The Governorate General of Brazil (''Governo-Geral do Brasil'') was a colonial administration of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

in present-day

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. A governorate was equivalent in status to a

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century. France * Viceroyalty of New France Portuguese Empire In the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the term " Viceroyalt ...

, though the title viceroy didn't come into use until the early 18th century. They were ruled by a Governor General who reported to the Crown. The Governor General had direct authority over the constituent royal captaincies, and nominal but ill-defined authority over the donatary captaincies. One captaincy, that of Duarte Coelho in Pernambuco, was exempt by royal decree from the authority of the Governors General.

History

In 1549, in order to solve the governance problem of his South American colonies, King

John III of Portugal John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the ...

established the Governorate General of Brazil. The governorate united the fifteen original donatary captaincy colonies some of which had reverted to the Crown, and others of which had been abandoned, into a single colony, but each captaincy would continue to exist as a provincial administrative unit of the governorate. For two brief periods from 1572–78 and 1607–13, the Governorate General of Brazil was partitioned into the

Governorate General of Rio de Janeiro The Governorate General of Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Governo-Geral do Rio de Janeiro'') was a colonial administration of the Portuguese Empire. History In 1534, John III of Portugal started granting land rights to colonize Portuguese ter ...

in the south, and the

Governorate General of Bahia The Governorate General of Bahia (Portuguese: ''Governo-Geral da Bahia'') was a colonial administration of the Portuguese Empire. History In 1534, John III of Portugal started granting land rights to colonize Portuguese territory in South Amer ...

in the north. In 1621, the Governorate General of Brazil was partitioned into two colonies, the

State of Brazil The State of Brazil ( pt, Estado do Brasil) was one of the states of the Portuguese Empire, in the Americas during the period of Colonial Brazil. History In 1621, the Governorate General of Brazil was split into two states, the State of Br ...

and the State of Maranhão.

Composition

From the original captaincies, additional donatary captaincies were carved out.

Captaincies created under the governorates

* Captaincy of Paraíba * Captaincy of Rio Grande de Norte *

Captaincy of Cabo Frio A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

Captaincy of Paraguacu A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

Captaincy of Itaparica and Itamarandiba A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

The northern section of the

captaincy of Sao Vicente A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

was renamed to

Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

List of governors-general

References

External links

{{coord missing, Brazil

Colonial Brazil Portuguese colonization of the Americas

Former subdivisions of Brazil

1549 establishments in Brazil 1572 disestablishments in Brazil 1578 establishments in Brazil 1607 disestablishments in Brazil 1613 establishments in Brazil 1621 disestablishments in Brazil History of Bahia