ROOTS AND ROUTES OF AZORIAN EMIGRATION

First, the Roots.

Our roots are our islands: Santa Maria, São Miguel, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, Flores, and Corvo. Nine misty islands sailing in the North Atlantic, halfway between the Old Continent and the New World.

We have been here for almost 600 years, since 1427, braving the winds and tides, putting down roots that identify us and set us apart. This is how we built our Azorean identity.

Then came the Routes.

Our routes are our diaspora. We left here over 400 years ago, without ever leaving these islands, taking these islands with us, creating other islands, just like ours, on the other side of the Atlantic.

First, we went to Brazil. From north to south. In the 17th century, to Maranhão and Pará. In the 18th century, to Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. In the 19th century, Rio de Janeiro. In the 20th century, to São Paulo and Bahia.

We also went to Uruguay in the 18th century. We also arrived in Hawaii in the 19th century.

We have been in the United States of America for 200 years. From coast to coast. From New England on the Atlantic coast to California on the Pacific coast.

We have been in Bermuda for 175 years and now make up almost a quarter of its total population.

We have been in Canada for 70 years, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Ontario and Quebec to British Columbia and Alberta.

These are our routes. The routes of our emigration and of our hearts.

Along the way, we also emigrated to Alentejo, Angola, Argentina, Curaçao, and the Dominican Republic.

Our small archipelago has projected itself and asserted itself on a global scale.

There are fewer than 250,000 Azoreans on our islands, but millions of us reside in our diaspora.

In southern Brazil alone, according to estimates by genealogists from Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, there are approximately four million descendants of Azorean couples who settled in Brazil on behalf of the Portuguese crown almost 300 years ago.

And in North America—in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda—Portugal is spelled with the word AÇORES.

Our systematic presence in the United States dates back to the mid-19th century.

The Azoreans crossed the Atlantic in search of better living conditions and initially engaged in activities related to fishing, livestock, and the textile industry.

Our emigration intensified in the 1960s and 1970s, becoming established on both coasts of the American continent.

According to the 2000 US Census, with subsequent estimates, there are approximately 1.3 million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants living in the United States. Of these, 160,000 were born in Portugal, while 1.1 million were born in the United States.

California is the state with the largest Portuguese presence, officially totaling more than 330,000 emigrants, mostly from the Azores archipelago and, especially, from the five islands of the central group (Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial), but also from the two islands of the western group (Flores and Corvo).

In the state of Massachusetts, the officially registered Portuguese population is 280,000 emigrants, mostly from the Azores, but here especially from the two islands of the eastern group (São Miguel and Santa Maria).

Also in New England, the smallest of the US states, Rhode Island has a proportionally significant Portuguese presence, with around 90,000 registered emigrants, mostly from the island of São Miguel.

Therefore, in these three states alone, we are talking about a potential number of Azorean emigrants that is three times greater than the current population of the Azores.

The Azores had been the first European territory to have US consular representation since 1790. Still, the volcanic eruption of Capelinhos in 1957 was the first and only time in the long history of bilateral relations between Portugal and the United States that the US Congress passed exceptional legislation specifically to welcome Azorean emigration.

Thousands of Faial residents affected by the disaster were thus given the comfort they needed on the other side of the Atlantic, paving the way for the mass emigration of many Azoreans from all the islands. Between 1959 and 1980, approximately 100,000 Azoreans immigrated to the United States.

Finally, Canada was added to the United States.

By the end of the 20th century, almost half a million Portuguese had emigrated to Canada, 65% of whom were from the Azores.

According to the 2021 Canadian census, 1.2% of Canada’s population is of Portuguese descent, corresponding to approximately 450,000 people.

There are 300,000 in the province of Ontario, 65,000 in Quebec, 40,000 in British Columbia, 20,000 in Alberta, and 13,000 in Manitoba.

The Azoreans in the World are particularly strong in America.

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

Based on the Keynote speech presented at the 48th Congress of the Luso-American Education Foundation (California, October 5, 2024)

Translated by Diniz Borges