How a man left his native country to find a better life for his wife and children, a sacrifice not some people would make today, move to another state or city for their family let alone another country……my utmost respect for my Great Great Grandfather I share this with others…….

The Worlds Special Fair 1915 - San Francisco, CA

Antonio & Maria Margarida Pereria Cardozo (Perry)

In the 1870's, direct shipping began between Boston and Horta, Faial which was an impetus for increased immigration to the United States.  In 1890's, the U.S. Consul moved from Horta to Ponta Delgada which is on the most populated island in the archipelago, Sao Miguel.  This brought direct shipping to Sao Miguel and further increased immigration to the United States.  In 1910, the Portuguese monarchy fell, and an anticlerical government was instituted which caused conservative Catholics to leave Portuguese possessions and relocate.  Many came to the Azores and to United States.  More Azorean immigration came from young men fleeing mandatory military service during World War I.  Jobs were available in New England because of massive industrialization. This attracted Azoreans because of their lack of employment.

According to Genoese maps of the 14th century, the Azores were discovered between 1317 and 1339 by Portuguese sailors and some Genoese sailors who were in the service of Portugal.  However, the great historian Damião Peres attributes the discovery of the archipelago to Diogo de Silves, a Portuguese navigator, in the year 1427,  they were uninhabited. Then, later under Prince Henry the Navigator ( Dom Henrique was the son of King João of Portugal, born in 1394), the islands were colonized in some part by the Flemish, which is why so many of the people of the Azores have blue eyes and fair complexions.  The settlement began on the islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel in about 1439, and ended on Flores and Corvo which were discovered later.

Later settlers included Jewish farmers, Bretons, and some Italians, English, and Scots.  The island of Santa Maria was the first to be discovered and was where Columbus' crews paused when they returned from their first trip upon discovering America.  The islands were named after a bird from the hawk family that was found in the area.  The Azores are thought by some to be part of the sunken continent of Atlantis.

During the period from 1580 - 1640, the Azores were occupied by Spain and used as a staging base for the Spanish fleets.  The seas surrounding the islands were the site of many a fierce sea battle between France and Spain.

So my ancestors could be actually Spaniards, Italian, Portuguese, etc.

The Flemings

People from Flanders settled in the Azores beginning in 1450. These Flemish settlers played an important role in the creation of the Azorean culture. By 1490, there were 2,000 Flemings living in the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, Sao Jorge, and Flores. Because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders.

Henry was responsible for this settlement. His sister, Isabel, was married to Duke Philip of Burgundy of which Flanders was a part.  There was a revolt against Philip's rule and disease and hunger became rampant.  Isabel appealed to Henry to allow some of the unruly Flemings to settle in the Azores.  He granted this and supplied them with the necessary transportation and goods.

First group of Flemings was led by Willem van de Hagen, later known by his Portuguese name of Guilherme da Silveira. They settled in Terceira, and the Flemish nobleman, Jacome de Bruges, was placed in charge. The next contingents went to the islands of Faial, Flores, Sao Jorge, and Pico.  Joos van Huerter founded the city of Horta on Faial where evidence of the Flemish people and culture still exists today. Faial was in fact called the Flemish Island and the valley behind the city still has the name, the Valley of the Flemings or O Valle dos Flamengo.

But the Flemish language disappeared before long, and the Flemish settlers changed their names to Portuguese forms. For example, van der Hagen became Silveira, and Huerter became Dutra or Utra.  Flemish physical traits of light hair, light complexion, and blue eyes can still be seen in the features of many Azoreans. Flemish oxcarts and windmills are still seen on the islands.  The Flemish beghards and beguines (lay-religious group) brought the Festival of the Holy Spirit and their distinctive cloaks and hoods to the islands.  There are many religious statuary, paintings, and furniture found in Azorean churches and museums which show the Flemish influence.

An interesting sidelight is the speculation that some Flemish people may have reached the North Carolina coast inadvertently during this migratory activity. In North Carolina, there was a group of people, calling themselves the Melungeons, who had light colored skin and identified themselves as Portuguese. These were not Native Americans. It is thought, that maybe one of the ships bound for the Azores, coming from Flanders, may have overshot the islands and found its way to the Carolina coast, but evidence is lacking.

The name Cardozo has been identified as a Sephardic (Jewish) name by the Holy Office of the Catholic Church of Spain.  www.sephardim.com/  Portuguese, Galician, and Spanish: habitational name from any of numerous places with this name, denoting a place with an abundance of cardoons.  The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), also called the artichoke thistle, cardone, cardoni, carduni or cardi, is a thistle-like plant which is member of the Aster family, Asteraceae; (or archaic: Daisy family, Compositae).  It is a naturally occurring variant of the same species as the Globe artichoke, and has many cultivated varieties.  It is native to the Mediterranean, where it was domesticated in ancient times.

Portuguese, Galician, and Jewish (Sephardic): topographic name from Portuguese pereira ‘pear tree’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word in Portugal and Galicia.  The surname is also common in western India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

Surnames related by marriage/descendants of Antonio Pereira Cardozo I & Mariana Francisca de Ascencao, Abrao, Barstad, Brown, Bowen, Burton, Celis, Christian, Corey, Crocker, Cyr, da Jacinthe, da Silva,Davis, de Conceicao, de Faria, Enzenauer, Felica,Galindo, Geigoldt, Jeronimo, Joaquina, Logue, Luis, Luiz, Margarida, McMullen, Mercer, Montogomery, Reynolds, Rinna, Rita, Rose, Rottiger, Parks, Pereira, Salberg, Smith, Sowers, Swensen, Turner, Wilkins.

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