Josse van Huerter

Joost De Hurtere (1430 in Torhout, Duchy of Burgundy – 1495 in Horta, Azores islands, Portugal), also known by several transliterations (such as Josse van Huerter, Josse van Hurtere, Josse De Hurtere or Joss van Hürter, and later in Portuguese, Joss de Utra or just Dutra) was the first settler, and captain-major of the Portuguese island of Faial in the Azores. After 1482, the island of Pico was also incorporated into his captaincy. His son, Joss de Utra would later inherit the captaincy from him after his death.

Biography

Early life De Hurtere, a name of Flemish origin, appears frequently in Portuguese writings with many variations. What is known, is that the family name De Hurtere evolved through Portuguese transliteration to Utra and later Dutra (a contraction of De Utra, "Of Utra"). Similarly, the city of Horta (settled by De Hurtere and his Flemish compatriots) would owe its name to an adulterated variation on the De Hurtere name. Joost, has also appeared with some variations; Joost De Hurtere himself used Josse and the shorter Joss in communications, although Joz, Job, Jobst and Jost have also been identified.

He was the second son of Leon De Hurtere, Lord of Hagebroek, of a governing family with feudal holdings in Wijnendale, West Flanders: Marcelino Lima was among the first who stated that the De Hurtere holdings were specifically in Hagebroek, refuting the claims of the German navigator and geographer Martin Behaim, in his Globo de Nuremberga (who believed that the noble family lived in Moerkirchen). Although his family belonged to lower nobility, he was always under threat of a life in financial misery. with De Hurtere and angered by the lack of return on their investments: finding none of the promised precious metals. Things escalated and De Hurtere nearly escaped to Flanders, abandoning some on the island, and returning hastily to the court of the Duchess of Burgundy.

He returned, in 1466–67, with the aid of the Duchess of Burgundy, who assisted her vassal in his protection under the Crown of Portugal. looking for a new life following the Hundred Years War. But, quickly, He discovered the limitations of the area owing to the lack of sufficient potable water. He abandoned the main settlement in Almofariz, in favor of the adjacent valley (later known as the Valley of Flamengos). De Hurtere would later extend his community farther south along the shore of Horta Bay, where he would construct a small chapel to Santa Cruz, that would become the nucleus of the small village.

The Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, had bestowed on De Hurtere the first captaincy of the island on 2 February 1468, which would later extend to the neighboring island of Pico (29 December 1482) by Infanta Beatrice.

De Hurtere cultivated new relationships in Flanders, hoping to construct a "New Flanders" by attracting a second wave of settlers to Faial.