Captaincy

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A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.

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[edit] In the Portuguese Empire

In the Portuguese Empire, captaincies (capitanias, in Portuguese) were the administrative divisions and hereditary fiefs of the Portuguese state in some of its colonies.

Before the discovery of Brazil (1500), there were captaincies in the Portuguese Atlantic possessions of Madeira and the Azores Islands and in other island and settlements along the African coast.

The most important captaincies were, however, in the colony of Terra de Santa Cruz, or Land of the Holy Cross (modern Brazil). Each was delivered to a single captaincy general (capitão-mor, or capitão-donatário), who was a Portuguese nobleman. They were straight stripes of variable height of land, divided parallel to the Equator from the coast to the Tordesilhas Line, created by King John III of Portugal in 1534.

[edit] Captaincies of Brazil

The captaincies in Brazil were initially fifteen in total, granted to twelve donatários. They were the following:

Captaincy Donatário
Captaincy of Maranhão Fernão Aires and João de Barros
Captaincy of Ceará Antônio Cardoso de Barros
Captaincy of Rio Grande João de Barros / Aires da Cunha
Captaincy of Itamaracá Pero Lopes de Sousa
Captaincy of Pernambuco Duarte Coelho Pereira
Captaincy of Bahia Francisco Pereira Coutinho
Captaincy of Ilhéus Jorge de Figueiredo Correia
Captaincy of Porto Seguro Pero Campos de Tourinho
Captaincy of Espírito Santo Vasco Fernandes Coutinho
Captaincy of São Tomé Pero de Góis da Silveira
Captaincy of São Vicente - 1st section (from Parati to Cabo Frio) Martim Afonso de Sousa
Captaincy of Santo Amaro (from Bertioga to Parati) Pero Lopes de Sousa
Captaincy of São Vicente - 2nd section (from Cananéia to Bertioga) Martim Afonso de Sousa
Captaincy of Santana (from Cananéia to Laguna) Pero Lopes de Sousa

All but two failed. The Captaincy of Pernambuco succeeded through the plantation of sugarcane, and thus formed the basis for the Viceroyalty of Grão-Pará. The Captaincy of São Vicente succeeded through the explorations of the hinterlands known as bandeiras, and was at the origin of the Viceroyalty of Brazil (later the province of São Paulo).

Brazil states1534.png

1534
Hereditary Captaincies

Brazil states1572.png

1573
Two Viceroyalties

[edit] In the Spanish Empire

Captaincies (capitanías, in Spanish) were a subdivision of a viceroyalty in colonial Spanish-America and the Spanish-Philippines, established in areas under risk of foreign invasion or Indian attack. The captaincy general was governed by a captain general, who was basically a military officer with plenipotentiary civilian powers and authority. Some captaincies general, such as Venezuela, Guatemala and Chile were eventually split off from their viceroyalties for better-administration purposes.

Although under the nominal jurisdiction of their Viceroys, Captains General were practically independent, because of their special military functions and the considerable distance of their districts from the viceroyal capital, having a direct relationship with the King and the Council of the Indies, in Madrid.

[edit] Spanish Captaincies

[edit] See also

es:Capitanía General es:Capitanías de Brasil eo:Brazilaj heredaj provincoj fr:Capitainerie générale fr:Capitainerie (Brésil) nl:Kapiteinschap ko:도독령 he:קפיטניה pt:Capitanias do Brasil

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