Josse van Huerter
| Josse van Huerter | |
|---|---|
| Joss de Utra | |
| 1st Donatary Captain of Faial | |
|
In office 2 February 1468 – 1482 |
|
| Monarch | |
| Constituency | Faial |
| 1st Donatary Captain of Faial & Pico | |
|
In office 1482–1495 |
|
| Monarch | |
| Constituency | Faial/Pico |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Joost de Hurtere 1430 Torhout, West Flanders |
| Died | 1495 Angústias, Horta |
| Resting place | Chapel of Santa Cruz (Church of Nossa Senhora das Angústias) |
| Citizenship | Flanders |
| Nationality | Burgundian Netherlands |
| Spouse(s) | Beatriz de Macedo |
| Children |
|
| Residence | Angústias |
Josse van Huerter (1430 in Torhout – 1495 in Horta), also known by several transliterations (such as Joss van Hurtere, Joost 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 island of Faial in the Portuguese 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.
Van Huerter, a name of Flemish origin, appears frequently in Portuguese writings, frequently with many variations. What is known, is that the family name Huerter evolved through Portuguese transliteration to Utra and later Dutra (a contraction of De Utra, "Of Utra"). Similarly, the city of Horta (settled by Huerter and his Flemish compatriots) would owe its name to an adulterated variation on the Huerter name. Josse, has also appeared with some variations; Josse van Huerter himself used the shorter Joss in communications, although Joz, Job, Jobst and Jost have also been identified.
His was the second son of Léonard van Huerter, of a governing family with feudal holdings in Wijnendale, West Flanders. Marcelino Lima stated that the Huerter holdings were specifically in Hagenbruck, 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). The Huerter family was of good lineage, and established heraldry, whom dedicated themselves in the homeland, which was confirmed by a 1527 document, by Jacques de Hurtere, of Flanders, the cousin of Joss de Utra (second Donatary Captain of Faial), and chronicled by Manuel Luís Maldonado.
Little is known of his life prior to his participation in the great exploration and colonization of the 15th Century. What is known is that he frequented the circles of Flemish nobility, and made friendships in the court of Isabella of Portugal, the Duchess of Burgundy and Countess of Flanders (who established a parallel court to her husband). Although his family belonged to lower nobility, he was always under threat of a life in financial misery. Yet, he had pretensions to life as a courtesan and regularly overspent, but had the sensibility to accept the protection of the Duchess. It was at this time that the new donatário of the Azores, the Infante D. Fernando, established contacts with his aunt Isabella, wife of Duke Philip the Good and mother of Charles the Bold.
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Wikipedia