São Jorge Island São Jorge Island São Jorge () is an island situated in the central group of the Azores archipelago and part of the autonomous region of Portugal. Separated from its nearest neighbors (Pico and Faial islands) by the Pico-São Jorge Channel, the central group is often referred colloquially as part of the "Triangulo" ("Triangle") group or just "The Triangle". São Jorge is a relatively long thin island with tall cliffs, whose 9500 inhabitants are concentrated on various geological debris fields ("fajãs") along the north and south coasts; from east to west, the island is long and, north to south, wide: its
Captaincies of the Azores economic administration of the archipelago. Therefore, the captaincy system was employed on the islands, which in the beginning were limited to a group of rocky outcrops (the Formigas) and the unspoiled island of Santa Maria, where settlers had made a beachhead in the northern region of Anjos. With progressive discoveries, the number of captaincies expanded, only broken by inter- and intra-island rivalries and death. As "discoverer" and commander of the expedition to the Atlantic, Cabral was the first commander to obtain the title of "Captain of the Donatary" in the Azores. Yet, the title bestowed on Gonçalo Velho is not