Museu da Emigração Açoreana

This was the highlight of the day and it was pouring while we were in the museum. It was well presented and we spent 2 hour looking at the exhibits. There were multiple reasons why Azoreans emigrated. First of all, land ownership initially was held by only a few so the common man basically lived in poverty and could not get ahead. Men joined the whaling activities of the 1800s and the Cod fishing industry and jumped ship to North America. Portugal's involvement in protecting its interests in Africa (The Portuguese Colonial War, 1961-1974) and the worry about loosing one's offspring forced many to emigrate. The Portuguese government encouraged the diaspora to Brazil to help protect its interests there. Then many left in the 60s following the eruption of a volcano that caused many to lose their homes etc. 70% of the approximately 550,000 Portuguese in Canada trace their ties to the Azores and its is said that there is not one family on the island that has not had some of its family members move to North America (with all the uncertainty and personal emotional toll involved in any emigrant migration). They brought the ukulele to Hawaii and a unifying tradition is the celebration of the Holy Ghost Fiesta dating back to the 14th century that is symbolized by the dove and olive branch.Read more