The District of Horta was a district of the (Adjacent Islands, the former collective name for the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

), consisting of the dependent western islands of the Azores, located in the Atlantic Ocean. The district of Horta, not to be confused with the modern municipality of Horta, existed from 1836 until 1976 when it was abolished in favour of the autonomy charter of the 1975 Portuguese Constitution.

History

Officially referred to as the (Autonomous District of Horta) since 31 December 1940, it was originally established after the Liberal administrative reforms of Mouzinhos da Silveira on 28 March 1836. During these reforms the Azores were redesignated dependencies of Portugal as the constitutionally-designated (Adjacent Islands). The district's creation resulted from the division of the (Western Province of the Azores), its seat in the district capital of Angra do Heroísmo, into two areas with the latter's seat in Horta.Estatísticas Históricas Portuguesas
INE 2001 District autonomy was established during the Estado Novo regime of

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

in 1940. The Autonomous District of Horta was extinguished, along with the Districts of

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,28 ...

and Angra do Heroísmo on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of the (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region's transition to constitutional autonomy. With regional autonomy the districts were completely abolished: the 1976 Portuguese constitution defined in law the status of

Autonomous Region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy� ...

without the existence of districts. Local government authority and administration fell to the upper-level

local administrative unit Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...

s (the municipalities) and second-tier LAU IIs (the civil parishes ()).

Geography

The district of Horta included the western and the southern central islands of the Azores: Corvo,

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

, Faial and

Pico Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...

. This region includes a land area of 776.17 km² of islands and islets, and the following municipalities: * Corvo * Horta *

Lajes das Flores Lajes das Flores () is a municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern part of the island of Flores. To the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. The population in 2021 was 1,408, in an area of . Its mun ...

Lajes do Pico Lajes do Pico () is a town and municipality in the central Azores. It is one of three municipalities of the island of Pico. It has 4,342 inhabitants as of 2021, in an area of 155.31 km2. It is bordered by Madalena to the west and by São Roqu ...

Madalena Madalena is a feminine given name. It is a Portuguese form of Magdalene. It may refer to: People *Madalena Alberto, Portuguese actress, singer and composer * Madalena Boavida, East Timorese politician *Maddalena Casulana, (c. 1544–c. 1590), I ...

São Roque do Pico São Roque do Pico () is a municipality in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, occupying most of the northern side of the island of Pico. As of 2021, it has 3,221 inhabitants spread through five freguesias (civil parishes) in an area of 142. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horta (District) Former subdivisions of the Azores Horta, Azores History of the Azores