On 22 October 1522, Vila Franca do Campo suffered one of the worst days in its, at the time, short existence.
Two more or less concurrent events had occurred in the mid-1470s: the sale of the captaincy of São Miguel to Rui Gonçalves da Câmara, the second son of the captain of the donatário, or lord proprietor, of Madeira; and the settlement’s elevation to the status of vila, or town, the only one on the island of São Miguel at the time.
The hard work and courage of Rui Gonçalves da Câmara had made Vila Franca the seat of power for the entire island. The high yields and fertility of the land made the inhabitants, in the words of Gaspar Frutuoso in Saudades da Terra, "people who were dissolute with the great abundance and plenty to be found at the time on this island”.
Friar Afonso de Toldo, a Dominican related to the Alva family and brother of the archbishop of the same diocese, predicted a great punishment, but his preaching fell on deaf ears. And on the eve of the disaster, the same book quotes the locals as uttering phrases such as: “we will dine well and die full [...] let us eat our capons today for we shall die tomorrow”.
And so, the fateful day arrived. Frutuoso’s rather wordy account tells of two almost simultaneous moments: “one huge and shocking tremor of the earth, which lasted as long as a credo” and then a second tremor, followed by the fall of “a large amount of the base of a mountain, from the foothills above [the town]; and mud and earth, with some large boulders from the northern side, flowing down and covering it, completely overwhelming it”.
There were many deaths. At the time, in 1522, the fifth captain of the donatário, grandson and namesake of the third, held the seat of power. On the eve of 22 October, he had left for Cabouco where he owned productive land. He was accompanied by his wife and youngest son. His other children were counted among the dead. When he heard the news, he hurriedly returned. Despite the uncertainties, he took up the reins and, helped by those who had survived, they tore up the earth, saved those still alive and buried the dead. To distract the survivors, he organised a jousting tournament.
But the religious approach soon dominated. The Dominican friar, who had arrived from Toledo and predicted the tragedy, took the opportunity to encourage religious devotion. He obtained a commitment that every Wednesday there would be a procession to the hastily-erected chapel of Senhora do Rosário, which would become the church for the friars’ monastery, replacing the one destroyed in the landslide.
The devotions intensified and so began the “Lenten pilgrimages of São Miguel”, a tradition that continues day. Once self-organised, today they obey rules and a hierarchy. Groups of men (women now undertake similar activities) travel the whole island, on foot, singing a mournful Avé Maria, praying in all the chapels of Our Lady, affectionately known as “casinhas” or little houses (nowadays, it is mainly the parochial churches that are visited).
As insignias, the Romeiros, or pilgrims, of São Miguel wear a shawl (symbol of the “true” shroud of Christ), carrying a food bag for sustenance (the Cross of Christ), a staff (the reed sceptre) to aid walking, with rosaries in their hands, which they recite over the nearly forty kilometres on each of seven days, and a headscarf (the crown of thorns) – symbols linked to the martyrdom of Christ.
This stamp issue, which depicts this religious tradition, highlights the hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Paz, in Vila Franca do Campo, one of the Romeiros’ pilgrimage sites. It also includes the rose window of the former main church, found some time later when the new church was built.
José Teixeira Dias
Historian
