Around the middle of the 15th century, the first settlers began occupying land along the coast of what would become Ribeira Quente. Sometime in 1588, a huge landslide from the valley of Furnas, provoked by intense rainfall, caused the expansion of the land in Ribeira Quente. A similar volcanic eruption on 2 September 1630, within the Furnas craters, also provoked a debris flow of debris, that inundated the river and covered the coast, limiting the access of local shipping that once crossed the area. It was within this problem environment that a small sedentary community continued occupy and develop along the coast. This community was populated by a poor peasant class, that includes generations of fishermen, for the greater part of its history. A local historian once described the heritage of this community, and particular, the rise of a few families: