page_title: Terra Chã
section_title: Early settlement
hierarchical_section_title: Terra Chã / History / Early settlement
caption_attribution_description: Português: Church of Our Lady of Betheleham, civil parish of Terra Chã, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira (Azores), PortugalPortuguês: Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Belém, freguesia de Terra Chã, concelho de Angra do Heroísmo, ilha Terceira (Açores), Portugal
context_page_description: Terra Chã is a civil parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the island of Terceira in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 2,915, in an area of 10.07 km².
  Part of the suburban beltway of Angra, the ecumenical parish was established by King John VI, who granted it a charter on 6 September 1825, but its borders and administrative organs were confirmed by act of the Civil Governor of Angra ten years later on 26 November 1835. However, according to the testament of Pero Anes do Canto, its establishment as a parish dates back to the 15th century.
  Terra Chã was the centre of guerrilla activity during the Liberal Wars, as well as a support centre during World War II and later in the Portuguese Colonial war. The role played by the local Hospital Militar da Terra Chã during these periods was instrumental in driving development in the region.
context_section_description: 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.
  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). 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. 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").
caption: Parochial church of Nossa Senhora de Belém da Terra Chã
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