I came across this book today and thought that others might enjoy it. It is “History of the Azores: or Western Islands; containing an account of the government, laws, and religion, the manners, ceremonies, and character of the inhabitants; and demonstrating the importance of these islands to the British Empire”. Phew! I think the title pretty much says it all. LOL I couldn’t seem to find the author’s name. The initials T.A. appear at the end of some sections. Evidently, with a title so long they couldn’t find room for his name! The information on Google says that it was written by Thomas Ashe and Joseph Haydn. The book was published in 1813 in London.
The book is presented in letters. Each letter focuses on a certain subject. There are descriptions of each island. Then there is information from tours of islands, of a convent, and specific towns on Sao Miguel Island.
It appears from the tone of the letters (I have not read them all) that Brtain coveted the islands and hoped to gain some control over them. I found it interesting that one of the reasons the author though Britain should align with the Azores is because the empire had no “wine colonies”.
Anyway, this should be an interesting read for anyone looking for information written about the islands in the 1800s.
Read the book on this blog, or check it out at this link.