ABSTRACT
The article analyzes the path of 13 captains mor responsible for the administration of the Maranhao captaincies, which was the capital and head of the Maranhao state and of Grao-Para, while the assistance of the governor and captain general in the city of Belem. Even though in the period in analyses the Sao Luis city consul and some sarges mor have had, on some occasion, overseeing the government of the captaincies, the captains mor were the principal and more frequent agents of a dynamic administration characterized by the transition of governors and captains generals of the Maranhao state to Belem, where they remained most of the time. However, the captains mor of Maranhao, their social profiles, experiences and flow in the Portuguese Empire ended up forgotten in the historiography. To highlight their path this article is based on documentation of their services, which are symbol of personal distinction and premier in colonial administration, as well as conceptual and analytics parameters of the biographic method.
Keywords:
Captains mor; administration of Maranhao; Path; State of Maranhao and Grao-Para; Colonial administration