Captaincies of the Azores very clear, as it has been both referred to as the "comendador da ilha de Santa Maria e nosso capitão nos Açores" ("Commander of the island of Santa Maria and Our captain of the Azores"), or alternately as the "comendador das ilhas dos Açores" ("Commander of the Azores"). The more probable interpretation of this role, being from the Order of Christ responsible for the administration of the islands, came from the "comenda" regime, referring to a "knighthood" or "commandery", normally associated with the Order in Portugal, but applied to the, then, populous island of Santa Maria in the archipelago. Still,
Flores Island (Azores) of the "(seven) islands of the Azores and two islands of Flores" (referring to the islands of Flores and Corvo), but no "official discovery" occurred until the mid-15th century. The island of Flores was discovered in the late summer of 1452 by the navigator Diogo de Teive and his son João de Teive, and first noted by the pilot Pêro Velasco to Christopher Columbus during his voyages. For his reward, Teive received the concession of the sugar monopoly on Madeira. The earlier names of the island were São Tomás (after Thomas Becket of Canterbury, not to be confused with Saint