And the beginning of the peopling of this island took place in the year of the birth of Jesus Christ one thousand and four hundred and twenty; and at the time of the making of this history it was peopled reasonably well, for there were in it one hundred and fifty inhabitants, besides other persons such as traders and unmarried men and women and youths, and boys and girls who had been born on the said island, as well as clerics and friars, and others who came and went for their merchandise and for those things which they cannot dispense with in that island. And in the year one thousand and four hundred and forty-five the Infant despatched a knight called Gonçallo Velho,[N201] who was a Commander of the Order of Christ, to go and people other two islands that are distant from those one hundred and seventy leagues to the north-west. And one of these the Infant Don Pedro began to people with the approval of his brother; but his death followed shortly, therefore it remained afterwards for the Infant Don Henry to continue this work. And to this island Don Pedro had assigned the name of St. Michael, on account of the singular devotion which he had ever felt to that Saint. And the Infant Don Henry also caused to return to the island of Porto Santo, for the purpose of peopling it, Bartholomew Perestrello, the same man who had first voyaged there with John Gonçalvez and Tristam; but owing to the multitude of rabbits, which are almost without end, no tillage is possible there, but many cattle are reared there, and dragon's blood is also collected there and brought for sale to this Kingdom, and taken to many other parts as well. And he turned out cattle on another island which lieth seven leagues from the island of Madeira, intending to have it peopled like the other, and its name is Deserta. And of these seven islands, four are as large as that of Madeira and three are smaller. And for the profit of the Order of Christ, whose governor the Infant was at the time of the said peopling, he gave the said Order all the revenues ecclesiastical of the island of Madeira and of Porto Santo and all the revenues both ecclesiastical and temporal of the other island, of which he made Gonçallo Velho Commander. And beside all this he bequeathed to the said Order the tithes and half the sugar produce of the Island of St. Michael. [Footnote CI: In the text, "Machito."] CHAPTER LXXXIV. Of how the Infant Don Henry required of the King the right over the Canaries.