Captaincy

It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governments in which the monarch delimited territories for colonization that were administered by men of confidence.

The same term was or is used in some other countries, such as Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Ottoman Empire, Slovakia or Austria.

[1] The prince and his successors (the Donatários) remained on the mainland, unable to leave the court, owing to numerous responsibilities related to the Royal Household during the period of trans-Atlantic exploration.

[1] When the King constituted and bestowed the Donatary system, he never specifically thought of sending his donatários to the archipelagos.

These are responsible for the general administration on a district level and are comparable to county offices in the United States.