O ciclo da lã no Corvo: da gestão comunitária do baldio às cinco agulhas - uma história de resiliência

Corvo is a small isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic, for that reason its inhabitants have learned to be resilient to survive alone. Due to its condition, the island has raised and causes a certain feeling of nostalgia, interest and dream to those who visit it. Thus, it happened to me in the four years I lived on the island as parish priest (2009-2013). The two studies that are presented to the reader are the result of two works developed within the scope of the studies of the degree in history, by the University of the Azores (2010 and 2013). The same were previously published in the Boletim do Núcleo Cultural da Horta and in the Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira, hence the differences between both texts. However, we wish to maintain fidelity to the first publication. It is important to make a bibliographical revision of the works published in the meantime, which allow a new look and a complementarity in the research carried out. In terms of studies, we have O livro de marcas da ilha do Corvo (2013), by João Saramago; in the demographic and historical field, Retratos sociais da Ilha do Corvo: (Do povoamento ao século XIX), in 2016, with coordination by Artur Teodoro de Matos, José Guilherme Reis Leite; other works, by way of personal testimony and oral tradition, O dia da lã: Corvo stories and experiences (1875- 1975), in 2017, and Com o Corvo no coração: 47 anos de crónicas em defesa do Corvo, dos Açores e de Portugal, em 2019 I would like to thank the Corvo City Council for the opportunity to transform already published works into a book; to the edition’s coordinators, Andreia Silva and Marlene Vieira, for their commitment and dedication in the collection and selection of photographs, as well as in the revision of the text.