Terceira (Portuguese pronunciation: [tɨɾˈsɐjɾɐ]) is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal, 1,181 km (734 mi) due west of Lisbon. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km2 (153.19 sq mi). Terceira is the location of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the archipelago and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the seat of the judicial system (Supreme Court); and the main insular Portuguese Air Force base, Base Aérea nº 4 at Lajes, with a United States Air Force detachment. Terceira island has two main sea ports, one at Angra do Heroísmo and the other at Praia da Vitória, and a commercial airport integrated with the flight operations at Lajes. Portuguese bullfighting is popular on the island, in two versions: the traditional equestrian bullfight (in the ring) and the popular "tourada à corda" that occurs in the streets.
History
There is some uncertainty in the date and the discoverer of the Azores. Nautical charts before the "official" discovery identified islands in the Atlantic Ocean as early as 1325, when a chart by Angelino Dalorto identified "Bracile" west of Ireland, and later one by Angelino Dulcert which identifies the Canaries, and Madeira, along with mysterious islands denominated as "Capraria" (which some historians suggest were São Miguel and Santa Maria). Legends also persisted of Atlantis, Sete Cidades (Kingdoms of the Seven Cities), the Terras of São Brandão (the Land of Saint Brendan), the Ilhas Afortunadas (the Fortunate Islands), the Ilha da Brasil (the Island of Brasil), Antília, the Ilhas Azuis (Blue Islands), and the Terra dos Bacalhaus (Land of Codfish), and charts appeared between 1351 and 1439 of several groupings of islands with various names. The first association between the modern island of Terceira and these stories, was that of the island of Brasil; it first appears as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436), attached to one of the larger islands of a group of islands in the Atlantic. In 1439, the first official discovery document appeared, attributing the discovery of the Formigas to Gonçalo Velho Cabral. There is an indication that Terceira may have been discovered by Vicente de Lagos, Velho Cabral's pilot, on 1 January 1445: the first documents after this period started appearing with a third island in the Azorean archipelago, referred to as the Ilha de Jesus Cristo (Island of Jesus Christ), and later, Ilha de Jesus Cristo da Terceira. Gaspar Frutuoso, a chronicler and humanist, would later rationalize about the island's first name, noting that:
it was discovered on the first day of January, traditionally the feast day of the name of Jesus; it was discovered by a captain in the Order of Christ; it was discovered on a Thursday or Friday, on Corpo de Deus (Body of Christ); or because it was part of the dioceses of Angra, through the invocation of San Salvador (although this implies that a dioceses existed prior to its discovery). Regardless, it was only a temporary name, as the colloquial Terceira (meaning "third" in Portuguese, as in "the third island" or "third to be discovered") was used more often to describe the island. The colonization of the island began by decree of Henry the Navigator, dated 21 March 1450, and placed the island in the administrative hands of the Fleming Jácome de Bruges. Its first settler was Fernão d'Ulmo, a Fleming or Frenchman, who later abandoned his plot for unknown reasons. Bruges, although a Flemish nobleman, continued to bring families and settlers from Flanders, and northern Portuguese adventurers (João Coelho, from Guimarães; João da Ponte, from Aveiro; João Bernardes, from Lagos; João Leonarde, from Vieira; and Gonçalo Anes da Fonseca, from Porto), as well as animals and provisions, disembarking in the area of Porto Judeu or Pesqueiro dos Meninos, near Vila de São Sebastião (depending on sources). Frutuoso also affirmed that:
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