Feteira () is a rural civil parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 1,239, in an area of .
History
During the settlement of the island (between the 15th and 16th century), the region of Feteiras was a frontier area, between various jurisdictions, including captaincies and municipalities. The first settlement was the ecclesiastical parish of Santa Ana da Porta Alegre, created by the first colonists to venture east of Pico da D. Joana, and later, when that settlement lost its influence, it was absorbed into the parish of Vila de São Sebastião. With the restructuring of parishes and municipalities, that resulted in a densification of settlements during the first half of the 16th century, the region was integrated into the parish of São Pedro da Ribeirinha, until it became an independent parish on 30 November 1906.
During the captaincy period, delimited in 1474 between Angra and Praia, the southern coast was fixed at the old geodesic mark, that followed the eastern edge of the volcanic tailings in Feteira. That way, the limit coincided with the parish of Ribeirinha (until 1906) and the territory was part of Angra. Many of the references to Marco refers to the diverse points in the parish, that marked and demarcated the captaincy's boundaries. This situation changed in 1565, when experienced geographers through a 1565 accord of the Tribunal da Relação da Corte (who had long opposed the Donatary-Captains Antão Martins and Manuel Corte-Real), advanced the boundary to the west, to follow the actual Canada do Marco. The final demarcation was concluded on 8 July 1565, and put an end to quarrels that had been raging since 1525, over the limits of Altares. By consequence, the eastern edge of the parish, between Canada dos Clérigos and Canada do Marco, that included the Ponta Nova bridge, became the responsibility of the Captaincy of Praia, while the eastern frontier, from Canada do Marco until Ladeira Grande, became part of the captaincy of Angra. Yet, this decision was not peaceful, and required the intervention of the Crown, who established a geodesic mark along Canada do Marco.
The parish of Ribeirinha was part of the city of Angra, and by extension, a curato of the parish of São Sebastião. By 1568, the parish of São Pedro da Ribeirinha was already created, and included the territory of Feteira. In this context, when they structured the municipalities of Terceira, the limit of Ribeirinha, which extended to the edge of the volcanic fields of Feteira, began to be the border between Angra and São Sebastião. The area east of the volcanic fields, between Canada do Marco and the parish limits, was part of the region of Porto Judeu (and by extension the municipality of Vila de São Sebastião). This explains the successive changes east of the parish, that occurred between 1911 and 1928.
Located on the peripheral area, with little potable water, the settlement was late in developing and, then, slow to grow. The original settlement developed from the small nuclei that sprang around the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora das Mercês, a small temple constructed at the top of Caminho das Vinhas. Yet, at the beginning of the 18th century, two centuries and a half after its settlement, only included six permanent residences. That hermitage, which maintained its architectural design, was constructed in 1590, through the initiative of Father Manuel Martins Coelho Baião, then vicar of the parish of Ribeirinha, whose territory included Feteira.
Without any consistent source of potable water, the area continued to be sparsely populated until the beginning of the 19th century, when the expansion of cistern construction, growth in the winemaking industry and the opening of the Royal Roadway facilities the settlement of families and the place began to take on a life of its own. At this time, the hermitage, which became the property of the Toste Parreira family, became the centre of village life and embryo for the parish of Feteira.
On 10 September 1863 Feteira was elevated to the status of suffrage of the parish of São Pedro da Ribeirinha, transforming the small hermitage into local cult. At the time there were 300 permanent inhabitants.
- Church of Nossa Senhora das Mercês ()
- Império of the Holy Spirit of Ponta Nova do Parada )
- Império of the Holy Spirit of Canada dos Vinhais