First of all, we would like to congratulate the author Maria das Mercês Pacheco for the launch of her work, Travellers in the Azores: the islands as seen by foreigners since the 16th century.
In this work, Maria das Mercês Pacheco talks about several foreign travelers who have been in the Azores in the past since the 1500s and in particular their impression of these Atlantic islands.
Today we decided to speak about the testimony of an American who visited the Azores, more specifically the island of Faial, the famous American writer, Mark Twain.
Mark Twain in his work, Innocents Abroad, launched in 1869, talks about the Azoreans and his experience on the island of Faial. The Quaker City, the ship he was traveling on, was to land in São Miguel, but to avoid a storm, instead, anchored in the port of Horta on the island of Faial on June 21st 1867.
About Faial, he said that the community was eminently Portuguese, and for that reason they were lazy, slow, poor and sleepy. He talked about the Azorean religiosity as well as their ignorance in those times! He also talked about the agriculture of the islands, the climate and on the other hand he praised the city of Horta saying that the roads were very well paved!
Last modified: 28 de December, 2021
