Achadinha

Achadinha (from Achada + diminutive -inha, meaning Little Achada) is a civil parish in the municipality of Nordeste in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 535, in an area of 12.41 km².

History

Achadinha is one of the oldest localities in the municipality of Nordeste, referred to be Gaspar Frutuoso in his chronicle, Saudades da Terra. The settlement of this region dates to the early colonization of the island, when a man from Serra da Estrela region of northern Portugal established a stake along the northern coast. This man constructed a farm and cleared a roadway, that grew to become the principal link to this parish.

Around the 16th century, Achadinha was inhabited by 123 people in 43 homes. During this century, a small temple was constructed to the invocation of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Our Lady of the Rosary), who was served by its first vicar Pêro Vieira. By the end of the 19th century, the small chapel was substituted by a three-nave church.

Achadinha, during the 17th century, was still little more than a small settlement, distant and isolated from the great centres, such as Vila Franca do Campo and Ponta Delgada. This was a land where isolation was commonplace, the winters strong and the people lived off of the land. Many of the inhabitants walked barefoot, wearing shabby rags, made of linen, in a region that was distant from any other centre.