The Governor General of Canada, the Lieutenant Governors of the Canadian provinces, the Governors General of Australia and the Governors of the Australian States are viceroys within the meaning of the Balfour Declaration of 1926. The Australia Act 1986 also provides that all royal powers in Australia, except for the actual appointment of the Governor-General and Governors, may be exercised by representatives of the Viceroy. The noun viceroy is rarely used, but the adjective viceregal is standard. A viceroy (/ˈvaɪsrɔɪ/) is an official who heads a community in the name and on behalf of the monarch of the territory. The term is derived from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning “instead of”, and the French word roy, meaning “king”. [1] [2] The territory of a viceroy may be called a viceroyalty, although this term is not always used. The adjective form is viceregal,[3] less often viceregal. [4] The term vicereine is sometimes used to refer to a viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a neutral term. [5] Vicereine is more commonly used to refer to the wife of a viceroy.
[5] It was absurd to imagine that such a prince would only be a viceroy of France. In Europe, until the 18th century, the Habsburg crown appointed viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Portugal during the short period known as the Iberian Union, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples. With the advent of the House of Bourbon, the historic Aragonese viceroyalty was replaced by new captains general. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish monarchy was deprived of its Italian possessions. However, these Italian territories still had viceroys under their new rulers for some time; Naples until 1734, Sicily until 1816 and Sardinia until 1848. This was followed by a series of viceroys (residing in France) from 8 October 1611 to 1672. Later, there were governors and governors general. Eikenberry`s dive appears to have been pinched because a Briton, not Eikenberry, has been appointed “viceroy” – an insult he appears to be at the feet of a Karzai/McChrystal conspiracy.
As with many princely and administrative titles, viceroy is often, usually unofficially, used to confer reasonably equivalent titles and functions in non-Western cultures. In Brazil, the captain general, who held a position similar to that of the Spanish viceroys, was appointed viceroy from the mid-17th century. From 14. In the nineteenth century, governors appointed by the English crown to rule in Ireland were called viceroys; and between 1858 and 1935, the title was applied to the British Governor-General of India. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Great Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico) and Peru was founded; two others – New Granada and Río de la Plata – originated in South America in the 18th century. Viceroys were appointed by the King of Spain and the Council of India from among the Spanish noble families. Their official powers and duties were extensive: to increase and increase royal revenues, to appoint minor colonial officials (civil and ecclesiastical), to enforce laws, to protect Indians and convert them to Christianity, and, until the 18th century, to grant encomiendas (Indian subsidies for labor and tribute to certain settlers). During certain periods of the Iberian Union, between 1580 and 1640, the King of Spain, who was also King of Portugal, himself appointed viceroys to govern Portugal, as the king had several empires throughout Europe and delegated his powers to various viceroys.
The powers of the viceroys were subject to various restrictions: other important colonial officials were also appointed by the crown and could thwart them by direct agreements with Madrid. Moreover, the meticulous regulations of local government on all aspects of colonial administration (though often ignored) tended to leave little room for discretion. The Audiencia, a court that shared the viceroy`s administrative duties, often used its power to obstruct him. The viceroy`s princely salary was intended to prevent corruption, and he was forbidden from doing business. Before leaving office, he was required to report to the king the most important acts and events of his administration, which was also subject to judicial control (residencia). In addition to the Commander-in-Chief of India, the viceroy was the public face of the British presence in India and participated in many ceremonies as well as political affairs. Representing the emperors and empresses of India, who were also the kings and queens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the viceroy served as Grand Master of the two major orders of chivalry of British India: the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire. Throughout the history of the office, the Governors-General of India have been based in two cities: Calcutta in the 19th century and New Delhi in the 20th century. While Calcutta was the capital of British India, the viceroys spent the summer months in Simla.
The two historic residences of the viceroys are still standing: the viceroy`s house in New Delhi and the government building in Calcutta. They are now used as official residences of the President of India and the Governor of West Bengal. Portraits of governors general still hang in a room on the ground floor of the presidential palace, one of the last remnants of the viceroys and the British Raj. [11] The French position of “deputy director of department, delegate for the sea and the coast of the Pyrénées atlantiques et des Landes” bears the title of “viceroy of the island of pheasants”. Pheasant Island is a French-Spanish residential complex on the Bidasoa River. [21] [22] Notable governors-general of India are Warren Hastings, Lord Cornwallis, Lord Curzon, the Earl of Minto, Lord Chelmsford and Lord Mountbatten. Lord Mountbatten was the last viceroy of British India, but remained the first governor-general of the Dominion of India. The founding of the Russian-American Company by Tsar Paul I in 1799 prevented the viceroys from colonizing the northwestern New World. Since the earliest Middle Ages in the Kingdom of Croatia, Ban of Croatia held the position of viceroy, who acted as the king`s representative in Croatian lands and commander-in-chief of the Croatian army. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually became the highest government officials in Croatia.
They led the government of Ban, Croatia`s first prime minister. The last ban held its place until 1941 and the collapse of Yugoslavia during World War II. These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “viceroy.” The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback. The term has sometimes been applied to Governors-General of Commonwealth realms, for example, Gough Whitlam told the Australian House of Representatives in 1973: “The Governor-General is the Viceroy of the Queen of Australia.” [12] “Viceroy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/viceroy. Retrieved 30 September 2022. The viceroys reported directly to the Secretary of State for India in London and were advised by the Council of India. Largely free from the exercise of their authority, they were among the most powerful men in the world in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, ruling an entire subcontinent with a significant force in the form of the British Indian Army.