The Governorate of Paraguay ( es, Gobernación del Paraguay), originally called the Governorate of Guayrá, was a

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

and part of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...

. Its seat was the city of

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

; its territory roughly encompassed the modern day country of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The Governorate was created on December 16, 1617, by the royal decree of King Philip III as a split of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata and of Paraguay into its respective halves. The Governorate lasted until 1782, after which the massive Viceroyalty of Peru was split, and Paraguay became an intendency (''intendencia'') of the new

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in ...

List of governors of Paraguay

References

* History of Paraguay Former colonies in South America Former Spanish colonies Spanish colonization of the Americas States and territories established in 1617 1617 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru States and territories disestablished in 1782 1782 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1782 establishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata {{Paraguay-hist-stub