Governorate General of Brazil

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Governorate General of Brazil

The Governorate General of Brazil was a Portuguese colonial administration in present-day Brazil from 1549 to 1621. It united fifteen captaincies into one colony, though each captaincy remained a regional unit.

Governance: A Governor General, reporting to the king, ruled the captaincies and had nominal authority over donatary captaincies. The captaincy of Pernambuco (Duarte Coelho) was exempt by royal decree.

Foundation: King John III created the Governorate General in 1549 to solve governance problems in the South American colonies. The capital was Salvador (São Salvador). The common language was Portuguese and the official religion was Roman Catholicism. It was part of the PortugueseEmpire under monarchs John III and Philip II. The first Governor General was Tomé de Sousa (1549–1553).

Partitions: The territory was briefly split twice—1572–1578 and 1607–1613—into the Governorate General of Rio de Janeiro in the south and the Governorate General of Bahia in the north. In 1621 it was divided into the State of Brazil and the State of Maranhão. The northern area around São Vicente became the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro.

Currency: Portuguese real.