Alcaide-mor
Explains the office of alcaide-mor in Madeira, held by the donatary of Funchal and, under Philippine rule, by the royal delegates guarding the castle.
The donatary of Funchal was the alcaide-mor (royal governor of a castle and town) in the captaincy, but the Philippine government entrusted the guarding of the castle to its delegates in the archipelago, who for this reason came to use that title. The powers of these new alcaides (town officer with police and jail duties) were laid down by the regulations (regimento) of 5 December 1603, registered in the Archive of the Council. The governor-general João Fogaça was the first alcaide-mor appointed by that government.
The alcaides received the gaol fees (carceragem) of prisoners and half of the fines, besides other revenues set out in the regulations. From the abolition of the donatary captaincy (donataria) in 1766, the donatary of Funchal became a mere alcaide-mor in the captaincy, but his rights and powers were very different from those of the alcaides-mores created by the Castilian government.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 01
- Funchal
Seat of the captaincy whose donatary held the office of alcaide-mor.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
People
People mentioned · 01-
Governor-general of Madeira and first alcaide-mor appointed by the Philippine government.