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✅The Sea and Azorean Cultural Identity

The historical knowledge of the Azores archipelago still contains some enigmas or aspects yet to be clarified regarding its deep relationship with the sea, mainly due to a lack of documents. This is evident in matters such as discovery, settlement, and exploration voyages to the west. However, the first enigma of Azorean history is perhaps the very origin of the name "Azores." To clarify this matter, we highlight the testimonies of 15th and 16th-century chroniclers, who unanimously correlate the islands' name with the abundance of birds found by their first discoverers.

If we analyze the most accessible documentation, we see that in the Chronicle of the Feats of Guinea dated 1453, Gomes Eanes de Zurara refers to the settlement of Madeira Island and “also the other islands in that region,” naming São Miguel Island but not yet using the term “Azores.”

However, the collection titled The Manuscript of Valentim Fernandes dated 1507 already includes texts explicitly referring to the Azores, including the first cartographic sketches of each of the nine islands, all identified by the names they still hold today.

In his work published in 1707, António Cordeyro discusses the "islands subjected to Portugal" and states that the Azores, also called the "Third Islands," took their name from the island considered the “head of all and the most frequented.”

The double designation is an interesting aspect of Azorean history. A brief survey of European nautical cartography and some atlases published in different foreign cities until the mid-19th century reveals that the Azores archipelago had various names over time, such as Vlaemsche Eylanden, The Western Isles, Isles Terçeres, and Islas Terceras.

Although the name Azores prevailed in Portugal, the archipelago was still known abroad as the Third Islands well into the 19th century. This highlights the late recognition of its identity. For instance, an official Spanish publication edited in Madrid in 1866 by the Dirección de Hidrografía was titled Derrotero del Archipiélago de las Azores ó Terceras.

In recent years, especially after achieving autonomous status, Azorean society has increased its interest in understanding its cultural specificity. Many initiatives related to maritime activities have been launched, both public and private, particularly in the areas of museology, lighthouse maintenance, maritime archaeology, and underwater heritage preservation.

Underwater archaeological parks were created to preserve Azorean maritime heritage, beginning with the Archaeological Park of Angra do Heroísmo Bay in 2005. This was followed by the Dori Underwater Archaeological Park in São Miguel Island (2012), the Caroline Underwater Archaeological Park in Pico Island (2014), the Slavonia Underwater Archaeological Park in Flores Island (2015), and the Canárias Underwater Archaeological Park in Santa Maria Island (2015).

This cultural facet is present in everyday island life and is valued and protected through the Azores Network of Museums and Visit-Worthy Collections. Spread across eight of the nine islands, this network preserves cultural assets, thematic collections, and numerous maritime memories. The exhibition Histories that Come from the Sea, organized by several Azorean cultural institutions, toured various cities in the archipelago and was presented at the Maritime Museum in Lisbon in 2015, highlighting the role of underwater archaeology in understanding Azorean maritime history.

Whaling still lingers in the memory of current Azorean generations and garners particular museological attention, especially in Pico, Graciosa, and Flores Islands. Museums in these locations feature exhibits dedicated to whaling and the whaling industry, with notable highlights being the Pico Museum’s branches in Lajes do Pico (Whalers’ Museum) and São Roque do Pico (Whaling Industry Museum).

The regional whaling heritage has also been protected. In 2012, 77 vessels were classified, including 14 whaleboats and 63 smaller boats, about half of which are in Pico Island. Many of these vessels have been restored and are displayed near the sites where they were used for whaling. They also participate in cultural events, though the musealization of Azorean shipbuilding remains a task yet to be accomplished.

The preservation of vessels and the memory of shipbuilding are important areas of Azorean maritime culture that deserve more attention, as their neglect seems like ingratitude toward the people and activities that were instrumental in the development of the Azores.

Finally, the lighthouses, with their humanitarian purpose in the distant night, as Fernando Pessoa wrote in Ode Marítima, are a material heritage and a characteristic element of the Azorean maritime landscape. The network of sixteen main lighthouses, some of them centenarians, stands as a testament to this. Their existence, their function, and the museological recovery of the Capelinhos and Ribeirinha lighthouses on Faial Island—destroyed by the seismic crises of 1957 and 1998—along with the public opening of eleven Azorean lighthouses, testify to the empathy between Azorean cultural identity and the sea.

The cultural identity of the Azores is recognizable in the diversity of its territory, its economic and social history, literature and music, built heritage, archival documents, cultural practices, and even the landscape. However, it is also strongly marked by maritime tradition.

This work is a small contribution to add to the efforts of museology, maritime archaeology, and other cultural sectors, affirming the maritime and Atlantic identity of Azorean cultural heritage.

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