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ALTAR NAVE «EM LOUVOR DE» (OS DESCOBRIMENTOS)
A sua localização na zona central do Atlântico Norte, fez com que a ilha Terceira constituísse durante séculos, uma autêntica encruzilhada nas rotas transatlânticas.
Na fase da navegação à vela, devido ao regime de ventos e correntes que obrigava à "volta do largo", as embarcações provenientes do Atlântico Sul (da Índia, Extremo Oriente e outras partes da Ásia, de África, do Brasil e outras partes da América do Sul) e das Caraíbas (das chamadas "Índias de Castela") faziam uma larga rotação no sentido dos ponteiros do relógio, cruzando o arquipélago em direcção à Europa.
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Dado o volume de riquezas que por aqui transitavam, desde cedo se sentiu a necessidade de defender a cidade de Angra e a sua baía, dos ataques de piratas e corsários, frequentes nesta altura do Oceano Atlântico. Desse modo, ao longo dos séculos, constitui-se um cordão defensivo ao redor da ilha, sendo a baía de Angra defendida pelo cruzamento de fogos entre a Fortaleza do Monte Brasil e o Castelo de São Sebastião.
Foram as viagens de Cristóvão Colombo e, posteriormente de Vasco da Gama (cujo irmão Paulo da Gama se encontra sepultado no Convento de São Francisco de Angra), que consagraram os Açores como escala fundamental das rotas atlânticas. Na primeira viagem do Vasco da Gama encontra-se definida a importância da ilha Terceira e, em especial, da baía de Angra enquanto escala vital no retorno das rotas do Oriente.
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No reinado de João III de Portugal, cerca de 1527, foi criado o cargo de Provedor das Armadas, com sede em Angra, e que permaneceu nas mãos da família Canto até à extinção do mesmo no início do século XIX. Este provedor, cuja habitação se encontrava estrategicamente próxima à baía de Angra e do Cais da Alfândega, tinha a função de articular um sistema de vigilância que permitisse detectar a aproximação das naus vindas de Ocidente, de forma a protegê-las da eventual presença de piratas, tomando todas as medidas que fossem necessárias à aguada e ao abastecimento das mesmas.
A montagem de todo este sistema obrigava a uma articulação de esforços entre o provedor e outras autoridades com sede na Terceira e também com as autoridades das ilhas dos grupos central e ocidental.
A defesa das naus, era feita então pela presença, nas águas dos Açores, da já mencionada Armada das Ilhas, armada esta, composta por um número variável de navios que saíam todos os anos de Lisboa e rumavam primeiramente às ilhas Berlengas e daí para a ilha Terceira.
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Located in the central zone of the North Atlantic, Terceira island constituted during centuries authentic crossroads in the transatlantic routes.By the winds and chains, boats proceeding from the South Atlantic (of India, Extremity East and other parts of Asia, Africa, Brazil and other parts of the South America) and from the Caribbean (of called “India Castile”) made a wide rotation clockwise, crossing the archipelago to the Europe direction.Given the immense value of the cargo transiting the Azores and the prevalence of pirates in the north Atlantic, the need to defend the city and the bay of Angra was recognized very early. Therefore, during the time when the East Indies trade was active, the Portuguese built and maintained a defensive cordon around the island of Terceira and the bay of Angra, in particular. This was accomplished primarily by setting up a crossfire of cannons, between batteries within the fortress of Monte Brasil and batteries of cannons at the Castle of St. Sebastian, which lies closer to the city.The voyages of Christopher Columbus and, later, those of Vasco da Gama (whose brother, Paulo da Gama, is buried in the Convent of St. Francis at Angra) established the Azores as the crossroads of the Atlantic, and the early trading expeditions reinforced the importance of
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Terceira island, and particularly the Bay of Angra, as vital steps in the safe return of ships from the East.This importance is evidenced by the creation, by King Manuel I of Portugal, of the protective fleet called the "Armada of the Islands", and by the issuance of "rules for ships from India in the Azores and the institution of arbiters of customs" (or "maritime magistrates"), both in 1520.During the reign of João III of Portugal, around 1527, the position of Purveyor of the Fleets was instituted, with headquarters in Angra. (This position was first assumed by Pero Anes do Canto, and it remained in the hands of the Canto family until the beginning of the nineteenth century.) The Purveyor, whose house was strategically close to the bay of Angra and the customs pier, had responsibility for devising a surveillance system that would detect the approach of ships coming from the West, for protecting the ships from pirates, and for providing their supplies and provisions.The system required a coordinated effort between the Purveyor and other authorities on Terceira and also with the islands in the central and western Azores. Special care was always taken in relation to communication with authorities on the island of Corvo, the northwestern most island in the Azores archipelago, who were most likely to spot the arriving ships first. It was their job to send a fast courier boat to Angra with news of the sighting.Defense of the ships was accomplished by the presence, in the waters of the Azores, of the armed fleet, the Navy, consisting of a variable number of ships that shuttled between Lisbon and
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Terceira with regular stops in the Berlengas islands. On Terceira, the admiralty constantly made itself aware of news related to pirates, then posted warships near Corvo for about four months at a time. The convoys would form-up and continue to Lisbon when the last ship of the East Indian trade arrived that year.This approach made the Bay of Angra an essential part of this lucrative busines.
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