Captain-major

A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a (donation) by the king, often as a reward for service.Johnson 1972

The term also applied as the rank title of the field officer that was in charge of a captaincy (group of companies) of the , the Portuguese territorial militia that existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

Captaincy system

Due to the impossibility of exercising direct control and sovereignty over overseas territories, the captain-major was the channel by which the monarch could delegate his powers, with certain restrictions, under the responsibility of peoples he felt he could confide. The could administer, in the sovereign's name, the lands for which he was assigned, with all the regalia, rights, and obligations, with the exception of certain limits, including military authority over soldiers and detachments of the crown, or the administration of justice.

The Captains were agents named by the Donatário, and after 1495, by the Crown, to a lifetime title that was passed down by the "legitimate male heirs".Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.236 As administrators, the Captains enjoyed various judicial and economic privileges that provided an incentive to settle and develop their captaincies. They had the authority to administer sentences, with the exception of those involving penalties of death or mutilation. Economically, they had the exclusive authority to mill, bake bread and sell salt, in addition to their entitlement to receive rent paid to the King for lands, fees and taxes due. In addition, they could receive a tithe (the tenth portion) paid to the captaincy directly. In addition to the regalia of office, the captains-major would hold title to the best parcels of lands and be able to contract renters to the donatárias (lands of the Donatários), in the name of the crown. Many of the donatários were hereditary, with a few exceptions, referred in the Salic Laws ( pt, Leis Sálicas) of the time; these laws regulated all aspects of life, including crime, taxation, indemnity, and female inheritance. The Captains were less restricted to these conditions.

Yet, many of these captains were selected as part of a consolidation of relationships between the Donatários and their vassals. This subjective process usually involved close associations with the royal family or confidants of the Crown: a feudal meritocracy of vassals. This could result from rendering service during the overseas expansion or resulting from some heroism that may have been rewarded with a title.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.237 The monarch surrounded himself with "trustworthy" men who were existed within a web of relationships, forming a restricted circle of individuals. In some cases precedents were superseded in favor of people they could trust, including setting aside the laws of male inheritance in favor of a daughter, for example (as with the case of the daughter of Jácome de Bruges). Yet, most had to prove themselves, as was the case with Álvaro de Ornelas (captain of Pico), who lost his captaincy due to "inefficiency" in its settlement.

The captaincy system was built on confidence and good faith between the captain and , owing to the distance between each.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.238 This weakened the 's control over the officials, resulting in a disparity between actual and perceived function. Some were either incompetent in their roles, power-hungry or just absent. In some cases the inhabitants of certain possessions were often subject to irregularities resulting from judicial or fiscal issues. Some captains appointed overseers, (''auditors'') to represent them who were unqualified to respond to the issues of their masters.

Captaincies

The following is an incomplete list of some of the captaincies and their first Donatary-Captains:

Madeira

There were three captaincies in the archipelago of Madeira, associated with the three principal discoverers of the islands:
* Funchal, was bestowed to João Gonçalves Zarco
* Machico, was bestowed to Tristão Vaz Teixeira
* Porto Santo, was appointed to Bartolomeu Perestrello

Azores

Following their discovery, Gonçalo Velho Cabral became the first Donatary-Captain of the islands, beginning with the island of Santa Maria, but later including the island of São Miguel when it was discovered. This captaincy, which lasted from 1439 to 1461, was described in 1460 by Henry the Navigator in a letter to Cabral as (''Captain for Me in My Islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel in the Azores''). The progressive discovery of the islands of the archipelago resulted in new captaincies; in total, there have been thirteen unique captaincies in Azores since their discovery:
* Santa Maria, part of the captaincy of Gonçalo Velho Cabral, Santa Maria and São Miguel, was later divided by his nephew João Soares de Albergaria, and Santa Maria left in the hands of his descendants;
* São Miguel, part of the captaincy of Gonçalo Velho Cabral was sold by João Soares de Albergaria to its third Rui Gonçalves da Câmara;
* Angra, originally a single administration under the captaincy of Jácome de Bruges, the southern portion of Terceira was carved out and allocated to João Vaz Corte-Real;
* Praia