History of the Azores passed to João Fonseca and settlers streamed through the port of Armoeira to the small hamlets. The island became permanently populated during the reign of King Manuel I, in the year 1510, by people from various regions of continental Portugal, but mainly from the northern provinces. The island became arable, and grain and vegetables were cultivated. According to Santos et al.'s 2003 maternal DNA study of the Azores, people from Flores exhibit high genetic ancestry (~90%) with the Portuguese mainland, and Pacheco et al.'s 2006 paternal DNA study confirms that around 60% of all Azorean paternal lines are correlated to
Captaincies of the Azores in 1460, in a letter from Henry the Navigator, the prince described Cabral as "Capitão por mim em minhas ilhas de Santa Maria e São Miguel dos Açores" ("Captain for Me in My Islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel in the Azores"). Cabral was the ideal Captain to obtain this title, who "cultivated the island [of Santa Maria] with noble people, treating the island with mcuh love and caring the people with much gentleness; for this reason he was obeyed by all and very dear to the entire island. It is still unclear at what time Gonaçalo Velho Cabral