Following the discovery of the first islands in the Atlantic, chiefly Madeira, and slow settlement of those possessions, the Portuguese needed a mechanism for control that did not necessitate dislocation by hereditary princes or monarchs.
Initially, Henry the Navigator was bestowed the administration and development of newly discovered lands, which he then transferred to the possession of the Order of Christ (to which he was its head).
To this end, and by extension, he nominated his own men of confidence (since the Salic Laws only permitted the transfer of title to legitimate male heirs) that would directly oversea the activities in his place.
There quick settlement, resulted in Prince Henry applying the same method of consolidating faithful relationships, deeming some vassals sources of manpower to conduct political and economic administration of the archipelago.
[3] At that time, the island was a large, underpopulated and, therefore, unproductive possession of the Donatário Diogo, Duke of Viseu, and Koão Soares was more preoccupied with the health of his wife, and looked to the sale as a way of improving his finances (during a period while he was staying with their family in Madeira).
In the process he opened new roads and established settlements in different points of the western part of the island, until by 1478, most of Angra was built, meriting its elevation to the category of vila (town).
Meanwhile, within Praia, Afonso Gonçalves de Antona Baldaya provided incentives for the construction of the Convent of São Francisco, including the donation of parcels from his own property, similar to what occurred in Angra.
What developed was a structure that was not as equal as the other islands, and flowed from a feudal hierarchy, that only improved after the reforms of Mouzinho da Silveira and the extinction of the constitutional monarchy.