Captaincies of the Azores Captaincies of the Azores The Captaincies of the Azores () were the socio-political and administrative territorial divisions used to settle and govern the overseas lands of the Azores by the Kingdom of Portugal. These territories, a segment of the Captaincies of the Portuguese Empire, which usually conformed to the individual islands, allowing the stewardship of the King through the Donatary and Captaincy system. Following the discovery of the first islands in the Atlantic, chiefly Madeira, and slow settlement of those possessions, the Portuguese needed a mechanism for control that did not necessitate dislocation by hereditary princes or monarchs. The Donatário
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