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
Madalena, Azores Madalena, Azores Madalena () is a municipality along the western coast of the island of Pico, in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 6,049, in an area of 147.12 km². The municipality is fronted by the stratovolcano Pico in the eastern frontier, and the Faial Channel which divides Pico from the island of Faial seven kilometers away. It is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except in the east, where it is bordered by São João (Lajes do Pico) in the southeast, and Santo António (São Roque do Pico) in the northeast. The settlement of the island