Captaincy General

Captaincy General (sp. Capitanía General) a division of a viceroyalty in colonial Spanish America, established in areas under risk of foreign invasion or Indian attack and governed by a Captain General, basically a military officer with plenipotentiary powers and authority.

Although under the nominal jurisdiction of their Viceroys, Captains General were practically independent, because of their special military functions and the considerable distance of their captaincies from the viceroyal capital, having a direct relationship with the King and the Council of the Indies , in Madrid.

Captaincies General and creation year:

• Santo Domingo (1540)
• Guatemala (1560)
• New Granada (1563), which became a viceroyalty in 1717.
• Cuba (1764), which included the Louisiana Territory acquired from France in 1763
• Venezuela (1777)
• Chile (1778).

The Portuguese also used this system in their colonies. In Brazil, the recipient of a captaincy was called a donatário.