Angra e Funchal, dois portos atlânticos no contexto do império marítimo português. Análise comparativa sobre espaços, estruturas e dinâmicas

The Azores and Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean, are two insular territories that stood as pioneers in the application of the Portuguese maritime expansion pattern. In this study will be present a comparative analysis between the ports of Angra and Funchal, based on some aspects of their geographies, local dynamics and infrastructure development. For this study, the crossed data from geography, cartography and archeology, as well as municipal historical sources, will contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of Angra and Funchal port spaces and how it might answer the emerging needs of growing trade and of defense of each port.Positioned on a chronological goal between the second half of the 17th century and the 18th century, the purpose of this analysis is to check how these two ports reflected their geographical and economical embeddedness and the cyclical conditions of the time and how they were able to meet the requirements of a port space, taking into account that these were two insular ports of the Modern Age limited by geomorphological constraints and the technological inability of the period unable to provide better physical infrastructures that somehow would improve its functionality and dynamic.