Lajes das Flores (parish)

Lajes das Flores is an Azorean civil parish, and municipal seat of the municipality of Lajes das Flores. The population in 2011 was 627, in an area of 18.79 km².HistoryThe island and Corvo was discovered in 1452, donated on 20 January 1453 to D. Afonso of Bragança, its captainy was eventually ceded by João Teive to Fernão Teles de Mensese on 20 January 1475. On 1 March 1504, the captaincy was donated to João da Fonesca by D. Manuel I. The village was founded in a sheltered bay, facilitating the easy disembarkation of goods and provisions, protected from westerly winds. The first documented settlement, by the Flem Willem van der Haegen, occurred in the zone of Ribeira da Cruz in the 16th century.By 1510, the area of Lajes consisted of a significant population; it had benefited from its natural port and the settlement was elevated to the status of vila by the Portuguese government by 1515 . Initially, the settlement included Ribeira da Silva, Fajã Grande, as well as the settlements of Lajedo, Fajãzinha, Caldeira, Mosteiro, Fajã Grande and Fazenda. Settlements in the western coast, with the exception of Lajedo, were de-annexed to form the parish of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios das Fajãs .The primitive church was constructed in the present location of the cemetery, but was burned-down by English privateers on July 25, 1587, when five English ships offloaded troops and sacked the village, and caused the residents to flee into the hills. Two fortes were constructed to guard the coastal frontier and villages: the Fort of Santo António, which defended the town from two American privateers in 1770 and the Forte do Espírito Santo. By 1868 these garrisons were demolished, but the name Santo António in the village remains, designating the area along the coast in front of the Church, the former location of the fort and chapel of the same name.