São Jorge Island - Economy

Economy

After a period of small subsistence agriculture, the local economy began to concentrate on a few chief exports: initially, lichen (Roccella tinctoria) and woad (Isatis tinctoria), later the introduction of wheat and corn crops. Woad was one of the most important exports from São Jorge and the Azores; it was initially introduced by Willem van der Hagen around 1490, and exported primarily to his countrymen in Flanders. Both woad and lichen were very popular in central Europe as a dye.

These exports were later superseded by grapes and wine after 1571 and endured for the next three centuries. It was first disseminated along the southern coast, owing to the fertile soils, and adapted well to many of the fajãs of Calheta (including Fajã dos Vimes, Fajã de São João, Fajã do Ouvidor, and Fajã Grande), as well as the areas between Ribeira do Almeirda and the parish of Queimadas (in Velas). These were generally considered lands that were not adequate for cereal cultivation, but where vineyards flourished. The majority of the wine production was located in the area between Queimada, Urzelina and Manadas, with grapes of the Verdelho and Terrantez castes, as well as some Bastardo, Moscatel and Alicante produced in an area that became lucrative and highly prized. Unlike the other islands, where grape vines grew on the rocky hedge-rows or around protective volcanic rocks, the grapes of São Jorge were grown between many of the natural species of bush and trees. Over the centuries many barrels of wine were produced in this method, and about 10,000 barrels were regularly exported or consumed locally. São Jorge wines were so highly esteemed that the Count of Almada, then Captain General of the Azores, created the "São Jorge" brand in order to mitigate fraudulent sales. The wine was also appreciated during the World Exposition of 1867 (in Paris, France) where it rivaled Porto wine. Unfortunately, the Oidium tukeri grape/vine disease reached the island in late 1854 and destroyed the prosperous industry. Various attempts were made to restart the wine industry, such as Francisco José de Bettencourt e Ávila, the Baron Ribeiro in the area of Urzelina, and later Miguel Teixeira Soares de Sousa and Marta Pereira da Silveira, who produced wine from the Izabela caste. Meanwhile the Filoxera disease continue to destroy many of the vineyards in the municipality of Calheta during the second half of the 18th Century, and throughout the island the disease would bring many producers to bankruptcy. The remnants of the viticulture of the island banded together around Casteletes, in Urzelina, which include João Inácio de Bettencourt Noronha, producing a new caste of wines around Urzelina and Fajã de São João.

Orange cultivation spread in the Azores around the 17th Century owing to the environmental conditions and the fertility of the lands. The export of oranges to the United Kingdom and North America was an important phase in the island's economy; about six shipments per port were annually exported, which included about 7 million (or about 994,000 kilograms) of oranges. Orange orchards were located primarily in the communities of Santo Amaro, Urzelina, Ribeira Seca and in Fajã de São Joãos.

Another crop to form a part of the culture of the Azores is the yam. It is widely popular and cultivated in any plot of land, and was used as an important subsistence food during the islands formative years although never becoming a major export product. It was so important that it was included in the Coat-of-Arms of Calheta, since 1694.

Long before whale-watching became important, whaling was an important industry between the end of the 19th Century and middle of the 20th Century, where a majority of the inhabitants were tied exclusively to this economy. In strategic locations along the coast small huts were built to watch-out for whales and give an alarm to the local hunters, who would sail out and harpoon the mammals. Later, when this hunt was prohibited, the islanders began to "hunt" Albacor and Bonito Tuna resulting in the creation of two processing plants in Calheta. Fishing continues to be an important part of the local economy, although whale-watching has turned into a part of local tourism.

While cereals, vineyards and local vegetables are still grown sporadically around the island (much like the other islands of the Azores) the economy of São Jorge is currently dependent on the dairy industry.