Editing Azores (section)

===Discovery===
[[File:Henry_the_Navigator1.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Under the direction of [[Prince Henry the Navigator]], the Azores were discovered and populated in the early 1400s.]]
In 1427, a captain sailing for [[Prince Henry the Navigator]], possibly [[Gonçalo Velho Cabral|Gonçalo Velho]], may have discovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In [[Thomas Ashe (writer)|Thomas Ashe]]'s 1813 work ''A History of the Azores'', the author identified a [[Flemish people|Fleming]], Joshua Vander Berg of [[Bruges]], who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon.<ref name="History1813">{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Ashe |year=1813 |title=History of the Azores, or Western Islands |publisher=Oxford University}}</ref> According to Ashe, the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal.<ref name="History1813"/> Other writers note the discovery of the first islands (São Miguel, Santa Maria and Terceira) by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support such claims.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Robert L. |date=21 April 2009 |title=Azoreans to California: A History of Migration and Settlement |url=https://dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/136646/Bob_Santos-Azoreans_To_California.pdf |access-date=30 October 2023 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030172934/https://dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/136646/Bob_Santos-Azoreans_To_California.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from {{lang|pt|açor}} (Portuguese for [[northern goshawk|goshawk]], a common bird at the time of discovery) it is unlikely that the bird ever nested or hunted on the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-28 |title=FLAG OF THE AÇORES (Bandeira dos Açores) |url=https://roostercamisa.com/blogs/news/flag-of-the-acores-bandeira-dos-acores |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Rooster Camisa |language=en}}</ref> There were no large animals on Santa Maria; after its discovery and before settlement began, sheep were let loose on the island to supply future settlers with food.