AZOREANS IN MARANHÃO

The historical relationship between the Azores and Maranhão is fundamental to both the Azores and Maranhão.

For the Azores, it marked the beginning of emigration that would take a significant portion of the Azorean population to Brazil in general, and later, above all, to the United States and Canada.

For Maranhão, it represents the formal beginning of the organization of the city of São Luiz itself. And this is not always properly known and recognized.

That is why I begin by quoting the Maranhão historian Euges Lima, former president of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Maranhão.

At the international congress commemorating 400 years of Azorean presence in Maranhão, held here in 2019 on the occasion of the founding of the Casa dos Açores do Maranhão, he demonstrated the essence of our historical relationship, summarized as follows:

“The Azorean colonization of Maranhão, and especially São Luís, is a topic that has been somewhat forgotten in the history and memory of the city. Rarely is reference made to the importance and legacy of the Azorean colonizers who immigrated here in the early 17th century. Perhaps the explanation for this oversight is the myth of French colonization, which was invented over a hundred years ago by historians, overshadowing and displacing the concrete legacy of the Portuguese with an imaginary and non-existent ‘legacy’ of French contribution to the city’s origins.

“The Azoreans were responsible for the first steps of the municipality and the beginning of the city. The installation of the first Senate of the Chamber of São Luís was their work. In 1619, Simão Estácio da Silveira, one of the pioneers of Portuguese colonization in Maranhão of Azorean origin, arrived here and became the first president of the Chamber of São Luís. The Feast of the Holy Spirit was brought by them. The architecture of the old rural houses in São Luís and various regions of the state’s interior is of Azorean origin—possibly the Desterro neighborhood, one of the oldest in the city, was founded by them.

“It was these Portuguese from the islands who began the process of civil colonization of the city of São Luís, after the expulsion of the French by Portugal in 1616. It was with the first wave of Azorean settlers in 1619, followed by the second in 1621 and so on, that the civil colonization project of São Luís effectively began.”

In fact, in its initial phase, Azorean emigration was directed towards the northeast region of Brazil, to Maranhão.

Azorean historian Luís Mendonça, in his book “History of Azorean Emigration – 17th to 20th Centuries,” identifies some of these early transatlantic movements:

In the mid-17th century, 100 couples from the island of Santa Maria, numbering between 500 and 600 people, left for Maranhão;

In 1675, 50 couples with 234 people left the island of Faial for Pará, and another 200 couples left the small island of Graciosa for the large territory of Maranhão;

In 1722, the island of Pico recorded more than 300 couples registered to move to Maranhão, with a total of over 1,700 people, equivalent to approximately 20% of the population then living on the mountainous island of the Azores.

Maranhão thus marked Azorean emigration until the mid-18th century, with three specific characteristics:

Firstly, it was an emigration of couples, and even entire islands, with the dual purpose of serving the colonizing policy of the Portuguese Crown and facilitating a spirit of unity among those who left.

Secondly, there was therefore no free emigration—people only went if and where the Crown deemed it convenient, to better serve national interests.

Thirdly, as a rule, it was exceptional situations, such as natural disasters or proven poverty of the populations, that motivated emigration or colonization between the Azores and Maranhão.

Maranhão was the gateway for Azorean emigration to Brazil, but the Azoreans scattered throughout the immense Brazilian territory.

In the 18th century, we arrived in southern Brazil, settling in Santa Catarina in 1748 and Rio Grande do Sul in 1752. We went even further, to Uruguay, to found the city of San Carlos in 1763.

In the second wave of Azorean emigration to Brazil, in the 19th century, we arrived in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Salvador da Bahia, having already established a presence in other Brazilian states such as Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.

Translated by Diniz Borges

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José Andrade is the Regional Director of Communities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

This creative non-fiction piece is based on a conference held in the city of São Luiz do Maranhão on September 24, 2024