Bos on-Pon a Delgada 1815
EDGARDO MEDEIROS SILVA
Ins i u o Supe io de Ciências Sociais e Polí icas
da Uni e sidade Técnica de Lisboa
Cen o de Es udos Anglís icos da Uni e sidade de Lisboa
ISBN 978-972-8886-24-0 • FROM BRAZIL TO MACAO • CEAUL / ULICES 2013
1. In oduc ion
I would like o sugges in his pape ha om e y ea ly on in Uni ed S a es
his o y he islands o he Azo es se ed as mid-A lan ic mee ing poin o
Po uguese and Ame ican cul u e. A good example o ha is he desc ip ion he
his o ian William Hickling P esco (1796-1859) le us o his s ay on he island o
São Miguel as a young man (he was nine een yea s old a he ime), in connec -
ion wi h a isi o his g and a he , Thomas Hickling, he Ame ican diploma ic
ep esen a i e he e. Al hough P esco ’s s ay on he island las ed o six mon hs,
ha is, be ween Oc obe 1815 and Ap il 1816, due o a se ious eye condi ion,
which he was o su e om mos o his li e, he young a elle was con ined
o a da k oom o much o he ime he spen he e. Had ha no been he case,
we would ce ainly ha e oday a mo e comple e accoun o his s ay, hus sup -
plemen ing he scan y numbe o o eign sou ces we ha e o he Azo es and
o he pe iod in ques ion. S ill, wha P esco w o e abou São Miguel and i s
inhabi an s, hough il e ed h ough he eyes o a o eigne , allows us o d aw
an in e es ing pic u e o li e on his Azo ean island in he ea lie pa o he
nine een h cen u y.
Fo his pape , I ha e d awn p ima ily on wo sou ces o in o ma ion: he
ex an co espondence o P esco which Geo ge Tickno (1791-1871), ellow
schola and iend, included in his Li e o William Hickling P esco (1864), as
well as he pe sonal dia y kep by P esco du ing his Eu opean G and Tou and
which exis s in manusc ip o m a he Massachuse s His o ical Socie y.1
2. Con ac s be ween he Azo es and he Uni ed S a es
Con ac s be ween he Uni ed S a es and he Wes e n Islands, as he Azo es
we e known, da e back o he ounding o he Ame ican Republic. Du ing he
Re olu iona y Wa , o example, he Con inen al Cong ess main ained con ac
1William Hickling P esco ’s a el dia y is pa o he P esco Family Pape s, deposi ed a he
Massachuse s His o ical Socie y. I has 185 pages and co e s he pe iod om 26 Sep embe
1815 o 14 May 1817.
2 Da id Humph eys was he i s Ame ican diploma ic ep esen a i e o Po ugal; he held he
pos o Minis e in Lisbon om 1791-1797. The i s U.S. Consul in Lisbon was Edwa d Chu ch,
appoin ed in 1792. This means ha he Ame ican Consula e in he Azo es ( i s in Ho a, Faial,
and hen in Pon a Delgada, São Miguel) is he oldes con inuously ope a ing U.S. Consula e in
he wo ld.
3 The documen s show ha Thomas Hickling, h ough wo companies, expo ed a o al o 106,
484 boxes o o anges. C . “Ca a de Thomas Hickling J .,” T adução e no as de Hen ique de
Aguia Oli ei a Rod igues, Insulana, ol. 51, nº2 (1995), p. 210, no a nº 14. Timo hy Pikkin in
his A S a is ical View o he Comme ce o he Uni ed S a es o Ame ica (1835), pp. 227-230,
p o ides he alue o he impo /expo ade be ween he Uni ed S a es, mainland Po ugal
and he island o Madei a down o 1833, bu he does no include he Azo es. The eason is
undoub edly ela ed o he ac ha i was no signi ican in olume. Pi kin’s igu es also e eal
he impac o Napoleon’s Con inen al Blockade on he ade be ween he wo coun ies.
4 Thomas Hickling (1745-1834), William Hickling P esco ’s g and a he , was bo n in Bos on bu
died in Pon a Delgada. He a i ed in São Miguel island on boa d he sailing ship “S . John” in
1769, whe e he se led o good. He ne e e u ned o his na i e coun y, bu when he U.S.
became independen , he adop ed Ame ican na ionali y. His son, Thomas Hickling J . (1781-
1875), con inued he amily business, namely he expo o o anges, which was hea ily
a ec ed by he Wa o 1812.
wi h he Azo es in o de o coo dina e he a el o i s emissa ies o Eu ope
in i s e o o ge suppo o he independence mo emen . The e ha e been
Ame ican diploma ic ep esen a i es in he Azo es since 1795, when Geo ge
Washing on appoin ed John S ee as Uni ed S a es Consul o he Islands, based
in Ho a, Faial.21795 was also he yea Thomas Hickling, P esco ’s g and a he ,
was appoin ed Vice-Consul, bu based in Pon a Delgada, São Miguel. Thomas
Hickling had a i ed on he island o São Miguel in 1769, app oxima ely a qua e
o a cen u y be o e, whe e he was in ol ed in he impo /expo ade. He
became he single la ges expo e o o anges om São Miguel when hese i s
s a ed o be despa ched o No he n Eu opean po s. Acco ding o he eco ds
o he Pon a Delgada Cus oms House, be ween 1800 and 1809 Thomas Hickling
expo ed some 100,000 c a es o he ui .3The e is no e idence o sugges ha
he se led in São Miguel as a esul o a disag eemen wi h his a he o e his
suppo o he Re olu ion.4
3. P esco ’s Visi o he Azo es
As a his o ian, William Hickling P esco is bes known o his wo k on
impe ial Spain and La in Ame ica. Al hough he ne e augh , he holds a unique
posi ion in he his o iog aphy o Spain and La in Ame ica, because he was he i s
US his o ian o dedica e himsel o he s udy o hese ma e s. He was especially
ac i e in he 1830s and 1840s, when he published his his o ical wo ks on he
Edga do Medei os Sil a
440
eigns o Fe dinand and Isabella, he Ca holic, and Philip II, as well as his g and
na a i e s o ies o he conques s o Mexico and Pe u.5He w o e wi h a Roman ic
iew o his o y, cha ac e ised by a s ong au ho ial p esence, a enden ious
p e e ence o poli ical and cons i u ional ma e s, as well as a keen in e es in
he pe sonali y o he indi iduals who shape his o ical e en s. Like o he
his o ians o he pe iod, his wo ks do show a ce ain deg ee o cul u al bias. He
analysed he p e-Conques Inca and Az ec cul u es, o ins ance, acco ding o a
“Ch is ian unde s anding o he ancien Medi e anean pas ,” (Boyd 960) his
w i ings being in o med by a P o es an no ion ha Ca holicism ep esen ed an
in e io and essen ially supe s i ious o m o Ch is iani y. This, as I hope o show,
is al eady e iden in some o he le e s he w o e o his amily and iends om
São Miguel island.
P esco sailed om Bos on on 26 Sep embe 1815 (20 Sep , acco ding o
Tickno ), on boa d he USA B igan ine “Legal Tende ,” commanded by Cap ain
Lindsay. Tickno w i es ha i was a small essel simila o he ones ha we e
used o ca y ade wi h he Wes e n Islands. A e a “ ough passage,” wi h some
s ong gales and head winds, P esco landed a Pon a Delgada (w i en as Pon a
del Gada in his dia y) on 16 Oc obe (18 Oc obe , acco ding o Tickno ), a e a
wen y- wo day oyage.
Condi ions on boa d he essel we e a om sa is ac o y o he young
P esco as he ollowing exce p om his 18 Oc obe le e o his pa en s a es s:
I ha e been ea ed wi h e e y a en ion by he cap ain and c ew, and
my si ua ion ende ed as com o able as possible. Bu his cabin was ne e
designed o heuma ics. The companion-way opens immedia ely upon
deck, and he pa en binnacle illumina o , ice windows, a e so ingeniously
and impa ially cons uc ed, ha o e e y ay o ligh we ha e hal a
dozen d ops o wa e . The consequence is, ha he o bi o my ope a ions
o days oge he has been much es ic ed. I ha e banished ennui,
howe e , by ba ling wi h Democ a s and bed-bugs, bo h o which h i e
on boa d his essel, and in bo h o which con es s I ha e been ably
seconded by he cook, who has o icia ed as my ale de chamb e, and in
whom I ind g ea congeniali y o sen imen (Tickno 31).
Bos on-Pon a Delgada 1815
441
5 The His o y o he Conques o Mexico (1843) is ega ded as his bes wo k. W i en in h ee
olumes, i desc ibes how He nando Co és subdued he Az ec Indians. I also highligh s he
in e io i y o Az ec eligion in compa ison wi h Ch is iani y. The His o y o he Conques o
Pe u (1847), whose cen al cha ac e is Piza o, e idences simila hemes. Because o his poo
eyesigh , P esco used o w i e wi h he help o a sec e a y and a noc og aph, a wooden
able wi h wi es used o make no es wi hou looking a he page.

Two easons accoun o P esco ’s isi o São Miguel, ollowing his
g adua ion om Ha a d Uni e si y wi h a law deg ee. He had been su e ing
om an eye in ec ion (“ heuma ism”) o some ime, which had been caused by
a b ead c umb h own by a ellow s uden . The oyage o he Azo es was an
a emp o mi iga e his condi ion (by a oiding he ha shness o he Bos on
win e s) as well as an oppo uni y o see his g and a he , whom we suspec he
had ne e me .6A second eason has o do wi h he ac ha he had jus
comple ed his uni e si y s udies. As such, in line wi h common p ac ice in he
Anglo wo ld, and as a membe o New England’s uppe classes, P esco was o
isi con inen al Eu ope ( he G and Tou ), in pa icula he ancien si es o
G eece and I aly. A e his s ay in São Miguel, P esco wen on o isi London
and Pa is (whe e he did seek medical ad ice o his eye condi ion), as well as
I aly, bu he le G eece ou o his a el plans al oge he .
4. Rep esen a ions o he Azo es in P esco ’s T a el W i ings
P esco ’s i s imp essions upon his a i al in São Miguel island could no
ha e been be e . In no e o m, he jo ed down in his dia y: “ ine ma ine iews,
houses whi e lime and la a, s ee s na ow“ (P esco 1). A his g and a he ’s
home in Ros o de Cão (a subu b o Pon a Delgada), he added he ollowing: “Ros o
de Cão, cha ming ga dens a my G and a he s [sic], exo ics o e e y desc ip ion,
aya ees, o anges, lemons and ci eous ees, pomeg ana es, u opia (?),
lowe s, plan s, e c, e c,” (P esco 1).
Tickno is qui e accu a e abou he de ails su ounding he place whe e
P esco ’s g and a he li ed a he ime when he obse es ha Thomas Hickling
li ed a a place called Ros o de Cão, “due o he supposed esemblance o i s
ocks o he head o a dog” (Tickno 32). We a e old by him ha Hickling li ed
in a coun y house su ounded by ga dens wi h opical ege a ion, whe e lau els
and my les domina ed. He alludes o he la ge numbe o o ange g o es which
P esco ’s g and a he owned and om which he d ew his income: hese o ange
g o es we e “cul i a ed and ex ended chie ly h ough his g and a he ’s [P esco ’s
g and a he , ha is] spi i and ene gy, un il hei ui had become he s aple o
he island […]” (Tickno 32). Tickno seems o imply ha he expo o o anges,
which was o be he basis o he local economy o decades o come, was indeed
s a ed by P esco ’s g and a he . (This is only pa ially ue as he e we e o he
o ange g owe s and expo e s on he island.) He concludes he passage by
d awing an analogy be ween he island o São Miguel and he Ga den o he
Edga do Medei os Sil a
442
6 Tickno says ha P esco was going o isi his g and a he Thomas Hickling, “Consul o he
Uni ed S a es a S . Michael’s,” which was no exac ly ue. In ac , Hickling was Vice-Consul.
Hespe ides, He a’s my hical o cha d o golden apples in Wes e n lands ( o be
mo e p ecise he e e ence is o Hespe ian ables).7Visi s o o ange g o es seem
o ha e been a popula pas ime o he young P esco , as his dia y en ies a es :
19 Oc obe 1815, isi o “Donna Anna Rosa’s ga den, he ines in he island,
delicious o ange g o es [...] and my les, wen y ee in heigh ”; 7 Feb ua y
1816: “a mosphe e ema kably pu e and pe umed o ange g o es” (P esco 3);
15 Feb ua y 1816: s ill ano he excu sion o ye ano he o ange g o e: “good
o ange ees a e age 4 o 5000 o anges annually, 20,000 ha e been known, p ices
o o anges o me ly 10 cen s pe 1000, now 6 o e en 9 dolla s, bu p ope y
in he island yields 8 o 9 pe cen ” (P esco 4).
In a le e w i en o his pa en s om he abo e-men ioned loca ion, da ed
13 No embe 1815, P esco desc ibes he own o Pon a Delgada as a unique,
enchan ed place, mo e i ing in some ic ional accoun han in eali y i sel .
P esco w i es ha he ci y is loca ed a he base o hills co e ed wi h yellow
ields o co n. These ields o co n con as ed wi h he whi eness o he buildings
and he pic u esque u e s o he nume ous con en s, he whole se ing c ea ing
in him, as he pu s i , “a coup d’oeil on which he genius o a Radcli e, o indeed
any one, much less an admi e o he beau ies o na u e han mysel , migh
expend a olio o sen imen ali y and nonsense” (Tickno 33). In his passage,
P esco con esses himsel an admi e o na u e, bu no o he excesses o
eeling associa ed wi h some Roman ic poe y.
Fu he down in he same le e , P esco s esses he no el y o he scene y
and o he ege a ion, so unlike ha which could be ound in No he ne
clima es. In pa icula , he is su p ised o see plan s ha he had only seen inside
g eenhouses g owing in he open sky, wi hou a i icial hea . The luxu ian
ege a ion he could see all a ound him, boxwood, cyp ess, and my le, p omp s
him o ema k ha he el as i he had been anspo ed o he age o Ho ace
and Anac eon (one o many classical allusions we can ind in his co espondence).
As o he clima e, we ha e o say ha P esco was able o cap u e he
unp edic able na u e o he Azo ean wea he qui e well when he w i es ha
he win e s he e we e mild and he summe s a he chilly. He adds, hough,
ha he wea he was “cap icious,” making he local inhabi an s “absolu ely
amphibious,” no doub a e e ence o he la ge amoun s o p ecipi a ion o which
he island was, and s ill is, p one: “i hey [ he local inhabi an s] a e in sunshine
one hal o he day, hey a e su e o be in wa e he o he hal ” (Tickno 35).
Bos on-Pon a Delgada 1815
443
7 Acco ding o he my h, he Ga den o he Hespe ides was loca ed ei he in I aly o he Ibe ian
Peninsula. This is a e e ence o He a’s o cha d o golden apples, ended by nymphs called
Hespe ides. The Ga den o he Hespe ides is o en employed as an allusion o a blessed island
in he Wes .
He was also able o expe ience wha i el like o be subjec ed o egula
olcanic ac i i y. On 1 Feb ua y 1816, an ea hquake o conside able magni ude
s uck he own o Pon a Delgada and i s en i ons, damaging some o y houses
and many public buildings. Acco ding o P esco ’s accoun , he walls o his
g and a he ’s house we e c acked om op o bo om as a esul o he emo .
The ea hquake, which las ed h ee and a hal minu es, pulled he whole amily
ou o bed unexpec edly, eminding he young P esco o he disas e s o Lisbon
and He culaneum.
The le e o his sis e , Ca he ine Elizabe h P esco (1799-?), da ed 12 Ma ch
1816, con ains a numbe o de ails on housing in São Miguel. In i , P esco w i es
ha he houses on he island we e buil o s one, and ha hey we e mos ly wo-
s o ied, wi h he lowe loo o hese being used by he locals as a place o
keeping he ca le. These houses we e pain ed in whi e lime. Elsewhe e, mo e
speci ically in P esco ’s le e o his pa en s, da ed 15 Ma ch 1816, he complains
abou he ac ha he windows o his g and a he ’s house a Ros o de Cão we e
poo ly buil . In his iew, hey we e cons uc ed he way he doo s o ba ns in
New England we e buil : he windows had no blinds, hey we e no well insula ed
om he winds, and le in oo much ligh (Tickno 38).8Al hough he quali y o
he cons uc ion o his g and a he ’s house in he ci y was sligh ly be e , he
amily s ill had o nail baize o he windows o make he oom da ke and hus
p e en he de e io a ion o his eye in lamma ion. In he en y in his dia y da ed
17 Oc obe 1815, sho ly a e his a i al, P esco had no ed ap opos his isi o
he Fajen [sic]: “high s one walls obs uc he p ospec s, co ages wi hou
windows, i eplaces, o com o s” (P esco 1).
The simplici y o he island’s domes ic a chi ec u e con as ed, howe e ,
wi h he ichness o cons uc ion seen in chu ches. I s uck P esco ha he
Azo eans had la ish chu ches, “p o usely o namen ed wi h gilding and ca ing,”
e en hough he quali y o he c a smanship was poo (Tickno 34). Implici he e
seems o be, in my iew, c i icism o he a is ic excesses o Ca holics o he
de imen o he spi i ual side o hei eligious ai h.
The gene al a i ude o suspicion (and some imes, o e an ipa hy) many
Anglophone au ho s o his pe iod (and be o e) o en displayed in hei w i ings
o ollowe s o he Ca holic ai h is also p esen in P esco . Fo ins ance, when
desc ibing he con as be ween he yellow co n ields on he hills ha su ound
he ci y o Pon a Delgada and he whi eness o he u e s o he many con en s
he could obse e in i , P esco does no ail o ema k ha hose con en s bo h
“beau i y and disg ace he ci y” (Tickno 33). As we know, he e is a long
Edga do Medei os Sil a
444
8 Le e da ed 15 Ma ch 1816.
Bos on-Pon a Delgada 1815
adi ion in he Anglo-Saxon wo ld abou he nega i e image o Ca holic con en s,
going back o he P o es an Re olu ion o he 1600s, which ended o equa e
nunne ies wi h places o ill- epu e.
P esco e eals a bi mo e o his e y same a i ude in he le e he w o e
o his iend and la e edi o W. H. Ga dine (Ma ch 1816, no day). The e P esco
e e s o he ac ha he has isi ed nunne ies equen ly and ha hey do no
co espond in any way o he Roman ic no ion people ha e o hem as places o
“pu i y and simplici y.” He displays he common idea among P o es an s ha
nunne ies we e places o debauche y and dep a i y, as we can in e om his
passage:
Almos e e y nun has a lo e ; ha is, an innamo a o who isi s he e e y
day and swea s as many oa hs o cons ancy, and imp in s as many kisses
on he g a es as e e as Py amus and Thisbe did on he unlucky chink
which sepa a ed hem. I was in i ed he o he day o selec one o hese
ai peni en s, bu , as I ha e no g ea elish o such a — co espondence,
I declined he poli eness, and con en mysel wi h a ew ogles and sighs
en passan (Tickno 36-7).
P esco , he e o e, e used o engage in wha was appa en ly a a ou i e
pas ime on he island, e en hough on one occasion, as he no ed in his dia y
en y o 8 Feb ua y 1816, he d ank ea and a e swee s wi h he nuns om
Con en o da Espe ança (P esco 3).
In he abo e-men ioned le e o his sis e Ca he ine, we ha e a numbe
o lines w i en in he same ein. When desc ibing he la ishness o Azo ean
chu ches, wi h hei eigh , and some imes en, owe bells, P esco adds he
ollowing commen jokingly: “[...] when a g ea cha ac e walks o he ca pe ,
hey keep hem [ he owe bells] in con inued jingle, as hey ha e g ea ai h in
inging he soul h ough Pu ga o y” (Tickno 34). As an Ame ican b ough up
unde he s ic u es o New England P o es an ism, i is clea ha P esco inds
all his oo much. So much so ha he ends his pa ag aph o his le e by saying
ha when a poo man happens o lose his child, he local popula ion cong a u -
la e him on he joy o he occasion, bu i ha same man loses a pig, his iends
console him. Fo P esco , his is undoub edly an example o he kind o i a ional
beha iou o en associa ed wi h Ca holic p ac ices.
Fo P esco , poli ics and eligion we e no doub in e wined. He was
especially ha d on coun ies such as Po ugal, which he belie ed we e s ill unde
he in luence o papal powe , as we may ga he om he le e he w o e o
his iend W. H. Ga dine . In his iew, he inhabi an s o Ca holic coun ies we e
e y much “opp essed by a bi a y powe and papal supe s i ion” (Tickno 36).
As an inhabi an o a “ ee coun y, lou ishing unde he in luences o a benign
eligion,” as P esco w i es, wha he was gi en o obse e o Azo ean socie y
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