: The partial ruins of the Fort of São João Baptista, at the mouth of the main ravine, as seen from the Macela Belvedre
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "Hewlett-Packard", "Image Model": "HP Photosmart Mz60", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "V1.54", "Image DateTime": "2011:02:13 11:56:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2288", "Image XPTitle": "[68, 0, 73, 0, 71, 0, 73, 0, 84, 0, 65, 0, 76, 0, 32, 0, 67, 0, 65, 0, 77, 0, 69, 0, 82, 0, 65, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 0, 0]", "Image XPSubject": "[68, 0, 73, 0, 71, 0, 73, 0, 84, 0, 65, 0, 76, 0, 32, 0, 67, 0, 65, 0, 77, 0, 69, 0, 82, 0, 65, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 0, 0]", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1847/1000000", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:02:13 11:56:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:02:13 11:56:46", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "441/50", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Daylight", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "227/5", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "d4063706424020A7FE7DB20D00000000", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4216"}