

Population grew slowly, in part because of difficulties cultivating wheat. This was understandable given the growing geo-economic importance of the Azores archipelago at that time, as the Portuguese monarchy was expanding into Morocco and along the west African coast. The transfer of the island of Pico to Jós d'Hutra not only confirms that Pico was not colonized at the end of the 15th century, but also demonstrates the interest in boosting the insular population of the islands of the central group. d'Ornelas failed to attract settlers, so on December 29, 1482, the Flemish captain of the island of Faial, 7 km from Pico, Jós d'Hutra, became the new captain. Álvaro d'Ornelas, a resident of island of Madeira, on the condition that he populate the island ('Captains', often of noble heritage, obtained land rights in regions not important enough to merit a 'governor', and were a cheap way for the state to settle new territory). Beatriz, gave the possession of the island of Pico to the first captain of the donatarie, D.


In a letter dated March 28, 1481, the administrator of the Azores, D. Pico is thought to be the last of the islands of the Central Group to be occupied. Īlthough the Azores were inhabited since 1439, settlement on Pico only started in the 1480s when Pico became part of the neighboring island of Faial's control. In Cristoforo Soligo's map from 1475, Pico is described both as Dom Diniz (or São Diniz) island and as Insula Columbi. However, in the 1375 Catalan Atlas, Pico is depicted along several other islands of the Azores, where it is labelled as li colunbj. The exact date of the island's discovery is not known. Radar image of Pico Island next to Faial and São Jorge islands
