Conquest of the Azores the rapid Spanish conquest of the Azores, facilitating the integration of the Kingdom of Portugal and its colonial possessions into the Spanish Empire. Following a day's fighting, forces of the island of Terceira were defeated by Spanish Tercios, using the strategies and tactics of Álvaro de Bazán. A few days later, a contingent of Spanish-Portuguese troops landed on the island of Faial, where they defeated and captured a garrison of five French and one English companies (700 men in total). At the end of the campaign, approximately 9,000 Portuguese, French, Italian and English were captured by the Spanish. The French,
Azores caldeira", the noted hot springs grotto. In 1869, the author Mark Twain published "The Innocents Abroad", a travel book, where he described his time in the Azores. The first reference to the island of São Jorge was made in 1439 but the actual date of discovery is unknown. In 1443 the island was already inhabited but active settlement only began with the arrival of the noble Flemish native "Wilhelm Van der Haegen". Arriving at Topo, where he lived and died, he became known as "Guilherme da Silveira" to the islanders. João Vaz Corte-Real received the captaincy of the island in