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✅Ports and Other Maritime Support Infrastructure

In the context of maritime history, a significant evolution occurred from the era of sailing navigation to the time of mechanical propulsion, observable in areas such as shipbuilding, navigation techniques, cartography, and meteorological forecasting, but also in the field of port infrastructure and technologies supporting maritime activity.

When analyzing the most significant episodes in Azorean maritime history, we encounter three periods naturally associated with the evolutionary process of the techniques and technologies incorporated over time by maritime navigation.

First Period: Pre-19th Century to Early 19th Century

The first period, which lasted until the second quarter of the 19th century, corresponds to the time of sailing navigation and wooden ships, which were more or less fragile, entirely dependent on the winds, lacking natural harbors, absent maritime signaling, without meteorological information, and with imprecise cartography, especially in areas near ports.

Second Period: Mid-19th Century to Mid-20th Century

The second period, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, witnessed significant technical progress, including the shift to motorized navigation, the advent of iron and steel ships, the introduction of maritime radio communications and radar, the construction of protective jetties and docking piers at major ports, the establishment of a lighthouse network, and improved cartographic coverage, leveraging advancements in scientific hydrography.

Third Period: Late 20th Century Onwards

The third period began in the last quarter of the 20th century, marking an era of rapid technological progress that led to automation, the creation of new radio positioning systems, and improved meteorological information systems. This period also saw substantial improvements in major ports and the construction of a network of secondary ports, enhancing the port offering for commercial, fishing, and recreational navigation.

Despite the Azores archipelago being a point of passage for Atlantic routes, the islands had few natural shelters, were highly exposed to winds, and their rocky seabeds made anchorage unsafe for navigation. On all islands, the northern coasts are more exposed to dominant winds and are typically made up of cliffs, which, as seen on the islands of São Jorge, Pico, and Corvo, reach several hundred meters in height.

Thus, it was on the southern coasts of the islands that populations settled and towns developed. It was also in their natural bays that the first port infrastructures of the Azores were built in the second half of the 19th century.

Early Calls for Port Infrastructure

The construction of artificial ports or docks was frequently demanded as a necessity imposed by the safety of navigators and the Azorean economy. In an article written by Anthero de Quental, a 19-year-old at the time, he advocated for the construction of "a good harbor, a shelter for the boats," transcribing part of another article that highlighted the "storm of January 16th last, which in one day destroyed 8 ships on the rocks of the island [of São Miguel], completely losing their cargo, and 3 with their entire crew!" concluding that "given the distressing situation witnessed by all of us on this fateful day, who would not wish for the quick construction of the dock so long requested?"

The article by Anthero de Quental was published in April 1861, and coincidentally, the construction of the port of Ponta Delgada began on September 30th of the same year, marked by grand celebrations.

In 1861, 50 years ago, the construction of the artificial port of Ponta Delgada began, a constant and cherished aspiration of the good people of São Miguel. This desire had been present for more than three centuries. For over 300 years, the people had been requesting a mole, a breakwater, a dock, or any structure that would provide shelter for the ships frequenting their main ports of Vila Franca and Ponta Delgada.

Construction and Challenges of Ponta Delgada's Port

The works on the protective breakwater and the dock of the Ponta Delgada port faced numerous setbacks due to storms that damaged the progress made. Many engineers intervened, and the original project was altered multiple times, so the work was only completed at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, in May 1869, a "regulation for the artificial port of Ponta Delgada" was approved when it was noted that "the works were advanced enough that different ships had already made use of that shelter."

Port Construction in Faial and Horta

In the island of Faial, the aspiration for a dock also dated back a long time. In 1824, given the "inconvenience and losses following the lack of a dock in the village of Horta, in the island of Faial, where the commerce of the island of Pico converges," a royal decree signed on September 14th, 1824, authorized the construction of a dock with a crane "for the loading and unloading of goods."

Several years later, the representative of the Horta municipality in the General Assembly of the Western Azores Province presented a proposal, stating that the construction of a mole at Santa Cruz, founded on the small islets located a little offshore in front of the Royal Navy Arsenal, "would offer safe shelter to the many ships arriving from all over the world to trade, refresh, or repair."

However, various reasons prevented the project from starting at that time, and construction on the protective breakwater and dock at the Horta port only began on March 20th, 1876. According to local press, "the construction of our artificial port was a long-standing request, but its successful outcome was doubted by almost everyone."

The Emergence of Port Infrastructure in the Azores

Thus, it was only by the late 19th century that the first port infrastructures emerged in the Azores, which, in addition to addressing the economic needs of the archipelago, also provided a significant boost to maritime navigation safety.

It was many years before, in the last quarter of the 20th century, ports were established on all the islands and marinas were created for recreational navigation on many of them, breaking their centuries-old isolation.

Port infrastructures were crucial for maritime safety and the Azorean economy, but the safety of navigation also required the installation of lighthouses.

Lighthouses and Maritime Safety

Lighthouses are structures that usually consist of a tower with a light that is visible at great distances during the night, serving to guide navigation. Over time, both the absence of lighthouses in areas known to sailors as the "black coast" and the poor interpretation of their signals led to many shipwrecks.

Although guiding lights have existed since ancient times, it was only in the 18th century that the first buildings were constructed specifically to serve as lighthouses for navigation support, both along European coasts and the Portuguese mainland coast. By the 19th century, their installation intensified to respond to the increase in maritime navigation and international trade.

In the port of Ponta Delgada, in October 1816, the difficulties and dangers faced by ships and boats that "could not see the land due to the darkness of the night" were mentioned, putting them at risk of getting lost, as happened with the "boats from Vila Franca" and "the fishing boats of this city." The boat owners believed that "these dangers could be remedied by having a lighthouse to guide them during dark nights and fog." A few days later, in a declaration signed by around two hundred boatmen, they expressed willingness to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of lighthouses, with each boat contributing what was necessary.

Lighthouse Construction in the Azores

The creation of a maritime signaling network in the Azores archipelago was slower, as the first lighthouse to begin operations was the Arnel Lighthouse, installed in 1876 on the northeast tip of São Miguel Island, followed by the Ferraria Lighthouse in 1901 on the island's western tip.

Later, in 1903, the Capelinhos Lighthouse was inaugurated on the western coast of Faial Island, but it was deactivated in 1957 due to the volcanic eruption that nearly buried it. In subsequent years, lighthouses were built at Serreta (1908), Ponta das Lajes (1910), Ribeirinha (1919), Albarnaz (1925), and Gonçalo Velho (1927), completing the lighthouse network across the Azores, meeting the minimum requirements for maritime safety.

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