 | ||
The Viceroyalty of Brazil was the implementation of Portuguese viceroyalty in the colony of Brazil. It was restricted to the current South, Center-West and Southeastern regions of Brazil, mainly as a result of expansionism from the Captaincy of São Vicente (later called the Captaincy of São Paulo), which then sought to alleviate its poverty by penetrating the hinterlands in search of Indian slaves and precious metals and stones.
Contents
History
Brazil became officially a Viceroyalty around 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. In 1775, all Brazilian states (Brasil, Maranhão and Grão-Pará) were unified into the Viceroyalty of Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro as capital.
The driving force was the then tiny village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, and its capital was made São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro as a result of the Emboabas' War against Portuguese recent arrivals and colonizers from Bahia, and the consequent shift of economic power to the gold-producing Minas dos Matos Gerais: São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro was the port where the gold was sent to Portugal, and consequently the point of contact between metropolis and colony.
In 1808, with the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil, the Prince Regent (future John VI of Portugal) assumed direct control of the government of the colony, suppressing the office of Viceroy. In 1815, the state of Brazil was raised to the level of Kingdom, in the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.