The archipelago was largely settled from mainland Portugal. São Miguel was first settled in 1449, the settlers – mainly from the Estremadura, Alto Alentejo and Algarve areas of mainland Portugal, under the command of Gonçalo Velho Cabral – landed at the site of modern-day Povoação. Many of the early settlers were Portuguese Sephardi Jews who were banished/exiled there by the inquisition on mainland Portugal - many had well known Sephardi surnames such as: Pereira, Oliveira, Cardoso, Pimentel, Pinto, Rodrigues, Mendes, or Nunes.