A ' (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

exempted these titleholders from normal

colonial administration Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

; the donatários were comparable to a royal governor or a British

Lord Proprietor A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary". Origin In the beginning of the European ...

. As the ''donataria'' were often captaincies, the position is also translated as captain.

History

Normally, the ''donatário'' was the recipient of a captaincy, a territorial division and land grant, within Portuguese colonies. It was an effective administrative system that ceded certain rights and responsibilities to the ''donatário'', facilitating the settlement of unpopulated places with little cost to the Crown.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.231 The ''donatário'' was obligated to govern his territories under specific terms: in exchange for the grant, he received tax immunity, but was also responsible for promoting and settling new residents to his territory, establishing churches (following the Catholic faith), protecting them from frequent pirate attacks, and promoting agriculture and commerce. While the donatário assumed expenses of the settlement and economic development, he also benefited from various judicial and fiscal privileges, while the King maintained certain unalienable rights to safeguard the territorial and political unity of the Kingdom. Except for private land grants, the territory administrated by the donatário was turned over to settlers and the bestowed was responsible for all the expenses of the Captaincy. Almost dictatorial in their powers, the ''donatários'' were limited by the difficulties of the territories they governed. With the Brazilian territories, which were large, the donatários' obligations covered the governorship, expansion and settlement of the territory, necessitating a large labour force, security forces and administrators. Many of the new settlers were criminals, opportunists or political exiles who arrived in these territories to make their fortunes (commercially or politically). At the same time, the donatário promoted the faith by receiving and assisting the Catholic missionaries that trekked across the Portuguese Empire.

Donatários

After their discovery, the islands of the Azores were bestowed by the Crown of Portugal to Prince Henry the Navigator, son of King João I, who in turn donated them to the Order of Christ, of which he was master. The order of succession remained in the hands of the

Dukes of Viseu Duke of Viseu (in Portuguese ''Duque de Viseu'') was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta. When Henry the Navigator died without i ...

and progressed as follows: * Infante Henry, 1st Duke of Viseu, (1432-1460) * Infante Ferdinand, 2nd Duke of Viseu (1460-1470) * Infante John, 3rd Duke of Viseu (1470-1472) * Infante Diogo, 4th Duke of Viseu (1472-1484) * Infante Manuel, 5th Duke of Viseu (1484-1495) The Dukes were the direct line to the Crown, paying vassalage as serfs to the Kings of Portugal. When Manuel, 5th Duke of Viseu, ascended the throne as King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

(1495), he incorporated the donatary privileges of the seven islands of the Azores (Corvo and Flores were not included) into the properties and possessions of the Crown. The donatary system was bestowed upon Henry the Navigator at an unknown time, but his order to introduce livestock (goats, cattle, pigs, etc.) on the islands suggests that he would have received jurisdiction between 1432 and 1438.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.232 This was the same period as the death of King Duarte, and his successor King Afonso V exempted fees and taxes for five years at his request, suggesting Henry's compliance with the duties of a ''donatário''. Yet it was only in his last will and testament that it was explicitly stated that he was protector of the Azores. The transfer of this title to his nephew the Infante Ferdinand, was in keeping with the ''Lei Mental'' proclaimed by his brother in 1434, that bound Henry to pass on all lands and goods from the King to legitimate male descendants. If not, then the Crown would regain ownership. The ''donatário'' was expected to promote the settlement of the territory. Consequently, the hierarchical model that developed was an extension of this process. In order to govern the islands, Henry as ''donatário'' nominated men of confidence, ''capitães do donatário'' (''Captains of the Donatary''), to administer their territories locally. This three-tier system worked effectively: King, ''donatário'', and captains allowed the administration of overseas territories without direct intervention of the Crown. Yet the Crown oscillated between total neglect and strong vigilance; between the 15th-18th centuries the monarchy did not really know how to manage its territories.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.233 King

, for his part, was a micro-manager and was involved in judicial affairs and exercised his duties as lord of the islands. This led to the creation of monarchial posts to directly influence control, such as the

Corregedor The Corregedor (''Inspector-General'' or ''Magistrate'') was a position established by the Portuguese crown in the 14th-15th century, with the authority to "correct" acts of a local, administrative or judicial nature within the kingdom. Although c ...

, the ''Provedoria das Armadas'' (''Office of the Purveyor of Armadas''), 1527, and the ''Feitorias'' (''Customs Offices'') of Angra and Ponta Delgada, in 1561.Susana Goulart Costa (2008), p.234 These new posts showed the importance of the Crown's representatives in the regions over their control, and men like Cipriano de Figueiredo e Vasconcelos (Corregador of Terceira) would play important roles in coexistence between local and national administration. After the 16th century the figure of the donatary captain lost its effective governorship in most of the islands of the Azores, with the exception of São Miguel, which was transformed into an honorific post, conferred by the King to people and noble families who he wished to honour. It was through this system that the majority of donatary captaincies fell into the hands of the high nobility of Portugal, who never lived on the islands or had little economic interest in their development.

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