A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese

colonial empire A colonial empire is a collective of territories (often called colonies), either contiguous with the imperial center or located overseas, settled by the population of a certain state and governed by that state. Before the expansion of early mode ...

s. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governments in which the monarch delimited territories for colonization that were administered by men of confidence. The same term was or is used in some other countries, such as Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Ottoman Empire, Slovakia or Austria.

Captaincy system

Portuguese Empire

The Captaincies of the Portuguese Empire were developed successively, based on the original donatário system established by King

John I of Portugal John I ( pt, João �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...

in Madeira, and expanded with each successive new colony discovered.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.232 Prince

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

instituted the Captaincy system to promote development of Portuguese discoveries, but it was in the Azores, where this system effectively functioned. The prince and his successors (the Donatários) remained on the mainland, unable to leave the court, owing to numerous responsibilities related to the Royal Household during the period of trans-Atlantic exploration. When the King constituted and bestowed the Donatary system, he never specifically thought of sending his donatários to the archipelagos. Consequently, the expansion of Portuguese overseas maritime authority resulted in the expansion of this system to their other dominions, including Madeira, Goa, Daman, Bombay and Bassein, the Azores and eventually Brazil.

Spanish Empire

Croatia

Croatia has so-called ''port captaincies'' that are responsible for the civilian administration of maritime matters.

Austria

In Austria, district captaincies (''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'') have existed since 1849. These are responsible for the general administration on a district level and are comparable to county offices in the United States.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * {{citation , first=Carlos Melo , last=Bento , title=História dos Açores: Da descoberta a 1934 , publisher=Câmara Municipal de Ponta Delgada , year=2008 , location= Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal , language= Portuguese

External links

Captaincies in the Ottoman Empire
Types of administrative division Subdivisions of the Portuguese Empire Subdivisions of the Spanish Empire