Captaincy General
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Captaincy General (from the Spanish Capitanía General) is a division of a viceroyalty in colonial Spanish-America and the Spanish-Philippines, established in areas under risk of foreign invasion or Indian attack. The Captaincy General is governed by a Capitán General (Captain General) who is basically a military officer with plenipotentiary civilian powers and authority. Some Captaincies General, such as Venezuela, Guatemala and Chile were eventually split off from their viceroyalties for better-administration purposes.
Although under the nominal jurisdiction of their Viceroys, Captains General were practically independent, because of their special military functions and the considerable distance of their districts from the viceroyal capital, having a direct relationship with the King and the Council of the Indies, in Madrid.
[edit] Captaincies General
- Puerto Rico (1509)
- Santo Domingo (1540)
- Chile (1541), due the War of Arauco. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, it split off in the late 1790s.
- Guatemala (1560)
- Yucatan (1564), which included, besides Yucatan proper, Campeche and Quintana Roo. It became an Intendencia in 1786.
- Philippines (1565)
- New Granada (1563), which became a viceroyalty in 1717.
- Cuba (1764), which included the Louisiana Territory acquired from France in 1763. Split off from New Spain upon the latter's independence as Mexico.
- Venezuela (1777, split off from the Viceroyalty of New Spain)
[edit] Portuguese system
The Portuguese also used this system in their colonies. In Brazil, the recipient of a captaincy was called a capitão-donatário.
es:Capitanía General fr:Capitainerie générale pt:Capitania-geral
