Background European colonization in America effectively began in 1534, when King John III divided the territory into fourteen hereditary captaincies and gave them to twelve
donatários, who could exploit the land's resources, but in exchange had to populate and protect the regions. Since the 15th century, the system of captaincies had been used by the
Portuguese Empire on the islands of
Madeira and
Cape Verde. In a letter addressed to
Martim Afonso de Sousa in 1532, John III announced the decision to divide the Portuguese territory, beginning the donations in 1534. There are three possible factors for the adoption of the captaincy system in Brazil: a response by the Portuguese monarchy to France's threat to its project of domination in America; the transfer of expenses with colonization from Portugal to the
donatários, favoring the Crown in a situation of limited resources; and the conversion of the native population to
Christianity, continuing the ideal of the
Crusades.
Origins The Captaincy of Rio Grande was the second plot given to João de Barros and Aires da Cunha. They arrived in 1535 to occupy the land, accompanied by Fernão Álvares de Andrade. As both of their efforts were directed towards the first plot (the
Captaincy of Maranhão), due to the difficulties encountered there in 1535, the second plot remained abandoned. When Brazil was elevated to the
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, the captaincy became a province. It became involved in the
Pernambuco Revolution of 1817, and a provisional government was installed in Natal. In 1889, with the
Proclamation of the Brazilian Republic, it became a state. == Territory ==