general government it was the administrative model used by the Portuguese metropolis to govern its colony in America after 1548. General governments emerged after the system of hereditary captaincies proved incapable of carrying out the sugar company that was starting in the territory where Brazil is today.
Another reason for the establishment of the general government in the Portuguese colony was the need for centralize the administrative power of the colony, since the sesmarias system kept it decentralized, giving relative autonomy to the donor captains. This measure intended to make the colonial administration similar to the administrative system of the Portuguese metropolis, based on absolutism.
Similar to the breadth of power held by authorities in the Absolutism, the governor general also had broad powers. They should encourage the implantation of plantations, bring together indigenous peoples in villages and villages, seeking to neutralize their constant threats, whether through combat or alliances with tribes and nations; repress the corsairs, also fighting the illegal trade in brazilwood; they should also organize and guarantee the colony's income, build ships and forts to defend the colony, found settlements and defend the settlers, in addition to conducting metal search expeditions precious.
To carry out these functions, some positions to assist the governor general were created. Among these, it is necessary to cite the chief ombudsman, the supervisor of finance and tax collection; the chief ombudsman, the one responsible for justice; and the Captain General, responsible for defending the colony.
The first governor general was Tome de Sousa, who ruled between 1549 and 1553. The administrative seat of his government was located in Salvador, now capital of Bahia. With him came African slaves, women and the first groups of Jesuits. These became responsible for teaching in the colony and for catechizing the Indians. It was during the government of Tomé de Sousa that the first bishopric of Brazil was created, in the city of São savior.
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Duarte da Costa he was the replacement for Tome de Sousa. His government, which lasted from 1553 to 1558, was marked by tension between Jesuits and settlers as a result of indigenous slavery not accepted by the religious. It was also during the general government of Duarte da Costa that the French occupied the Brazilian coast, where Rio de Janeiro is now located, and created the Antarctic France. Due mainly to the inability to expel the French from the colony, Duarte da Costa was replaced by Mem de Sá.
His administration having been extended from 1558 to 1572, Mem de Sa it intended to re-establish good relations between Jesuits and settlers, mainly through the creation of indigenous villages, known as missions. In the missions, the tribal order was broken due to the attempt to insert the indigenous people into a European system of life. The result was the use of indigenous people in the fields and also the spread of numerous diseases, since the indigenous people did not have immunological resistance to many of the diseases brought from the Old World.
It was under his rule that the French were expelled from the colony's southern coast and that the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the death of Mem de Sá, in 1572, King D. Sebastião divided the colonial administration into two general governments: one with headquarters in Salvador and responsible for the northern portion of the colony, and another with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, responsible for the southern portion. However, the measure was not satisfactory, returning to the old system in 1578.
By Me. Tales Pinto
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PINTO, Tales of the Saints. "What is General Government?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-e-governo-geral.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
