History
The island was discovered by the Portuguese around 1452, by Diogo de Teive and his son. In 1470, Willem van de Haegen, a Flemish nobleman, initiated a settlement experiment in Vale da Ribeira da Cruz.
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However, the island’s remoteness and the lack of regular boat connections, which would have allowed for the export of dyer’s woad to Flanders, led him to abandon the island a few years later. Under the guidance of the Donatary Captain João da Fonseca from Évora, the settlement of the island with colonists from the mainland resumed after 1504. Many of these colonists came from Terceira, while some from Madeira. In 1515, Lajes became a town, and in 1548, Santa Cruz followed suit. By the late 1500s, Ponta Delgada, situated to the north, had also been established as a parish.
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The airport and modern port facilities played a pivotal role in breaking Flores’ isolation, aligning with the progress of the Azores. Currently, agriculture, livestock farming, and dairy production are the island’s economic pillars, along with Tourism.