History
The origin of the communities name came from the fact that the original discoverer affixed a steel cross at the port, in order to better identify the location to ocean travelers. During the early settlement of the northern coast, goods destined for the northern communities (such as Santo António da Serra) were offloaded in the harbor.
The parish of Porto da Cruz was created on 26 September 1577, by Jerónimo Barreto, establishing as its patron Nossa Senhora da Piedade (English: Our Lady of Piety). During the contract signing, the formal donation identified the new church as Nossa Senhora da Glória (English: Our Lady of Glory), but after being completed it was consecrated as Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe (English: Our Lady of Guadaloupe).
Since its establishment, the parish pertained to the Captaincy of Machico, but in 1835, it was integrated into the municipality of Santana with the administrative reforms of the Liberal regime. On 19 October 1852, these changes were nullified and the parish returned to the municipality of Machico.
Cultivation and harvesting of sugar-cane occupied the activities of early settlers. The aguardente factory, completed after 1858, was part of this industry, converting the grapes and juice into a local spirit, uniquely cultivating the American caste of grape in this territory.
Read more about this topic: Porto Da Cruz
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“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
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“The history of all countries shows that the working class exclusively by its own effort is able to develop only trade-union consciousness.”
—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)