Brazil, Viceroys of

The viceroy was the highest royal official in Brazil. Usually military men of noble birth, viceroys in Brazil occupied the office of governor-general of Bahia from 1549 to 1720. They were the highest appointed royal officials in colonial Brazil. Like the other governors, the viceroys represented the king and embodied royal authority. Called the "shadows of the King," they were similar to but not as powerful as the Spanish American viceroys. They were royal commissioners who enforced the king's justice in his domain in colonial Brazil. In theory the captains-general or governors were subordinate to the viceroy, but in practice the viceroy's authority was limited to his own captaincy. As the supreme commander of all the armed forces in his district, he was responsible primarily for defending his captaincy from Indian attacks and foreign interlopers.

After 1720 the governors-general of Brazil used the title of viceroy. The early governors-general centralized governmental administration and consolidated royal control over Brazil. They dispensed royal justice, collected taxes, founded towns, oversaw the work of the church, and appointed judges. The viceroys of Brazil sat on the High Court (Relação) and presided over the meetings of the town councils in Salvador da Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Colonial Brazilians complained that the viceroys and governors-general interfered in local affairs. In the eighteenth century their power increased to the point where the viceroys could recall a disobedient governor and recommend a successor, but they had no coercive powers to remove a stubborn captain-general. The eighteenth-century captain-general Gomes Freire de Andrade (1685–1763) exercised more power and governed a larger domain in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo than did the viceroys. By the eighteenth century the captains-general reported directly to the king rather than to the viceroy. The viceroys of the eighteenth century were stronger than their predecessors and more effective administrators.

The viceroy in Brazil ordinarily served a term of six and one-half years in the sixteenth century, three and one-half years in the seventeenth century, and six years in the eighteenth century. As appointed royal representatives, the viceroys tried to be independent of local interests. Their authority increased in times of war and foreign attacks, since their military powers were great. Among the outstanding viceroys were the count of Sabugosa (1720–1735), the marquis of Lavradio (1769–1779), and Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa (1778–1790). Under close local and royal scrutiny, the viceroys were subject to an inspection at the end of their term (residencia). As chiefs of state and official royal representatives, the viceroys tried to keep Brazil unified and loyal to the crown while defending the domain from foreign interlopers.

Governors-General and Viceroys of Brazil (1549–1769)

Tomé de Sousa (1549–1553)

Duarte da Costa (1553–1556)

Mem de Sá (1556–1570)

D. Luís de Brito e Almeida—North (1570–1572)

D. Antônio de Salema—South (1570–1572)

D. Luís de Brito e Almeida—North (1572–1577)

Lourenço da Veiga (1577–1581)

Cosme Rangel (1581–1583)

Manuel Teles Barreto (1583–1587)

Junta do Governo: D. Antônio de Barreiros and Cristóvão de Barros (1587–1591)

D. Francisco de Sousa (1591–1602)

D. Diogo Botelho (1602–1608)

D. Diogo de Meneses e Siqueira—North and South (1608–1612)

D. Gaspar de Sousa (1612–1617)

D. Luís de Sousa (1617–1621)

D. Diogo de Mendonça Furtado (1621–1624)

Matias de Albuquerque (1624)

D. Francisco Nunes Marinho d'Eça (1624–1626)

D. Francisco de Moura Rolim (1624–1626)

Diogo Luís de Oliveira (1626–1635)

D. Pedro da Silva (1635–1639)

D. Fernando Mascarenhas, count of Torre (1639)

D. Vasco Mascarenhas, count of Óbidos (1639–1640)

D. Jorge Mascarenhas, marquis of Montalvão, considered the first viceroy of Brazil (1640–1641)

Junta do Governo: Bishop D. Pedro, Luís Barbalho, and Provedor-Mor Lourenço Brito Correia, who assumed office upon the death of his predecessor (1641–1642)

Antônio Teles da Silva (1642–1647)

Antônio Teles de Meneses, count of Vila Pouca de Aguiar (1647–1650)

João Rodrigues de Vasconcelos e Sousa, count of Castelo Melhor (1650–1654)

D. Jerônimo de Ataíde, count of Atouguia (1654–1657)

Francisco Barreto (1657–1663)

D. Vasco de Mascarenhas, count of Óbidos, considered the second viceroy of Brazil (1663–1667)

Alexandre e Sousa Freire (1667–1671)

Francisco Correia da Silva (declined the appointment)

Afonso Furtado de Castro do Rio de Mendonça, viscount of Barbacena (1671–1675)

Junta do Governo: Desembargador Agostinho de Azevedo Monteiro, Álvaro de Azevedo, and Antônio Guedes de Brito, who assumed office on the death of his predecessor (1675–1678)

Roque da Costa Barreto (1678–1682)

Antônio de Sousa de Meneses, the Braço de Prata (1682–1684)

Antônio Luís de Sousa, marquis of Minas (1684–1687)

Matias da Cunha (1687–1688)

D. Frei Manuel da Ressurreição (1688–1690)

Antônio Luís Gonçalves da Câmara Coutinho (1690–1694)

D. João de Lencastre (1694–1702)

D. Rodrigo da Costa (1702–1708)

D. Luís César de Meneses (1708–1710)

D. Lourenço de Almada (1710–1711)

D. Pedro de Vasconcelos e Sousa (1711–1714)

D. Pedro de Noronha, count of Vila Verde and marquis of Angeja, third viceroy of Brazil (1714–1718)

D. Sancho de Faro e Sousa, count of Vimieiro (1718–1719)

Interim government of the Archbishop: Dom Sebastião Monteiro da Vide, chancellor of the High Court, Caetano de Brito de Figueredo, and Master of the Field João de Araujo e Azevedo (1719–1720)

Vasco Fernandes César de Meneses, count of Sabugosa, fourth viceroy of Brazil (1720–1735)

André de Mello e Castro, count of Galveas, fifth viceroy of Brazil (1735–1749)

D. Luís Pedro Peregrino de Carvalho Meneses e Ataíde, tenth count of Atouquia (1749–1754)

Interim government of the Archbishop: Dom José Botelho de Mattos, chancellor of the High Court, Manuel Antônio da Cunha Sotto Maior, and Colonel Lourenço Monteiro (1755)

D. Marcos de Noronha e Brito, sixth count of Arcos (1755–1760)

D. Antônio de Almeida Soares e Portugal, first marquis of Lavradio, third count of Arintes (1760)

Interim government of the Archbishop: Tomás Rubi de Barros Barreto, José Carvalho de Andrade, and Barrose Alvim (1760–1763)

D. Antônio Alvares da Cunha, count of Cunha (1763–1767)

D. Antônio Rolim de Moura, count of Azambuja (1767–1769)

Governors-General of Rio de Janeiro (1769–1808)

D. Luis de Almeida, Portugal Soares d'Eça Alarcao e Melo Silva e Mascarenhas, second marquis of Lavradio (1769–1779)

D. Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, count of Figueiro (1778–1790)

D. José Luís de Castro, second count of Rezende (1790–1801)

Fernando José de Portugal e Castro, count of Resende (1801–1806)

Marcos de Noronha e Brito, eighth count of Arcos (1806–1808)

See alsoBrazil: The Colonial Era, 1500–1808; Viceroyalty, Viceroy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dauril Alden, Royal Government in Colonial Brazil with Special Reference to the Administration of the Marquis of Lavradio, Viceroy 1769–1779 (1968).

Helio Vianna, Dicioná rio da história do Brasil: Moral e civismo 4th ed. (1976), pp. 265, 266, 552, 553.

Additional Bibliography

Monteiro, Rodrigo Bentes. O rei no espelho. A monarquia portuguesa e a. colonização da América: 1640–1720. São Paulo: Editora Hucitec, 2002.

                                        Patricia Mulvey