Vila do Corvo

History

Despite the discovery of Carthaginian coins and the possible presence of a pre-Portuguese statue on Corvo, the current historical consensus is that the history of the Azores begins with non-official exploration during the period of the late 13th century in maps, such as the Genoese Medici Atlas (1351). Although it did not specify an island of Corvo, the Medici Atlas did refer to an Insula Corvi Marini ('Island of the Marine Crow'), in a seven-island archipelago. A later Mapa Catalão ('Catalan Map'), from Spain, referred to two islands of Corvo and Flores in 1375. During Portuguese 'official history' the Western Group was discovered during the navigator Diogo de Teive and his son's (João de Teive) 1452 return from the Banks of Newfoundland, after his second voyage of exploration. The Portuguese Court began to refer to the new Ilhas das Flores ('Islands of Flowers'), identifying Corvo as the Ilha de Santa Iria ('Island of Saint Irene'), but other nautical charts continued to refer to this island as the Ilhéu das Flores ('Islet or Island of Flowers'), Ilha da Estátua ('Island of the Statue'), Ilha do Farol ('Island of the Lighthouse') or Ilha de São Tomás ('Island of Saint Thomas'). The island was placed under the control of Diogo Teive, who became the first Captain-Donatário. Following these successive failed attempts to settle the land, Gonçalo de Sousa (second Captain-Donatário of the islands of Corvo and Flores) was authorized to send slaves (likely from the island of Santo Antão in the Cape Verde archipelago) to Flores and Corvo as farmers and cattlemen (November 12, 1548). of wheat), as well as the elimination of the annual payment of 80,000 réis. The Crown would then assume the indemnity of the Donatário. The tribute was completely abolished by 1835. On June 20,…

Geography

Vila do Corvo has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with warm summers and mild winters. Despite being at the same latitude, Vila do Corvo is on average warmer than Long Beach Island, New Jersey, mainly due to the effect of the Gulf Stream. {| border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" style="float:right;" | |} The Vila do Corvo is implanted along the maritime coast of the island of Corvo, and represents the only inhabited settlement on the island. With a perimeter of , the settlement is dominated by the sheer cliffs of the extinct volcanic crater of the Caldeirão, which extend above sea level. The urban area covers an incredibly small by on an ancient debris field in the south, along the cove of Nossa Senhora do Rosário. The landscape north of the settlement is characterized by agricultural fields and pastureland, divided by stone walls. In the last part of the 19th century, a 9% drop in the population marked a period of emigration to the United States, generally associated with most of the archipelago. Yet continued emigration between Corvo and New England would mark the demographic oscillation during the 20th century, as well. There were four identifiable periods: * the first period, until 1925, when the United States began restricting immigration and the local population diminished by 18% * the second period, until 1955, during a period of emigration to Latin America, (principally to Brazil) that was fairly insignificant, but resulted in a 10% increase in the population * a third period, which lasted until the beginning of the 1980s, coincident with a new wave of emigration, resulting in a 49% decrease in the local residents * finally, from the 1980s until the beginning of the 21st century, resulting from new restrictions on emigration, and local social and…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,345
• Azores Chaffinch

  Fringilla moreletti Pucheran, 1859 · Aves
  1,244
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,226
• Gray Wagtail

  Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 · Aves
  1,196
• Island Canary

  Serinus canaria (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,192
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  1,174
• Eurasian Blackcap

  Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,065
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  890

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2020-12-18
  91 km E of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal
• M 4.6 — 2020-12-18
  49 km SE of Lajes das Flores, Portugal
• M 4.6 — 2020-12-18
  80 km ESE of Lajes das Flores, Portugal
• M 4.5 — 2019-12-24
  90 km ESE of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal
• M 4.4 — 2010-07-04
  92 km E of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal
• M 4.2 — 2008-10-04
  96 km E of Santa Cruz das Flores, Portugal