Horta

Horta lies on a sheltered bay of Faial, in the central group of the Azores. Its anchorage made it a welcome stopping place for ships returning across the Atlantic, while the surrounding island supplied provisions and wine. The Flemish settler Josse van Huertere received the captaincy of Faial in 1468, and settlements near the bay grew into Horta. King Manuel I made it a town in 1498. In later centuries its port served vessels travelling between Europe and the Americas.