The government of Portuguese India started in 1505, six years after the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, then settled at Kochi. Until 1752, the name "India" included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia, governed - either by a Viceroy or Governor - from its headquarters, established in Goa since 1510. In 1752 Portuguese Mozambique got its own government and in 1844 the Portuguese Government of India stopped administering the territory of Portuguese Macau, Solor and Portuguese Timor, being then confined to Malabar.The following is a list of rulers during the history of Portuguese India as a viceroyalty or governorship.(*) - In 1508, King Manuel I of Portugal devised a plan to partition the Portuguese empire in Asia into three separate governments or "high captaincies" - (1) Capit?o-Mor dos mares da Ethiopia, Arabia e Persia, centered at Socotra, was to cover the East African and Arabian-Persian coasts, from Sofala to Diu; (2) Capit?o-Mor dos mares da India, centered at Cochin, was to cover the Indian coast from Diu down to Cape Comorin. Afonso de Albuquerque was Captain-General of the latter. Jorge de Aguiar was made Captain-General of the former. A third high captaincy, covering Asia east of Cape Comorin (yet to be explored) was assigned to Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, who was assigned that year to discover Malacca. The triarchy experiment failed - Aguiar drowned en route, while Sequeira quit the region in 1509, after his debacle at Malacca, leaving Albuquerque sole governor of the whole unpartitioned complex.(**) - Around 1570, King Sebastian of Portugal tried to partition the Portuguese State of India into three separate governments (much like Manuel's plan of 1508) - a western state based around Sofala (covering the East African coast from Cape Correntes to Cape Guardafui), a central state ruled from Goa (covering the area between the Red Sea and Ceylon, encompassing India, reserved for the "Viceroy") and an eastern state ruled from Malacca (covering Southeast Asia, from Pegu to China). D. Ant?nio de Noronha was appointed to Goa, Ant?nio Moniz Barreto to Malacca, and Francisco Barreto (the former India governor) to Sofala.(***) - Title of Viceroy of Indies extinguished by royal letter in 1771, replaced by Capit?o-Geral (Captain-General) of the Indies.
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