At hereditary captaincies were created by the Portuguese and implanted in Brazil in 1535. They basically consisted of the division of Portuguese territory (established by the Treaty of Tordesillas) into 15 strips of land, that would be handed over to the Portuguese responsible for the population of the captaincy, in addition to its economic development. This model of captaincies was used by the Portuguese in some of its Atlantic islands (Azores and Cape Verde) and, as it had been successful there, the Portuguese chose to implement it in Brazil.
The traditional map of captaincies shows fifteen parallel plots of land from north to south of 16th century Brazil. However, new studies suggested a change in the way the division of the captaincy's territories was imagined. For more details on this issue, click on here.
How had the colonization of Brazil been carried out before the captaincies?
Before implementing the hereditary captaincies, the Portuguese did not pay much attention to Brazil. The arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 had not caused as much enthusiasm as when the Portuguese arrived in India for the first time, for example
|1|.In the first decades of the 16th century, the priority of the Portuguese was to actively maintain the trade in spices obtained in India. At spices (in general, condiments, perfumes, and fine fabrics) were luxury goods in Europe and therefore quite profitable. The high nobility and the Portuguese Crown gave high priority to this trade. For this reason, the exploration of Brazil was placed in the background.
In the period from 1500 to 1535, Portugal chose to implement in Brazil the same system that it had installed in regions of the African coast: the system of trading posts. They were basically commercial warehouses where the Portuguese concentrated goods from a certain region. In the case of Brazil, the important commodity in this period was pau-brasil, obtained by co-opting the work of the indigenous people. In addition, the factories were important because they concentrated fortified buildings, which guaranteed the defense of Portuguese territories from invaders.
Why did the Portuguese install the hereditary captaincies?
The Portuguese installed hereditary captaincies in Brazil because the spice trade in India was in decline and the Portuguese territories were constantly invaded by the French. The threat of losing territories led the Portuguese to create the captaincy system and encourage the population of Brazil by the Portuguese. Furthermore, the installation of captaincies would allow the Portuguese to explore the territory and, thus, locate the precious metals they were looking for.
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Who were responsible for the captaincies?
The administration of the hereditary captaincies was handed over to third parties, the so-called donor captains. The grantees, in general, were formed by members of the gentry, the Portuguese bureaucracy and merchants. However, they all had some kind of connection with the Crown, which enabled them to benefit from the nomination |2|.
The grantees received the land from the donation letter. Despite this, the grantees did not own the land, that is, the land still belonged to the king of Portugal. Once in possession of the captaincy, the grantees concentrated all administrative and legal power. They were responsible for economically developing their captaincy, attracting residents, distributing land (called sesmarias), apply the law, develop fortifications to fight indigenous and foreigners etc.
Did the hereditary captaincy system work?
In theory, no. Administrative difficulties greatly hampered the development of the captaincies, as Portugal's help was often needed, and the journey was long and slow. In addition, grantees ran into other difficulties, such as lack of resources, administrative inexperience and conflicts with indigenous peoples.
Of the fifteen existing captaincies, only two prospered quickly: São Vicente and Pernambuco. Both were based on the development of sugar production from the cultivation of sugar cane and took more conciliatory positions with the indigenous people (or a certain group of indigenous people). The territorial division and the power of the grantees remained until the mid-eighteenth century, but Portugal created a new, more centralized government. This government was called the General Government and began to function in 1548.
|1| FAUSTO, Boris. History of Brazil. São Paulo: EDUSP, 2013, p. 39.
|2| Idem, p. 41.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
