Article Nº 1355 Office or position Vol. II · p. 1
Beacon-keeper
Original title: Facheiro
Describes the facheiro, the coastal-defence official who lit beacon fires on peaks to warn of enemy ships, a practice lasting until the governorship of D. Diogo Pereira Forjaz Coutinho.
The early military system of coastal defence included the office of beacon-keeper (facheiro), whose duty was to light fires on the summits of the peaks to warn the settlements that enemy sails were in sight. This practice lasted until the governorship of Dom Diogo Pereira Forjaz Coutinho, and it is recalled by the name Pico do Facho (‘beacon peak’), in Machico and on Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’).
People mentioned
- D. Diogo Pereira Forjaz Coutinho d. 1798
Places mentioned