The Concept of Region

A society exists as such only so long as there is harmonious development within that space of solidarity. This is why it is essential to understand what a region is, because if we fail to understand where that political space begins and ends, everything else ceases to make sense.

The Etymology of Adjacent

According to the dictionaries, the word adjacent carries multiple meanings: “located next to” (implying dependence upon or support for another element); “to be subject to”; “integrated into the territory” (in the political-administrative sense); “to lie adjacent” (physical contiguity); “to belong” or “to be the possession of.” In Portugal, in its original usage, the term designated something positioned alongside or in close proximity to a central element, without being identified with it. Throughout history, the semantic evolution of the word in legal documents reflects a multidimensional transition, moving from physical space to political hierarchy and, finally, to the structure of language itself. Its conceptual core, however, has remained unchanged: the representation of a nearby presence.

Historical Evolution in Portuguese Legal Thought

The application of the term within the Portuguese legal and administrative system may be divided into three major historical periods. However, from an Azorean, multidimensional perspective, we adopt a broader—and ultimately more accurate—division. The analysis is undertaken from the standpoint of today, not of previous centuries. In other words, Azorean history, having reached the point where it now stands, is the sum of what it has been and what it is, all at once. When one is living through history, one can never fully know what the following day will bring. The following detailed and synoptic outline illustrates this evolution:

First Period. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Azores had not yet been discovered. In the Forais (Royal Charters) and Royal Letters, the term does not exist, and references to proximity concern only the mainland, describing lands “close to the Kingdom.”

Second Period. With the discovery of the Azorean islands. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in the Chancery and Royal Law, the term is used to designate contiguous territory under monarchical authority. In 1446, in the Afonsine Ordinances, the concept appears implicitly in the text, defining Crown property according to the criterion of proximity.

Third Period. In 1521, with the Manueline Ordinances, the term is incorporated into the legal reforms and serves to identify royal property in the island territories.

Fourth Period. In 1603, in the Philippine Ordinances, the term is explicitly defined in Book II, Title XXVI, with the legal and patrimonial status of the “adjacent islands nearest to the Kingdom.” During the centuries of absolutism and the Pombaline reforms (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries), it appears in customs and commercial legislation, marking the transition toward the territorial-administrative understanding of the islands.

Fifth Period. In 1822, with the Liberal Constitution, the concept is enshrined in Article 20 as part of the constitutional framework, clearly distinguishing the islands from a colony. In other words, they had never been colonies, as is readily apparent from the political model of the hereditary captaincies (capitanias donatárias); and from this point onward, the notion of the Azores as a colony disappears from both official documents and political thought, insofar as we can determine. This period is among the most remarkable in Azorean political history.

From 1826 to 1838, under the Constitutional Charter of 1826 and the Constitution of 1838, Article 2, defining the national territory, consolidated the Azores’ full belonging to the nation and affirmed their national identity. Through legislation enacted between 1832 and 1974, the islands exercised district autonomy. In 1911, under the Republican Constitution, the term was relegated within the general text to Article 9 and was used only in the limited context of electoral divisions. In 1933, under the Constitution of the Estado Novo, Article 124, §2, established an administrative framework governed by special legislation, essentially maintaining district autonomy, although it was substantially altered in 1940 and extended that autonomy to Horta as well.

Sixth Period – The Present Day. In 1976, with the Democratic Constitution, the term adjacent disappeared altogether. In its place came the constitutional recognition of the region, introducing the political concept of autonomous regions, implemented through special legislation—the Political-Administrative Statute—which constitutes substantive constitutional law.

Arnaldo Ourique is a specialist in Azorean Autonomy and has been a contributing writer for many Azorean newspapers and a regular at our PBBI Fresno State/FLAD Lecture Series inpolitical science.