 The Portuguese "feitorias" were mostly fortified trading posts settled in coastal areas, built to centralize and thus dominate the local trade of products with the Portuguese kingdom (and thence to Europe).They served simultaneously as market, warehouse, support to the navigation and customs and were governed by a "feitor" ("factor") responsible for managing the trade, buying and trading products on behalf of the king and collecting taxes (usually 20%).The first Portuguese "feitoria" overseas was established by Henry the Navigator in 1445 on the island of Arguin, off the coast of Mauritania.