He later left for Terceira, where began his studies at the Convent of São Francisco; it was at this time that he adopted the surname Camões (the choice of name was inspired by his admiration for the famous Portuguese poet.
José António Camões' first published works developed as a response to his critics (in 1812 or 1813) who had challenged his illegitimacy; he responded them in a weighty diatribe (in prose and verse) titled Sete Pecados Mortais (Seven Deadly Mortal Sins).
The diocesanal cleric received a copy of the work, charged José António, and eventually stripped him of his roles as confessor and vicar of Ponta Delgada on 19 May 1813.
José António Camões' manuscripts, for O Testamento de D. Burro, Pai dos Asnos and Sete Pecados Mortais, were posthumously re-printed in 1865 (in Boston) and 1883 (in Lisbon).
Camões is also referred to in Relatório das Cousas mais Notáveis que Havião nas Ilhas Flores e Corvo a report to the Captain-General in 1822 (published in 1993).