Ponta Delgada (parish)

(Parish of). It is not easy to establish the true origin of the name of this parish (freguesia). A learned person who lived there for some years and carried out serious research informs us that the name comes from Antónia Delgada, widow of Captain António Gonçalves de Castro, who died on 8 October 1606. Against this assertion we must set the existence of several royal decrees of the 16th century, the oldest dating from 1552, entered in the registers of the former Crown Revenue Office (Provedoria), which refer directly to the parish of Ponta Delgada (‘slender point’). Gaspar Frutuoso, too, gives it the name Ponta Delgada in 1590, saying that it is ‘so called because there is a very dangerous passage there, which is crossed on top of two poles laid from one cliff to the other, and the sea lies so far below that it is lost to sight’. Nor, certainly, is it a very satisfactory explanation that a narrow and dangerous passage overhanging the sea should be called Ponta Delgada.

In the earliest days of colonisation this village (lugar, settlement rank below a town) was called the Lord Jesus (Senhor Jesus), after the chapel of that dedication which stood there, and it was still known by that name after the parish was created. There is no doubt, however, that from the middle of the 16th century the name Ponta Delgada came into general use, and it was by this name that the place later became known.

Manuel Afonso de Sanha was one of the earliest settlers of this island, and in 1469 he obtained extensive lands by sesmaria (royal land grant to settlers on condition of cultivation), stretching from Ponta Delgada to the Ribeira das Vacas (‘cows’ stream’). He founded the chapel of Senhor Bom Jesus (Lord Good Jesus), which became the centre of a settled estate (fazenda povoada); this estate formed the original nucleus of inhabitants who made up the future parish.

The parish (freguesia) of Ponta Delgada must have been created towards the end of the second quarter of the 16th century, at least as an autonomous curacy (curato), and it is one of the oldest on the north coast of this island. Its seat was the chapel of Senhor Bom Jesus, the year of whose construction is unknown. It cannot, however, be much later than the first years of the 16th century, since its founder is recorded as having died in 1507. The chapel underwent some repairs and alterations in 1636 and was considerably enlarged around 1700. At the beginning of the 19th century it was repaired again, becoming one of the finest churches of the diocese; the chancel, the chapel of the Santíssimo Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament) and the sacristy deserve special mention. On 12 July 1908 this church was completely destroyed by a violent fire, which reduced it to a heap of rubble. Thanks chiefly to the diligent efforts and boundless dedication of the parish priest of the time, Father Casimiro Augusto de Freitas e Abreu, the church was rebuilt in 1910, and it was solemnly consecrated in 1919.

On the night of 30 December 1847 a major theft of a large number of silver objects was committed in this church, causing a great sensation throughout the island. The thieves were discovered, and most of the stolen objects were returned.

The curacy of Ponta Delgada, perhaps dependent on the parish of Machico, was only definitively raised to a parish around 1577. Its first vicar was Father António Lopes, who was followed in the parochial office by Fathers Belchior de Insola, Rodrigo Afonso, Aleixo, Gil, etc. The royal decree (alvará) of 3 February 1552 added 2,000 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis) a year to the stipend of the curate, which was then 6,000 réis a year and 1 mark of silver (marco de prata, c. 230 g of silver). The vicar’s salary was raised by royal decree of 28 February 1577 to 20,000 réis a year, and later to 25,000 réis by the royal decree of 2 June 1581. The royal decree of 12 December 1588 then fixed the same salary at 16,000 réis a year, plus one moio (dry measure of grain, 60 alqueires) of wheat and one pipa (wine cask and measure, c. 400–500 litres) of wine.

The area of this parish comprised the land that constitutes it at present and also the present parish of Boaventura (‘good fortune’). By royal decree of 4 February 1733 a curacy was created, with its seat in the chapel of Santa Quitéria (St Quiteria) in the said parish of Boaventura, as may be seen in greater detail in the article we devote to it on p. 154 of the 1st volume of this work.

The chapel of Senhor Bom Jesus was the centre of an ancient pilgrimage, which is still today one of the best attended on the whole island. It is recorded as already taking place in 1577, which makes it the oldest pilgrimage festival held here in Madeira. The pilgrimages of the Lord Jesus of Ponta Delgada, of Our Lady of the Mount (Nossa Senhora do Monte) and of the Lord of Miracles (Senhor dos Milagres) at Machico are the oldest, the best attended and the most characteristic of this diocese.

This parish has the Chapel of the Magi (Reis Magos), which belonged to the house of Carvalhal (‘oak grove’). There was formerly a chapel of Santo António at the locality of Pico (‘peak’), and another at the locality of Ladrilhos (‘tiles’); we shall deal with these elsewhere in this work.

António de Carvalhal was a former resident of this parish and died here on 15 July 1598. Of him Gaspar Frutuoso says: ‘a man as chivalrous as he was personally valiant, noble and magnificent by his station and great virtue, through which, by his magnificence, he has acquired such fame and won such renown in the hearts of men that they obey him for it; and should it be necessary to raise a cry, he will gather five hundred men from the northern side to his service, for any feat of war, as has already happened to him, or for any other purpose; and not without reason, for his house is a hospital and shelter for every poor person, a lodging for travellers and, in short, a refuge for the needy. Thus he spends all his estate (and he owns a great deal on this side) on these works, so that in his house thirty moios of wheat are consumed each year, besides many others that he lends, and with it he succours those in need, all of which he gathers from his own farming’. The historian of the islands then goes on to narrate in detail many feats and episodes of strength and valour performed by António de Carvalhal, as may be read on pp. 101 and 102 of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra).

The parish of Ponta Delgada was once called the ‘court of the north’, because it contained many houses of old and noble families, who lived there or spent a considerable part of the year there. Several entailed estates had their seat in the parish. Manuel Afonso de Sanha founded the entails of Ribeiro do Pêso and Ribeira do Inferno (‘hell’s stream’).

The idea of transferring to this parish the seat of the municipality (concelho) and judicial district (comarca), both of which are based in São Vicente, has been put forward more than once. Several judges have already represented to the central government the necessity and advantages of this change.

The principal crops are the vine and sugar cane, and there are two mills for making spirit (aguardente, distilled from sugar cane or wine). The main levada (irrigation channel) serving the irrigation of this parish is the one known as the Levada Grande (‘big’), which has its source in the Ribeira dos Moinhos (‘mills’) and crosses part of the parish of Boaventura.

The parish has two state primary schools, one for each sex, and a telegraph office opened in October 1905. It is also the seat of a medical district, which also includes the parish of Boaventura (1921).

Traffic through its Porto is relatively considerable, serving this parish and those of Boaventura and Arco de São Jorge. It is the terminus of the voyages that the coastal steamers, setting out from Funchal, make alternately by the east and by the west to the north of the island.

In the hills of this parish lies the enchanting locality called Topo (‘top’), from which broad and striking horizons open out.

Natives of this parish include the Viscount of Gonçalves de Freitas and Councillors António Gonçalves de Freitas and Francisco António de Abreu (see those entries).