A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

. It dates back to the

Spanish conquest of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...

in the sixteenth century.

France

Viceroyalty of New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain ...

Portuguese Empire

In the scope of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

, the term "

Viceroyalty of Brazil The Viceroyalty of Brazil refers, in narrow scope, to office of viceroy of the Portuguese colonial State of Brazil and, in broad scope, to the whole State of Brazil during the historic period when its governors had the title of "viceroy". The t ...

" is also occasionally used to designate the colonial

State of Brazil The State of Brazil ( pt, Estado do Brasil) was one of the states of the Portuguese Empire, in the Americas during the period of Colonial Brazil. History In 1621, the Governorate General of Brazil was split into two states, the State of Bra ...

, in the historic period while its governors had the title of "Viceroy". Some of the governors of

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

were also called "Viceroy". *

* Governors of Portuguese India

Russian Empire

List of viceroyalties of the Russian Empire This is a list of viceroyalties (''namestnichestvo'') of the Russian Empire. Under Catherine II Later {, class='wikitable sortable' !label !capital !dates , - , Caucasus Viceroyalty , Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in som ...

Spanish Empire

The viceroyalty ( es, virreinato) was a local, political, social, and administrative institution, created by the

Spanish monarchy , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

in the sixteenth century, for ruling its overseas territories. The administration over the vast territories of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

was carried out by

s, who became governors of an area, which was considered not as a colony but as a province of the empire, with the same rights as any other province in Peninsular Spain. The Spanish Americas had four viceroyalties: *New Spain, Viceroyalty of New Spain *Viceroyalty of Peru *Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata *Viceroyalty of New Granada

United Kingdom

* The representative of the British executive in Ireland from the Williamite period until independence was known as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Viceroy of Ireland.

British Empire

*British Raj, which was governed by a Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Viceroy, commonly shortened to "Viceroy of India".

References

{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities Types of geographical division Monarchy