The Donataria system was the basic seigneurial administrative system employed in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

s, governed by a donatary (''

donatário A ' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The kings of Portug ...

''). Unable to directly exercise the right of lordship over his lands or islands, the donatary was a means by which the king delegated his powers, with certain restrictions, in full confidence of his people. The grantee was responsible for the administration of their territory on behalf of the sovereign and the land considered the legal instrument that established this guarantee. The grantee had certain benefits, rights and obligations therein defined, with limited action in several fields, namely justice.

See also