The Captaincy of Sergipe-del-Rei, also known as Sergipe, was a captaincy of colonial Brazil created in 1590 by King Felipe II of Spain, then ruler of Portugal under the Iberian Union.[1][2][3][4] The captaincy was under direct subordination of the Captaincy of Bahia de Todos os Santos, which housed the capital of Brazil at the time, Salvador. Sergipe-del-Rei had around double the size of the modern state of Sergipe, extending well into the Sertão and reaching the region of Juazeiro in the west. Cristóvão de Barros was the first governor of the captaincy.[1][3]

Captaincy of Sergipe-del-Rei
Capitania de Sergipe
Coat of arms of Sergipe
Coat of arms
Map of Brazil in 1611, Sergipe colored in dark brown.
Map of Brazil in 1611, Sergipe colored in dark brown.
Status Dependent territory
Capital São Cristóvão
Other languages Portuguese
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Demonym Sergipano
Government Absolute monarchy
 1590 - ?
Cristóvão de Barros
History  
 Established
1590
 Disestablished
1821
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Tupinambá people
Kariri people
Province of Sergipe
Today part of Brazil

The captaincy became autonomous on 8 July 1820 under a decree of King João VI. The first governor of the autonomous captaincy was Carlos César Burlamaqui.[5]

Less than a year later, on 28 February 1821, the captaincy was elevated to the status of province, and later under the administration of the First Brazilian Republic to the status of state.[6]

References

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  1. 1 2 Menezes, Wanderlei de Oliveira (2021). "História da Capitania de Sergipe através de textos e documentos". Coleção paradidaticos de Sergipe.
  2. Vera Maria dos Santos; Amorim, Simone Silveira; Ester Fraga Vilas-Boas Carvalho do Nascimento (2017-04-01). "Instrução e escravidão na capitania de Sergipe Del Rey na segunda metade do século XVIII". Acta Scientiarum. Education (in Portuguese). 39 (3). ISSN 2178-5201. Archived from the original on 2024-06-03.
  3. 1 2 "IBGE | Biblioteca". IBGE | Biblioteca (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Silva, Augusto da (2021-11-12). "Capitania-mor de Sergipe del Rei e governo da Ilha de Santa Catarina: estatutos, jurisdições e hierarquias". Revista Ágora (in Brazilian Portuguese). 32 (3): e–2021320308. doi:10.47456/e-2021320308. ISSN 1980-0096.
  5. Seguro), Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (Visconde de Porto (1957). História da independência do Brasil até ao reconhecimento pela antiga metrópole: comreendendo, separadamente, a dos sucessos ocorridos em algumas províncias até essa data (in Brazilian Portuguese). Edições Melhoramentos.
  6. "D0001". www.planalto.gov.br. Retrieved 2026-07-13.