Vila Franca do Campo
Encyclopedia
Vila Franca do Campo (ˈvilɐ ˈfɾɐ̃kɐ ðu ˈkɐ̃pu) is a town and a municipality in the southern part of the island of São Miguel
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...

 in the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 Autonomous Region of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

. The municipality has a population of 11039 inhabitants and a total area of 77.88 km²; the town, which incorporates several parishes, has a population of over 5300 inhabitants.

History

Vila Franca do Campo displays its municipal motto, Quis sicut deus?, on its flag and on its coat-of-arms. This Latin phrase means "Who is like God?" It is a reference to St. Michael the Archangel for whom the island of São Miguel
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...

 is named. In Hebrew, the name, Michael
Michael
Michael is a given name that comes from the , derived from the Hebrew question מי כמו אלוהים? meaning "Who is like God?" In English, it is sometimes shortened to Mike, Mikey, or, especially in Ireland, Mick...

, means "he who is like God".

Founded in the middle of the 15th century and declared town (vila) in 1472, Vila Franca do Campo became quickly the largest settlement and administrative seat of São Miguel.

In 1522 however, the town was completely destroyed by a severe earthquake, in which 3000-5000 people got killed. The capitão-donatário
Captain-major
Captain-major is the English rendering of the Portuguese title Capitão-mor for colonial officers, put in charge of a capitania, Portuguese possession deemed not important enough to have its own colonial Governor.Due to the impossibility of exercising direct control and sovereignty over islands,...

moved to Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...

. In the sequel of the 1582 naval battle
Battle of Ponta Delgada
The naval Battle of Ponta Delgada, Battle of São Miguel or Battle of Terceira took place on July 26, 1582, in the sea near the Azores, off São Miguel Island, as part of the War of the Portuguese Succession...

 off the coast of São Miguel, the Spanish victors had several hundred French and Portuguese prisoners executed in the town.

The town began to prosper again from the 18th century onwards from orange plantations and later from pineapple production.

Geography

Vila Franca do Campo Municipality is located east of Ponta Delgada, and it is linked by a mountain roads to Lagoa
Lagoa (Azores)
Lagoa is a municipality on the southwest-central part of São Miguel Island in the Azores It has a population of 14,698.Lagoa is located east of Ponta Delgada and is linked with a road connecting Ponta Delgada, the western part of the island and Furnas, Povoação and the eastern part of the island...

, Furnas
Furnas
Furnas is a civil parish in the municipality of Povoação on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 1,541, its density is 44.76/km² and the area is 34.43 km². The parish is one of the largest in the island and in the Azores...

, Povoação
Povoação
Povoação is a municipality located in the southern part of São Miguel Island in the Azores. It has a population of 6,696 inhabitants and a total area of 108 km².-Geography:...

 and the eastern and northern parts of the island. Most of the mountainous area of the municipality is forested with occasional grassy meadows. The rest of the land is devoted to agriculture with some small intersperesed wooded

Administratively, the six parishes of Vila Franca do Campo Municipality include:
  • Água de Alto
    Água de Alto
    Água de Alto is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2001 was 1624, its density is 88.2/km² and the area is 18.41 km². It is located on a road linking Ponta Delgada, Lagoa and the municipal seat. It is located east of Ponta...

  • Ponta Garça
    Ponta Garça
    Ponta Garça is a parish in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2001 was 3577, its density was 129.1/km² and the area was 27.7 km². It is the largest parish in Vila Franca do Campo. It is located on a road linking Lagoa and Ponta Delgada and the...

  • Ribeira das Tainhas
    Ribeira das Tainhas
    Ribeira das Tainhas is a parish in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo in the Azores. The population in 2001 is 782, its density is 78.9/km² and the area is 9.91 km². It is the smallest parish in area, population and density.-Geography:...

  • Ribeira Seca
    Ribeira Seca (Vila Franca do Campo)
    Ribeira Seca is a parish in the district of Vila Franca do Campo in the Azores.-History:On June 2002, the parish was split from the neighboring São Miguel. Prior to that was a settlement and a subdivision.-Geography:...

  • São Miguel
    São Miguel (Vila Franca do Campo)
    São Miguel is a parish in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 4047, its density was 321.19/km² and the area was 12.6 km²...

  • São Pedro
    São Pedro (Vila Franca do Campo)
    São Pedro is a parish in the district of Vila Franca do Campo in the Azores. The population in 2001 is 1120, its density is 453/km² and the area is 2.47 km². It is located east of Ponta Delgada and Lagoa, south of Ribeira Grande and west of Furnas and Povoação.-Geography:São Pedro has a...


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