São Mateus da Calheta
| São Mateus da Calheta | ||
| Civil Parish | ||
 A perspective of the village of São Mateus by the coast, which received its formal title from the many coves and bays along its margin
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| Official name: Freguesia de São Mateus da Calheta | ||
| Name origin: Portuguese compound word for Saint Matthew by the bay | ||
| Nickname: São Mateus | ||
| Country | Portugal | |
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| Autonomous Region | Azores | |
| Island | Terceira | |
| Municipality | Angra do Heroísmo | |
| Localities | Bairro Novo, Canada da Cruz Dourada, Canada da Igreja, Canada do Capitão Mor, Canada do Pombal, Canada dos Calços, Canada dos Folhadais, Canada Francesa, São Mateus, Terra Pão | |
| Landmarks | Church of São Mateus, Church of São Mateus (Old), Fort of Negrito, Fort of São João, Fortress of São Mateus | |
| Center | São Mateus da Calheta | |
| - elevation | 23 m (75 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 38°39′27″N 27°16′12″W / 38.65750°N 27.27000°WCoordinates: 38°39′27″N 27°16′12″W / 38.65750°N 27.27000°W | |
| Highest point | Canada dos Folhadais | |
| - elevation | 146 m (479 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 38°40′37″N 27°16′18″W / 38.67694°N 27.27167°W | |
| Lowest point | Sea level | |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean | |
| Area | 5.98 km2 (2 sq mi) | |
| - urban | 1.59 km2 (1 sq mi) | |
| Population | 3,757 (2011) | |
| Density | 628/km2 (1,627/sq mi) | |
| Settlement | fl. 1500 | |
| - Parish | c. 1560 | |
| LAU | Junta Freguesia | |
| - location | Travessa da Junta | |
| - elevation | 23 m (75 ft) | |
| - coordinates | 38°39′25″N 27°16′16″W / 38.65694°N 27.27111°W | |
| President Junta | José Gaspar Rosa de Lima (PS) | |
| President Assembleia | Maria de Fátima Ferreira Ramos Dias (PS) | |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) | |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) | |
| Postal Zone | 9700-563 | |
| Area Code and Prefix | (+351) 292 XX XX XX | |
| Patron saint | São Mateus | |
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Website: www |
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| Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP) | ||
São Mateus da Calheta is a civil parish within the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 3,757, in an area of 5.98 km². It is located on the periphery of the urbanized area of the city of Angra do Heroísmo (approximately four 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the center, and developed from a small fishing port in a bay along the volcanic coast of the island (calheta is Portuguese for small bay).
During the early period of settlement, the São Mateus coast was dotted by bays, some peppered with small beaches. One of these, which became known as Prainha, soon became the centre of a small fishing port. Gaspar Frutuoso, writing in his sixth volume of Saudades da Terra, referred to the area as São Mateus da Prainha, noting: "In addition to the church of São Mateus Além, is a small bay of white sand and small stones in places, where on occasion they throw-out their nets and trammels to catch many fish, principally mullet." It was Pedro de Merelim who first coined the name São Mateus da Prainha, in his chapter on the parish, in As 18 paróquias de Angra.
During the 1580s, in anticipation of eventual attacks by forces loyal to King Philip II of Spain, the first forts began to be constructed along the coast: six forts lined the banks of the parishes coast, which included the Grande Fort and the Fort of Negrito. They served the purpose of defending political activities in the archipelago, but also safeguarded the pillaging from pirates and privateers that occurred during this period (which was the justification for the construction of the Fort of the Terreiro, the Fort of the Maré, the Fort of Má Ferramenta and the Fort of São João (São Mateus da Calheta) (also known as the Fort of Biscoitinho). The final defences were completed during the Second World War, with the extension of trenches and installation of gun emplacements.
Father Manuel Luís Maldonado, writing in his work Fenix Nagrense, recounted the penitence of the peoples of the parish, as a sequence of the 26 March 1690 storm and 5 April 1690 earthquake. These accounts explain the strong relationship between the parish of São Mateus and São Bartolomeu de Regatos, and the existence of a parochial church in the vicinity of the old church, the reference to fishing and the level of poverty. Father António Cordeiro, writing in 1710 wrote of large estates, the coastal fortresses (some with more than 9 pieces of artillery), their garrisons and of the community of São Matues "with more than 50 neighbours" spread across the territory. Cordeiro also wrote of the fishing: "...this bay in São Mateus, of white sand and small pebbles, where they catch a lot of fish, and salmonettes."
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