History of South America

General Government

TheGeneral Government represented a political-administrative measure adopted by the Portuguese Crown (King Dom João III), in 1548, in order to centralize, administer, restore power and reinforce colonization in the period of Colonial Brazil, after the failure of the hereditary captaincies.

Historical Context:Summary

It was from 1500 onwards, with the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, that the relationship between the Colony (Brazil) and the Metropolis (Portugal) began. From the start, the main objective was to conquer and explore the places found in the so-called “new world”, through the European maritime expansions that crossed the ocean since the 15th century.

Portugal was the pioneer country of maritime-commercial expansion, considered a military and economic power of the 15th and 16th centuries. The other country of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain, was also looking for new lands and, since 1492, with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America, the desire for domination and the dispute between them became more and more accentuated.

For that, some agreements were signed between the Iberian countries (such as the Bull Inter Coetera and the Treaty of Tordesillas), in order to amicably divide the space of exploration and conquest of each kingdom:Portugal and Spain.

In fact, in the pre-colonial period (1500-1530), the Portuguese Crown was more concerned with exploring the land and sending the riches and pau-brasil to the metropolis, based on the so-called “exploitation colony” system.

However, afraid of losing territories, as other Europeans tried to invade the lands, the Portuguese changed their strategy and, from 1530, the Portuguese Crown focused on the population of the region (settlement colony) in order to avoid possible invasions. foreign, reinforcing the place.

From this, the hereditary captaincies were created, which, in general, were ineffective and soon, the general government system was proposed, commanded by the governor, who had great authority, thus enabling the creation of new political positions in order to divide the various tasks:ouvidor-major (judicial matters), chief-provider (financial matters), chief mayor (organizational, administrative and military defense functions) and captain-major (legal and defense matters).

The governor general, appointed by the king, would be responsible for the economic development of the colony, from the creation of mills, administration and protection of lands, insertion of indigenous people into the population, among others.

The first three governors general who administered Colonial Brazil were:Tomé de Souza (1549 to 1553), followed by Duarte da Costa (1553 to 1558) and Mem de Sá (1558 and 1572). The administration of Tomé de Sousa began the process of reestablishing the Portuguese Crown in Brazilian lands. Consequently, Duarte da Costa got into several conflicts with the indigenous people; on the other hand, Mem de Sá took the opportunity to approach the Indians and use them as a force to fight the invading French.

Although Portugal divided the country into two poles, after the death of Mem de Sá (in 1572), of which the northern seat was in Salvador and the southern seat in Rio de Janeiro, the general government was extinguished in 1808, with the arrival of the royal family to Brazil. Note that the General Government system helped to consolidate Portuguese domination in Brazil.

To learn more:Colonial Brazil, Christopher Columbus and Treaty of Tordesillas

Tomé de Sousa

Tomé de Sousa (1503-1579) was the first governor general of Brazil during the period from 1549 to 1553. He disembarked in Brazil, on March 29, 1549, with about 1000 men, some of whom are Jesuits, among which Father Manuel da Nóbrega . The work of the Jesuits in Brazil was to catechize the Indians who were here and turn them into Christians.

As the first governor general of Brazil, he founded the city of Salvador at the behest of King Dom João III. At the time, the city was founded with the name of “São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos” (former captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos - today Bahia), in honor of Jesus Christ. This was the first capital of Brazil and seat of the Portuguese colonial administration (general government and viceroyalty) during the period from 1549 to 1763.

Hereditary Captaincies

Before the implementation of the general government, the hereditary captaincies were 15 strips of Brazilian lands, which were granted by the king to the nobles for colonial administration and settlement of Brazilian regions. Although two of them were successful (Pernambuco and São Vicente) with the sugar mills of Cana, the Portuguese Crown decided to centralize power, implementing the general government in parallel with the captaincy system.

To learn more:Hereditary Captaincies