State of Brazil
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For the modern states of the federal republic, see states of Brazil.
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 | |
 The State of Brazil in 1815 | |
| Status | State of the Portuguese Empire |
| Capital | Salvador (1645–1763) Rio de Janeiro (1763–1815) |
| Common languages | Portuguese |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Government | Absolute 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 |
| Currency | Portuguese Real |
| ISO 3166 code | BR |
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.
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):
- Captaincy of Rio Grande de Norte
- Captaincy of Paraíba (southern Rio Grande & Itamaraca)
- Captaincy of Pernambuco
- Captaincy of Bahia
- Captaincy of Ilhéus (became a comarca of Bahia in 1761)
- Captaincy of Porto Seguro
- Captaincy of Espírito Santo
- Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro (São Tomé and São Vicente first section)
- Captaincy of Santo Amaro
- Captaincy of São Vicente (second section, later renamed Captaincy of São Paulo e Minas de Ouro)
- Captaincy of Santana
Captaincies created by the state
- 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