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,
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