The Captaincy of São Vicente (1534–1709) was a land grant and colonial administration in the far southern part of the colonial
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
in
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 ...
.
History
In 1534
King John III of Portugal granted the captaincy to
Martim Afonso de Sousa
Martim Afonso de Sousa ( – 21 July 1564) was a Portuguese '' fidalgo'', explorer and colonial administrator.
Life
Martim Afonso de Sousa was born in Vila Viçosa, and had been raised in the Duke of Bragança household and was a personal fri ...
, a Portuguese admiral. De Sousa had founded the first two permanent Portuguese settlements in Brazil in 1532:
São Vicente (near the present port of
Santos) and Piratininga (later to become
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
).
De Sousa received two tracts of land:
* one centered on the settlement of São Vicente, extending along the coastline from
Cananéia to
Bertioga (within present-day
São Paulo state)
* the other extended from
Parati to
Cabo Frio
Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply north. North of Cabo Frio is Cabo de São Tomé.
It was named aft ...
(within present-day
Rio de Janeiro state).
These two tracts, separated by the Captaincy of Santo Amaro, formed the Captaincy of São Vicente.
In 1681 the São Paulo settlement succeeded São Vicente as the capital of the captaincy, and the name of the latter gradually fell into disuse.
São Vicente became the only
captaincy
A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...
to flourish in southern Brazil. It ultimately gave rise to São Paulo state and provided the base for the
bandeirantes
''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...
to expand
Portuguese America west of the
Tordesilhas Line.
Territorial evolution of the Captaincy of São Vicente (1534–1709)
The Captaincy of São Vicente in Southern Brazil:
Image:Mapa_do_Brasil_em_1534.png, 1534
'' Capitanias hereditárias''
Image:Mapa_do_Brasil_em_1709.png, 1709
São Vicente at its greatest extent.
See also
*
*
Captaincy of São Paulo
*
References
Cited texts
* Lockhart, J.(1983), ''Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil''. Cambridge University Press
* Baptista, S.(2008) Chaptory 4: Historical Context ''Forest Recovery and Just Sustainability in the Florianopolis City-region'' UMI 3349866
Colonial History of Sao Paulo
External links
Pedro Taques de Almeida Paes Leme ''História da Capitania de São Paulo'' "History of the Captaincy of São Paulo"
Sao Vicente
History of São Paulo (state)
States and territories established in 1534
States and territories disestablished in 1709
Portuguese colonization of the Americas
17th century in Brazil
18th century in Brazil
1630s in Brazil
1640s in Brazil
1650s in Brazil
1690s in Brazil
1534 establishments in Brazil
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