Publication Date
2010
Categories
A compilation of documents and of studies initially edited in fascicles, is both an essential reference for Azorean and Portuguese historiographies, and a landmark of the erudition of the 1800s. Its genesis and publication came about through the initiative of majorat heir, genealogist, and historian, Ernesto do Canto (1831-1900), who possibly was inspired by the Portugaliae Monumenta Histórica edition. The program on which the endeavor was based was made explicit in the introduction of the first volume, published May 1878, which presented Arquivo dos Açores as a newspaper, a means of disseminating progress, claiming to "rectificar a historia açoriana em vista de documentos coevos" ["correct Azorean history in light of coeval documents"], "fazer conhecidos documentos unicos importantissimos, dispersos ou avulses" ["to divulge unique, highly significant documents that were either dispersed or isolated"], "reunir não só os manuscriptos de que houver conhecimento, existentes nas bibliothecas publicas e particulares, nacionaes e estrangeiras" ["to gather not only the manuscripts which were known to exist in both public and private libraries, national and foreign"] and, finally, as a result of all these efforts, to establish the conditions necessary for "esclarecidas lucubrações historicas" ["enlightened historical studies"].
In addition to Ernesto do Canto himself, several illustrious members of the Azorean cultural elite collaborated in the project, most distinctly Jacinto Inácio de Brito Rebelo (1830 1920), a micaelense [native of the Azorean island of São Miguel] and infantry official, father José Joaquim de Sena Freitas (1840 1913), José de Arriaga (1848 1921), Francisco Afonso de Chaves (1857 1926), and Manuel Monteiro Velho Arruda (1873 1950), a native of Santa Maria Island. During the lifetime of the project´s mentor, twelve volumes were published between 1878 and 1892; after his death, volumes XIII (1920), initially planned as a tribute to the founder of Arquivo dos Açores, and XIV (1927) were published, containing mainly documentation about São Miguel, as was Volume XV (1959), which was dedicated to Santa Maria, and conceived originally by Manuel Monteiro Velho Arruda, who considered publishing here a significant portion of the documentation that had been gathered over many years of research.
It is not easy to account for the diversity of documents and studies gathered in Arquivo dos Açores, especially since their publication did not follow the organizational criteria that are in practice today. Nevertheless, let us state that the notable effort of the team coordinated by Ernesto do Canto allowed for the publication of previously unknown manuscripts from national archives, either from the Azores region (private and public) or from mainland Portugal (mainly from Arquivos Nacionais/Torre do Tombo, as well as foreign ones and rare printed matter. From among the diverse and rich documentation that was examined, sesmarias [a system by which the Crown granted the utilization of uncultivated land to private parties] official instructions and letters from the collection of documents of Pero Anes do Canto, who was the first purveyor for the armadas, deserve to be mentioned. These were grouped under the title "Regimen Primitivo da Propriedade nos Açores" (Vol. XII, pp. 385 408). Of the printed matter, let us distinguish two booklets by Gonçalo Vaz Coutinho, Governor of São Miguel, related to the battle with the English in 1597 on this island (Vol. X, pp. 97 149), and also, during the Phillipian Era, several Spanish and Italian accounts of the conquest of Terceira Island and the battles between the supporters of Dom António and those of Phillip II (Vol. III, pp. 118 128 and 213 278). As far as the studies, let us cite "Os Corte Reaes. Memoria Historica", authored by Ernesto do Canto (Vol. IV, pp. 385 590), which is solidly documented and provides us with essential information about the socioeconomic aspects of this family´s life in Algarve.
Let us also emphasize that Ernesto do Canto and the collaborators of Arquivo dos Açores, while men of their time, payed close attention to events and news with national significance. Thus, they let pass neither the Camões Centennial in 1880 (Vol. II, pp. 79 84), producing a "Bibliographia Camoneana nos Açores Por occasião e posterior ao Centenario", with several supplements (Vol. III, pp. 141 166, 301 318 and 461 476; Vol. IV, pp. 333 342; Vol. V, pp. 377 395), nor the voyage of Hermenegildo Capelo and Roberto Ivens, who was a native of São Miguel (Vol. VIII, pp. 193 280). Finally, the effort placed into the divulgation of authors central to Azorean historiography, such as Gaspar Frutuoso (1522-1591), should be accentuated - documents related to this Micaelense Vicar were published, and his work, Saudades da Terra, was relied on (Vol. I, pp. 403 434, 458 466 and 536 541; Vol. II, pp. 85 93, 172 186 and 188 190; Vol. X, pp. 486 490; Vol. XII, pp. 122 157). Another central author is Friar Diogo das Chagas, who wrote Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de Várias Flores, editing its Relação, which alluded to the Restauração [1640 revolt against the Phillipian Dinasty´s attempt to annul Portugal´s independence] in the Azores (Vol. V, pp. 396 406; Vol. X, pp. 193 232).
Due to its proven importance, the Universidade dos Açores, in connection with the centennial of the publication of Arquivo dos Açores, produced a facsimile edition of the work and, after 1999, initiated the edition of a second series of Arquivo dos Açores, which currently shows a new format and is dedicated to the publication of the documentation pertinent to the Azores that is stored in Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino.
Bibliography:
Arquivo dos Açores, reprodução fac similada da edição original, Ponta Delgada, Universidade dos Açores, 1980 1984, 15 vols. PEREIRA, António dos Santos, "Historiografia Açoriana (1875 1925): Breve roteiro", Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira, vol. XLV, 1988, pp. 665-689.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel
In addition to Ernesto do Canto himself, several illustrious members of the Azorean cultural elite collaborated in the project, most distinctly Jacinto Inácio de Brito Rebelo (1830 1920), a micaelense [native of the Azorean island of São Miguel] and infantry official, father José Joaquim de Sena Freitas (1840 1913), José de Arriaga (1848 1921), Francisco Afonso de Chaves (1857 1926), and Manuel Monteiro Velho Arruda (1873 1950), a native of Santa Maria Island. During the lifetime of the project´s mentor, twelve volumes were published between 1878 and 1892; after his death, volumes XIII (1920), initially planned as a tribute to the founder of Arquivo dos Açores, and XIV (1927) were published, containing mainly documentation about São Miguel, as was Volume XV (1959), which was dedicated to Santa Maria, and conceived originally by Manuel Monteiro Velho Arruda, who considered publishing here a significant portion of the documentation that had been gathered over many years of research.
It is not easy to account for the diversity of documents and studies gathered in Arquivo dos Açores, especially since their publication did not follow the organizational criteria that are in practice today. Nevertheless, let us state that the notable effort of the team coordinated by Ernesto do Canto allowed for the publication of previously unknown manuscripts from national archives, either from the Azores region (private and public) or from mainland Portugal (mainly from Arquivos Nacionais/Torre do Tombo, as well as foreign ones and rare printed matter. From among the diverse and rich documentation that was examined, sesmarias [a system by which the Crown granted the utilization of uncultivated land to private parties] official instructions and letters from the collection of documents of Pero Anes do Canto, who was the first purveyor for the armadas, deserve to be mentioned. These were grouped under the title "Regimen Primitivo da Propriedade nos Açores" (Vol. XII, pp. 385 408). Of the printed matter, let us distinguish two booklets by Gonçalo Vaz Coutinho, Governor of São Miguel, related to the battle with the English in 1597 on this island (Vol. X, pp. 97 149), and also, during the Phillipian Era, several Spanish and Italian accounts of the conquest of Terceira Island and the battles between the supporters of Dom António and those of Phillip II (Vol. III, pp. 118 128 and 213 278). As far as the studies, let us cite "Os Corte Reaes. Memoria Historica", authored by Ernesto do Canto (Vol. IV, pp. 385 590), which is solidly documented and provides us with essential information about the socioeconomic aspects of this family´s life in Algarve.
Let us also emphasize that Ernesto do Canto and the collaborators of Arquivo dos Açores, while men of their time, payed close attention to events and news with national significance. Thus, they let pass neither the Camões Centennial in 1880 (Vol. II, pp. 79 84), producing a "Bibliographia Camoneana nos Açores Por occasião e posterior ao Centenario", with several supplements (Vol. III, pp. 141 166, 301 318 and 461 476; Vol. IV, pp. 333 342; Vol. V, pp. 377 395), nor the voyage of Hermenegildo Capelo and Roberto Ivens, who was a native of São Miguel (Vol. VIII, pp. 193 280). Finally, the effort placed into the divulgation of authors central to Azorean historiography, such as Gaspar Frutuoso (1522-1591), should be accentuated - documents related to this Micaelense Vicar were published, and his work, Saudades da Terra, was relied on (Vol. I, pp. 403 434, 458 466 and 536 541; Vol. II, pp. 85 93, 172 186 and 188 190; Vol. X, pp. 486 490; Vol. XII, pp. 122 157). Another central author is Friar Diogo das Chagas, who wrote Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de Várias Flores, editing its Relação, which alluded to the Restauração [1640 revolt against the Phillipian Dinasty´s attempt to annul Portugal´s independence] in the Azores (Vol. V, pp. 396 406; Vol. X, pp. 193 232).
Due to its proven importance, the Universidade dos Açores, in connection with the centennial of the publication of Arquivo dos Açores, produced a facsimile edition of the work and, after 1999, initiated the edition of a second series of Arquivo dos Açores, which currently shows a new format and is dedicated to the publication of the documentation pertinent to the Azores that is stored in Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino.
Bibliography:
Arquivo dos Açores, reprodução fac similada da edição original, Ponta Delgada, Universidade dos Açores, 1980 1984, 15 vols. PEREIRA, António dos Santos, "Historiografia Açoriana (1875 1925): Breve roteiro", Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira, vol. XLV, 1988, pp. 665-689.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel