It's the island's main town. Legend has it that one day, a pirate ship sank in the area with a whole cargo of candles, which were found floating on the sea, giving the village its name, "the city of candles". The village is one of the island's oldest settlements: it is mentioned in the testimony of Infante D. Henrique dated 1460, but the administrative status of the municipality was created around 1500. In 1570, Velas had a population of around 1,000, rising to 2,000 by the end of the 17th century; this figure rose to 4,200 in 1822 and then fell due to emigration. In 2023, the commune will have fewer than 5,300 inhabitants.

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