Azores but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashe's 1813 work, "A History of the Azores", the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges, who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon. He stated that the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other stories note the discovery of the first islands (São Miguel Island, Santa Maria Island and Terceira Island) by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support the claims. Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from
Flores Island (Azores) sites were named for settlers of this mid-century period, including Santa Cruz, Lajes and Ponta Delgada. The name of the island of Flores has been made familiar to generations of English readers by the quotation: "At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay...", which is the opening line of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's epic poem, "The Revenge, A Ballad of the Fleet". On 9 September 1591, a small English fleet of six ships under Lord Thomas Howard was anchored in the bay of Ribeira da Cruz in Flores, and was surprised by 53 ships under Alfonso de Bazán. The English