The Capitania of Grão-Pará, in English Captaincy of Grão-Pará (region initially called ''pa'ra'', from Tupi-Guarani: "river-sea") was one of the administrative units of

Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...

(in

Portuguese America Portuguese America (), sometimes called or Lusophone America in the English language, in contrast to Anglo-America, French America, or Hispanic America, is the Portuguese-speaking community of people and their diaspora, notably those tracing b ...

), created in 1621 along with the

State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão The State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão () was one of the states of the Portuguese Empire. History The state was created on 31 July 1751 by order of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, the Secretary of the State for Jo ...

, from the evolution of the

Conquista do Pará Conquista do Pará (region initially called ''pa'ra'', from Tupi-Guarani: "river-sea"), also called the Império das Amazonas (in English: Amazonas Empire), now the Brazilian state of Pará, was an indigenous territory transformed into Portugue ...

(or Empire of Amazonas) a Portuguese colonial territory created in 1616 by Alexandre de Moura in the

Captaincy of Maranhão The Captaincy of Maranhão ( Portuguese: ''Capitania do Maranhão'') was one of the administrative subdivisions of the Brazilian territory during the colonial period in Portuguese America. It was created in 1534 along with thirteen other heredi ...

Toponomy

The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the name of the former administrative unit derives from the

Pará river The Pará River (), also called Parauaú River, Jacaré Grande River, Marajó River Channel, Macacos River Channel, Santa Maria River Channel and Bocas Bay, is a watercourse and immense estuarine complex that functions as a canal between the ...

, whose name comes from the Tupi-Guarani "''pa'ra''", meaning "river the size of the sea" or "large river", due to its great sea-like extension, which cuts through the region and was believed to be a direct extension of the Amazon River.

History

The Captaincy of Grão-Pará has its origin in the context of the conquest of the Amazon River and Eastern Amazonia in 1580, a period of conflict with foreign forces vying for the so-called "''drugs of the sertão"'' (spices from the area). The region was first called the

, also known as the Empire of the Amazonas, having as "capital" the colonial villa Feliz Lusitânia (in homage to Portugal). The oldest document that makes mention of the term "''capitania''", to denominate the region of the conquest is posterior to the year 1620. Legitimating the territory as a captaincy occurred in parallel to the creation of the State of Maranhão, in the year 1621.

Chronology

Toponomy

History

Chronology

See also

References

Further reading