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Santa Maria Island
Santa Maria () is an island in the Eastern Group, Azores, eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel Island, São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weather. History The first records of a group of islands in the Atlantic (aside from the legends of Atlantis) came from the voyages of Portuguese sailors during the reigns of Dinis of Portugal, King Denis (1279–1325) and his successor Afonso IV of Portugal, King Afonso IV (1325–1357). These were unsubstantiated accounts and unofficial, until 1427 when navigator Diogo de Silves found the island of Santa Maria (at that time referred to on nautical charts as ''Ilha dos Lobos'' or ''Ilha do Ovo'') during his journey to Madeira. Myth tells that on the day of the island's discovery, Gonçalo Velho Cabral and his crew were celebrating mass (on the feast day of the Virgin Mary), when one of the lookouts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pico Alto (Santa Maria)
Pico Alto (literally ''high/tall peak'') is a mountain which is the highest point, , on the island of Santa Maria, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. History The initial formation of the Facho-Pico Alto Volcanic Complex was a phase of intense volcanism, resulting from submarine eruptions as early as 5 million years ago, resulting in the formation of Pico do Facho and extensive pillow lavas.Serralheiro (2003) Remnants of these pillow lavas can be identified above sea level, helping to increase the size of the island to roughly its current dimensions. Following these eruptions, the land receded into the sea, resulting in a period of sub-aerial volcanism that resulted in the great relief in the complex, which is associated with lahars and erosional growth. The Pico Alto complex occurred continuously between 5 and 3 million years ago. On 8 February 1989 Independent Air Flight 1851 struck Pico Alto due to pilot error killing all 144 on board in the worst air c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonçalo Velho Cabral
Gonçalo Velho Cabral ( 1400 – c. 1460) was a Portuguese monk and Commander in the Order of Christ, explorer (credited with the discovery of the Formigas, the re-discovery of the islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel in the Azores) and hereditary landowner responsible for administering Crown lands on the same islands, during the Portuguese Age of Discovery. Biography Early life He was son of Fernão Velho, Lord and ''Alcaide'' of Veleda, and his wife Maria Álvares Cabral (great-aunt of Pedro Álvares Cabral). His siblings Álvaro Velho Cabral, Teresa Velho Cabral, wife of Fernão Soares de Albergaria, and Violante Velho Cabral, wife of Diogo Gonçalves de Travassos also established settlements in the Azores with their families. Although referenced as ''Gonçalo Velho Cabral'' in most modern biographies, he is generally referred to as ''Gonçalo Velho'' in historical documents. Explorer In 1431, Gonçalo Velho was in the Vila de Tancos, along the Tagus River, when he receive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alentejo
Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo. It corresponds to the districts of Beja, Évora, Portalegre, and Alentejo Litoral. Its main cities are Évora, Beja, Sines, Serpa, Estremoz, Elvas, and Portalegre. It has borders with Beira Baixa in the north, with Spain (Andalucia and Extremadura) in the east, Algarve in the south, and the Atlantic Ocean, Ribatejo, and Estremadura in the west. Alentejo is a region known for its traditional polyphonic singing groups, similar to those found in Tuscany, Corsica, and elsewhere. History The comarca of the Alentejo became the Alentejo Province, divided into upper (Alto Alentejo Province) and lower (Baixo Alentejo Province) designations. The modern NUTS statistical region, Alentejo Region, was expropriated from the medieval provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isabella Of Portugal (1397–1471)
Isabella of Portugal (21 February 1397 – 17 December 1471) was Duchess of Burgundy and the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Their son was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy. Born a Portuguese ''infanta'' of the House of Aviz, Isabella was the only surviving daughter of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster served as the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1432 and in 1441–1443. She served as her husband's representative in negotiations with England regarding trade relations in 1439 and those with the rebellious cities of Holland in 1444. Early life Isabella was born to John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, who had six children survive infancy. Born in 1397 in Évora, and raised in the Portuguese court in Lisbon, Isabella was the fourth child and only daughter to survive to adulthood. Phillippa instilled in all her children, including her daughter, a sense of duty, faith and belief in e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captaincy
A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governments in which the monarch delimited territories for colonization that were administered by men of confidence. The same term was or is used in some other countries, such as Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Ottoman Empire, Slovakia or Austria. Captaincy system Portuguese Empire The Captaincies of the Portuguese Empire were developed successively, based on the original donatário system established by King John I of Portugal in Madeira, and expanded with each successive new colony discovered.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.232 Prince Henry the Navigator instituted the Captaincy system to promote development of Portuguese discoveries, but it was in the Azores, where this system effectively functioned. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carte Blanche
A blank cheque in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and therefore subject to abuse, or in which a party is willing to consider any expense in the pursuance of their goals. The term ''carte blanche'' () is used in a similar way. Literal meaning Cheque writers are advised to specify the amount of the cheque before signing it. A blank cheque can be extremely expensive for the drawer who writes the cheque, because whoever obtains the cheque could write in any amount of money, and might be able to cash it (if the current account (US: checking account) contains sufficient funds, and depending on the laws in the specific country). Under American law, a blank cheque is an example of an "" as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code's Article 3, Section 115 (a). Writing an amount in a blank cheque, without the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Of Viseu
Duke of Viseu (in Portuguese ''Duque de Viseu'') was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta. When Henry the Navigator died without issue, his nephew, Infante Ferdinand of Portugal (King Edward, King of Portugal's younger son), who was already Duke of Beja, inherited the Dukedom of Viseu and, when his younger son became King of Portugal as Manuel I, this became a royal Dukedom. List of the Dukes of Viseu # Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu (1394–1460), King João I's fourth son (third surviving); #Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu (1433–1470), also 1st Duke of Beja, King Duarte I's third son (second surviving); # Infante João, Duke of Viseu (1448–1472), also 2nd Duke of Beja, Infante Fernando's eldest son; #Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu (1450–1484), also 3rd Duke de Beja, Infante Fernando's second son; #King Manuel I (1469–1521), Infante Fernando's seventh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was founded in 1319, with the protection of Denis of Portugal, King Denis of History of Portugal, Portugal, after the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312 by the papal bull, ''Vox in excelso'', issued by Pope Clement V. King Denis refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in most of the other sovereign states under the political influence of the Catholic Church. Heavily swayed by Philip IV of France, Pope Clement had the Knights Templar annihilated throughout France and most of Europe on charges of heresy, but Denis revived the Templars of Tomar as the Order of Christ, largely for their aid during the ''Reconquista'' and in the reconstruction of Portugal after the wars. Denis negotiated with Clement's successor, Po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry The Navigator
''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion. Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. Henry was the fourth child of the Portuguese King John I, who founded the House of Aviz. After procuring the new caravel ship, Henry was responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new routes. He encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta (1415), the Muslim port on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Iberian Peninsula. He learned of the opportunities offered by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain-major
A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a (donation) by the king, often as a reward for service.Johnson 1972 The term also applied as the rank title of the field officer that was in charge of a captaincy (group of companies) of the , the Portuguese territorial militia that existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Captaincy system Due to the impossibility of exercising direct control and sovereignty over overseas territories, the captain-major was the channel by which the monarch could delegate his powers, with certain restrictions, under the responsibility of peoples he felt he could confide. The could administer, in the sovereign's name, the lands for which he was assigned, with all the regalia, rights, and obligations, with the exception of certain limits, including milita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donatário
A ' (Portuguese for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The king exempted these titleholders from normal colonial administration; the donatários were comparable to a royal governor or a British Lord Proprietor. As the ''donataria'' were often captaincies, the position is also translated as captain. History Normally, the ''donatário'' was the recipient of a captaincy, a territorial division and land grant, within Portuguese colonies. It was an effective administrative system that ceded certain rights and responsibilities to the ''donatário'', facilitating the settlement of unpopulated places with little cost to the Crown.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.231 The ''donatário'' was obligated to govern his territories under specific terms: in exchange for the grant, he received tax immunity, but was also responsible for promoting and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eared Seal
An eared seal or otariid or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds. They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera (another species became extinct in the 1950s) and are commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the walrus ( odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water, but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern Oceans and the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic. The words 'otariid' and 'otary' come from the Greek ' meaning "little ear", referring to the small but visible external ear flaps (pinnae), which distinguishes them from the phocids. Evolution and taxonomy Morphological and molecular evidence supports a monophyetic origin of pinnipeds, sharing a common ancestor with Mustel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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