Batista

This surname comes from Misser João Batista, who was from a noble Genoese family of Usodimare and who settled on this island in the last quarter of the 15th century. He settled in the parish of Porto da Cruz, where he had many sesmaria lands. There is a place in that parish called Terra Batista, which belonged to the entailed estate instituted by Misser João Batista and which continued in his descendants. He married Tristoa Teixeira, daughter of the discoverer Tristão Vaz, the first captain-donatario of Machico.