[3] In later years, the captains of the Azores oscillated between living in their dominions or working as caretakers from Lisbon, and leaving in the archipelago their own lieutenants, councillors (Portuguese: ouvidores) and magistrates.
[3] The captains were responsible for fermenting interest in the new colonies and facilitating their settlement, which they achieved primarily through the influx of poor peoples from northern and southern regions of Portugal.
The King also conceded concessions in these captaincies to foreigners (such as Van Huerter) who showed interest in developing their donations, by maintaining the Portuguese dominion of the territory and exporting valuable goods to the kingdom.
Having succeeded with the administration of Madeira and the Azores to impose a social order, King John III applied the same structure to consolidate power in the Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross).
[4] In Brazil, each captaincy consisted of a portion of land originally 50 leagues wide (but in practice varying considerably) along the Brazilian coast and extending inland to the line established by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), which divided Portuguese and Spanish colonial possessions.