this context, when they structured the municipalities of Terceira, the limit of Ribeirinha, which extended to the edge of the volcanic fields of Feteira, began to be the border between Angra and São Sebastião. The area east of the volcanic fields, between Canada do Marco and the parish limits, was part of the region of Porto Judeu (and by extension the municipality of Vila de São Sebastião). This explains the successive changes east of the parish, that occurred between 1911 and 1928. Located on the peripheral area, with little potable water, the settlement was late in developing and, then, slow to grow. The original settlement developed from the small nuclei that sprang around the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora das Mercês, a small temple constructed at the top of Caminho das Vinhas. Yet, at the beginning of the 18th century, two centuries and a half after its settlement, only included six permanent residences. That hermitage, which maintained its architectural design, was constructed in 1590, through the initiative of Father Manuel Martins Coelho Baião, then vicar of the parish of Ribeirinha, whose territory included Feteira. The locality included few residents, and the priest constructed the hermitage at his own expense, to celebrated mass during the period of grape cultivation and winemaking, and included an improvised building so that the priest could overnight during the harvest. The selection of the invocation, to Our Lady of Mercy, originated in Spain, and was popularized by the monks of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, founded by São Pedro Nolasco. The image was considered a protector of captive Christians in North Africa, and specifically to those captured by Saracen raiders. The invocation was also a patron of various brotherhoods, formed by slaves, who considered the image as vestige of liberation. Without any consistent source of potable water, the area continued to be sparsely populated until the beginning of the 19th century, when the expansion of cistern construction, growth in the winemaking industry and the opening of the Royal Roadway facilities the settlement of families and the place began to take on a life of its own. At this time, the hermitage, which became the property of the Toste Parreira family, became the centre of village life and embryo for the parish of Feteira. On 10 September 1863 Feteira was elevated to the status of suffrage of the parish of São Pedro da Ribeirinha, transforming the