Column: Andrade On Azoreans In Bermuda

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[Opinion column written by José Andrade]

We have always been, and still are, a people of migrants. We have been in the Azores for almost six centuries, and for more than 400 years we have left here, without ever leaving these islands. We left successively for Maranhão in the 17th century; for Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and even Uruguay in the 18th century; for Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, New England, California and even Hawaii in the 19th century; or for Canada in the 20th century.

In the case of Bermuda, the first Portuguese families [58 men, women and children] officially emigrated in 1849, specifically to boost wine production. Since then, thousands of Azoreans have emigrated to those [other] islands, mostly from São Miguel.

They left to fill local needs for agricultural skills and to ensure better conditions for their families. Thanks to Azoreans, agriculture became a lucrative industry [also] in the archipelago in the second half of the 19th century.

Progressive integration has been difficult, not least because of strict government regulations, but thanks to the size and determination of the Azorean community, more recent generations have already taken on important economic and social positions in the host society, which is now also theirs by merit.

Therefore, the duration and intensity of our emigration, especially as a result of family reunions, continue to justify the fascination of Azoreans with Bermuda.

Since the 1980s, the governments of the Azores and Bermuda have had an agreement that allows Azoreans with employment contracts to emigrate. As part of its permanent public service, the Regional Directorate for the Communities provides important intermediary support for Azoreans who obtain job offers and for Bermudian contracting companies, through the local services of the Department of Immigration.

The employment relationship associated with the act of migration allows for an up-to-date record of departures to Bermuda, which is unlike what happens with the United States of America and Canada.

Thus, within the scope of the bilateral agreement to hire Portuguese workers in Bermuda, the Regional Directorate for the Communities was the intermediary for 3,463 emigration cases in the first 20 years of this century – more in the first decade [2,741] than in the second [722].

In the 60 years in which official records exist, from 1960 to 2020, 8,722 Azoreans emigrated to Bermuda. The annual figures vary greatly, from a high of 519 in 1962 to a low of zero in 1993. In 2020, there were 34 cases of emigration associated with recruitment processes.

Bermuda is a British overseas territory located close to the east coast of the United States of America, with which we also have historical migratory links. They have practically the same population as the municipality of Ponta Delgada, around 70,000 inhabitants, although in a much smaller area: this municipality has 231 square kilometers, and that archipelago has only 53.

However, it is there that the Azorean community is most representative, in proportional terms, in relation to its host society. It is estimated that a quarter of Bermuda’s population, around 25%, are emigrants or the descendants of emigrants from Portugal, mostly from the Azores, especially from the island of São Miguel.

Therefore, it’s only natural that the Azorean community has made a name for itself in Bermudian society. Firstly, through its institutions, such as the Vasco da Gama Club, founded in 1935, the Portuguese Cultural Association, founded in 1970, or the Bermuda House of the Azores, founded in 2015. But also, through popular events that are representative of Azorean culture, such as the feast of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres or the cult of the Divine Holy Spirit.

The Government of the Azores is very proud of the Azorean community in Bermuda. And it reflects this pride in cooperation.

On the one hand, it provides important financial support for the operation of the Official Portuguese School in Bermuda, which is run by the Portuguese Cultural Association on the premises of the Vasco da Gama Club, guaranteeing the co-financing of the regular teaching of what is considered to be Bermuda’s second language.

It also maintains a financial cooperation protocol, which is renewed annually, with the young and dynamic House of the Azores of Bermuda.

The Azoreans of Bermuda need and deserve the Azores to be ever closer.

- José Andrade, Regional Director for Communities of the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. Based on a text from the Author’s book Transatlantic – Migrations of the Azores [2023]

April 2025
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Column: Andrade On Azoreans In Bermuda

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