American Continent
In this context Rodrigues (1997) it affirms: ' ' Peter lvares Cabral arriving at Brazil, in day 22 of April of 1922, found the American Continent divided by an imaginary line that if passed 370 lguas the west of Green Handle, resultant of the Treated one to Tordesilhas. According to this treating, the lands the west belonged to Spain and the east, Portugal … In 1534, Brazil was divided in 15 lots of donated lands the people of the cut who had passed if to call donees. The lots for inheritance, went of father for son, from there the denomination of captainships hereditrias' ' (RODRIGUES, 1997. P. 17) Being declared insolvent the Portuguese crown, the main condition to receive a lot was to possess financial resources to colonize it the proper expenseses.
As notice of wealth in these lands was not had, others that private wood-Brazil to the crown, did not have interest of the important noblemen in receiving the immense and wild extensions. The fifteen lots that formed twelve captainships had finished at the hands of the members of the small nobility. The great dimensions of the captainships had sounded as a stimulaton for the donees, but she was also one of the main causes of its failure, therefore the task if would disclose heavy demasiadamente. The failure of the project as a whole, did not hinder that the legacy them Hereditary Captainships was lasting. The agrarian structure, the expansion of the canavieira farming, the exculpatory social structure, the traffic of slaves on a large scale, the slaughter of the aboriginals: everything this if after incorporated the History of Brazil the landing of the donees. Another important point: the king of Portugal, searching to stimulate the settling, created Government-Generality, that would function as an agency of coordination of the hereditary captainships; however one did not verify significant changes in the system of distribution of lands.