During his captaincy, Albergaria promoted settlement of Santa Maria—attracting settlers from both Portugal (mainly Algarve) and continental Europe—and founded the principal village of Vila do Porto. It became the base for future Captains-Generals in the Azores. Before this, his maternal uncle Gonçalo Velho Cabral had been "Commander of Santa Maria and Captain of the Azores" within a structural framework that was not properly defined. In contrast, King Afonso V explicitly approved João Soares de Albergaria's captaincy in a 1474 edict:
