There are controversies as to the origins of this parish, which was inhabited between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The first colonists settled along the coast, from João Bom to Remédios. At one time these small communities were disparagingly referred to as the those places in the north by settlers in Ponta Delgada. In a description by Francisco A. Chaves e Melo, the church in Pilar appeared as the center of religious life in this zone, before 1716, an area that encompassed not only present-day Pilar, but also João Bom. Little is known of the original chapel, which was dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Pilar, except for the writings of Dr. Ernesto do Canto, on his treatises on religious sanctuaries of São Miguel, titled O Preto no Branco. In his work, the author refers to the last testament of Captain João de Sousa de Vasconcelos, resident of Bretanha, who left certain items to the chapel in his will. Owing to its state, during the second half of the 19th century, the chapel was reconstructed, taking on the church's current dimensions. The chronicler and historian, Father Gaspar Frutuoso identified the region of Bretanha in the early part of the 1870s. As he wrote: Many of these early settlers were referred to as former inhabitants of Great Britain or Brittany, and the region continued to be referred to as Bretanha throughout the centuries. The name stuck, even as the number of English residents dwindled in proportion to the native Portuguese that settled the lands increased. A study on the linguistic influences of Bretanha, by Maria Clara Rolão Bernardo, reaffirmed this early conviction, while Lacerda Machado noted the greater influence of immigrant populations from Alto-Alentejo subregion in the rest of the island. Frutuoso continued to identify a small community of 82 homes and whose residents cultivated wheat and collected woad for export. Frutuoso, in particular, identified local resident Braz Alvres, a descendant of one of the earlier settlers, who gave his name to one of the peaks in the area, and who continued to tend his lands in the grotto of João Bom. Similarly, Pico da Mafra, was named for a settler who came from the area of Mafra on the continent. It was Baron Fernandes, another resident of the grotto of João Bom, who discovered an interesting agricultural technique in order to perpetuate consistent crop yields in this region. In 1550, he came upon the idea of planting pulse around the edges of his wheat crops, which had the effect of fortifying the wheat. He did the same for his beans, and discovered the same effects. The practice of using the pulse soon disseminated throughout the island and archipelago. Then, when another settler, Lopo Pessoa, arrived on the island he went one step further; he began to alternate his crops annually, between pulse and wheat, to increase his yields. The locality of Pilar, by 1716, had already its own parish clergy, but administratively only had its own parochial registry after 1891. By 1906, Bretanha was considered one of the most distant points from the island capital. The trip, approximately five hours in length, required a resident of the parish to journey the whole day from twilight to dusk, and cost 375 réis. The appearance of commercial automobiles allowed residents to reduce this cost to 75 réis, allowing greater mobility. The old parish of Bretanha that extended along the northern coast of Ponta Delgada, included the localities of Remédios, Ajuda and Pilar until 13 December 1960, when Remédios da Bretanha, broke away from the other administrative territories (leaving behind the agglomerations of Ajuda, that included Amoreiras, and Pilar, that included João Bom. Owing to the growth in the remaining populations, and economic development of its centres, on 12 June 2002, the Regional Legislative Assembly decided to divide the remaining territory and establish the civil parishes of Ajuda and Pilar de Bretanha.
Geography
The civil parish, as established by charter, is located in the northwestern coast of the island São Miguel. Its borders follow the coast, and front the crater of the Sete Cidades massif in the interior, bordered on the east by the civil parish of Ajuda da Bretanha and west by Mosteiros. Its eastern frontier begins at the Atlantic Ocean and runs into the interior, following the waterway of the Grota da Lomba Grande, travelling south along this border between Grota da Lomba Grande and accessway to the Caminho da Lomba Grande, continuing south along the Grota da Lomba Grande again until reaching the Cumeeiras das Sete Cidades. Its western frontier is simply defined by the waterway of the Grota do Loural.
Architecture
Religious
Church of Nossa Senhora do Pilar installed by 1800.
Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova (Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova/Ermida da Lombinha
