LIFE COURSES AND PROPERTY TRANSMISSION IN THE AZOREAN PERIPHERY (PORTUGAL): THE CASE OF S. JORGE ISLAND IN THE 19TH CENTURY

This study focuses on the island of São Jorge, of the Azores archipelago, situated some 1500 kilometers from continental Europe. The region, made up of nine islands, has always assumed a peripheral position in the Portuguese context. Ever since the colonization of the archipel- that goes back to the decade of 1440- the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Faial have been beneficiaries of preferential development. The arising of an economic market and the geo-strategic nature of the functions performed by these islands, especially in connection with the Portuguese and Spanish Indias gave rise to much dynamism, according to the islands truly pluri-continental aspect right from the beginning. Yet, apart from the highly dynamic and cosmopolitan centres consisting of the main cities of Ponta Delgada (S. Miguel), Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira) and Horta (Faial), the Azores continued as an isolated and rural region, where the other islands assumed a peripheral nature inside the pherifery. The island of São Jorge is truly rural, with a hilly terrain that has only about 30 % of the area below 300 metres in altitude, and an economy based on cattle breeding. The island’s natural environment is made up of hilly areas and the population’s concentratio