Viceroy
A viceroy (/ˈvaɪsrɔɪ/) is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
For other uses, see Viceroy (disambiguation).
The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman roy (Old French roi, roy), meaning "king". This denotes the position as one who acts on behalf of a king or monarch.[1][2][3][4] A viceroy's territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjective form is viceregal,[5] less often viceroyal.[6] The term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term.[7] Vicereine is more commonly used to indicate a viceroy's wife, known as the viceregal consort.[7]
The term has occasionally been applied to the governors-general of the Commonwealth realms, who are viceregal representatives of the monarch.
The position of a viceroy is by royal appointment rather than a noble rank. An individual viceroy often also held a separate noble title, such as Bernardo de Gálvez, 1st Viscount of Galveston, who was also Viceroy of New Spain.
Portuguese[edit]
India[edit]
From 1505 to 1896 Portuguese India – including, until 1752, all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia and Australasia – was governed alternatively by either a viceroy (Portuguese vice-rei) or governor and commission located in the capital of Goa. The government started seven years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, under the first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida (b.1450–d.1510). Initially, King Manuel I of Portugal tried to distribute power with three governors in different areas of jurisdiction: a government covering the area and possessions in East Africa, Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, overseeing up to Cambay (Gujarat); a second one ruling the possessions in India (Hindustan) and Ceylon; and a third one from Malacca to the Far East.[8] However, Governor Afonso de Albuquerque (1509–1515) centralized the post into a plenipotentiary office, which it remained after his tenure. The typical duration in office was usually three years, although powerful viceroys might extend their tenure; of the thirty-four governors of India in the 16th century, only six had longer mandates.[9]
Namestnik (Russian: наме́стник, Russian pronunciation: [nɐˈmʲesʲnʲɪk]) was an official position in the history of the Russian Empire. It can be translated as "viceroy", "deputy", "lieutenant" (in the broadest sense of the word) or in place appointee. The term has two periods of usage, with different meanings.[18][19][20][21]
The Tsar Paul I's 1799 formation of the Russian-American Company obviated viceroys in the colonization of the northwestern New World.
Ancient antecedents[edit]
An equivalent office, called the Exarch, was created in the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire towards the end of the sixth century for governors of important areas too far from the imperial capital of Constantinople to receive regular instruction or reinforcement. The chosen governors of these provinces were empowered to act in place of the monarch (hence ex- "outside", arch "ruler") with more discretion and autonomy than was granted other categories of governor. This was an extraordinary break from the centralized traditions of the Roman Empire and was an early example of the principle of viceroyalty.