State of Brazil

Summary

The State of Brazil (Portuguese: Estado do Brasil) was one of the states of the Portuguese Empire, in the Americas during the period of Colonial Brazil.

State of Brazil
Estado do Brasil
1549–1815
Coat of arms of State of Brazil
Coat of arms
The State of Brazil in 1815
The State of Brazil in 1815
StatusState of the Portuguese Empire
CapitalSalvador (1645–1763)
Rio de Janeiro (1763–1815)
Common languagesPortuguese
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Monarch 
• 1521–1557
John III (first)
• 1777–1816
Maria I (last)
Governor General/Viceroy 
• 1549–1553
Tomé de Sousa (first)
• 1806–1808
Count of Arcos (last)
History 
• End of hereditary captaincies
1549
• Transference of the capital to Rio de Janeiro
1763
1792
22 January 1808
• Elevation of Brazil to Kingdom
16 December 1815
CurrencyPortuguese Real
ISO 3166 codeBR
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Governorate General of Brazil
State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro
State of Maranhão and Piauí
1654:
Dutch Brazil
1630:
Dutch Brazil
1815:
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves
Kingdom of Brazil

History edit

In 1621, the Governorate General of Brazil was split into two states, the State of Brazil and the State of Maranhão. The state was created on June 13, 1621 by Philip II of Portugal.[1]

This action divided Portuguese America into two administrative units, with the capital of the State of Brazil located in São Salvador and the capital of the State of Maranhão located in São Luís.

The State of Brazil became a Viceroyalty in January 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.

Composition edit

The State of Brazil originally included 12 of the original 15 captaincies, all except Ceará (which became subordinate to Pernambuco later) and Maranhão, two parts, which included the subcaptaincy of Para west of the Tordesillas Line at that time (north to south):

Captaincies created by the state edit

  • Captaincy of Alagoas 1817 from Pernambuco
  • Captaincy of Ceará 1799 re-split from Pernambuco (previously existed as one of 15 original donatary captaincies)
  • Captaincy of Goiás
  • Captaincy of Mato Grosso
  • Captaincy of Minas Gerais
  • Captaincy of São Paulo
  • Captaincy of Sergipe 1820 from Bahia
  • Captaincy of Rio Grande do Sul (from region of Rio Grande de Sao Pedro)
  • Captaincy of Santa Catarina

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Mundo Vestibular: BRASIL COLÔNIA

External links edit