Captaincy of the Portuguese Empire were developed successively, Prince Henry the Navigator(4 March 1394  13 November 1460) instituted the Captaincy system and remained on the mainland.
The Captaincies of the Portuguese Empire were developed successively, based on the original donatario system established by King John I of Portugal in Madeira, and expanded with each successive new colony discovered. Prince Henry the Navigator instituted the Captaincy system to promote development of Portuguese discoveries, but it was in the Azores, where this system effectively functioned. Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394  13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (Portuguese: Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion. 
