São Jorge Island

São Jorge is a Portuguese island in the central Azorean archipelago of Portugal. It is separated from its nearest neighbors (Pico and Faial islands) by a 15 km strait (consequently, the three islands are sometimes referred to colloquially as the "Triangulo" (Triangle) group or just "The Triangle"). São Jorge is a relatively long thin island with tall cliffs, and where the population (9500 inhabitants.) is concentrated on various deltas along the north and south coasts (its east to west length is 53 km and its north to south width is 8 km and its area is 237.59 km² 95 sq. miles).HistoryIt is unclear when the first explorers discovered the island of São Jorge; as part of the politics of human occupation, the Azores were populated after 1430 through the initiative of Prince Henry the Navigator. The 23 April, known as the feast day of Saint George, has been cited by historians as the reason for the island's name, although this is likely conjecture. Genovese and Catalan maps of the 14th century originally designated the long, slender island "São Jorge", a designation that was maintained by Infante D. Henrique when settlers from northern Europe began to colonize the island .Although unclear, Azorean chroniclers believe that settlement on the island concentrated around the two communities of Velas and Calheta, and developed into the interior. It was in 1460 that the construction of the first church dedicated to São Jorge occurred in the area of Velas, from the testaments of Infante D. Henrique. What is certain is that the island was populated by the time that João Vaz Corte Real, the Donatary-Captain of Angra do Heroísmo obtained the captaincy of the island, by contract on 4 May 1483. By 1500, the settlement of Velas was elevated from villa to municipality . By 1659, the parochial church had already undergon public restoration, that gave origin the present church in that municipality.