Bartolomeu Ferraz first presented his recommendations to John III of Portugal in 1543 for the fortification of the Azores, then an important waypoint in trans-Atlantic commerce between the Indies and America.[1] On 5 March 1567, in his proposal to the Crown, Engineer Tommaso Benedetto elaborated a plan to protect the island's coastal defence, that included the construction of a fort on Monte Brasil.[1] Shortly following this proposal, the Portuguese Crown began the construction of the Fort of Dois Paus, in order to protect the port of Dois Paus-Portinho Novo.[1] It is unclear from where its name originated; the name "dois paus" is a literally translated as "the redoubt of the two sticks/clubs".
Júdice, João António, "Revistas feitas no Castello de S. João Baptista, Forte de S. Sebastião e de todos os mais fortes que tem esta Ilha Terceira", Arquivo dos Açores (in Portuguese), vol. V (facsimile 1883), Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo/Papéis do Ministério do Reino (Maço 611); Universidade dos Açores (1981), pp. 407–418
Mota, Valdemar (1994), "Fortificação da Ilha Terceira", Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira (in Portuguese), vol. LI–LII, Angra do Heroísmo (Azores), Portugal{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)