This article presents the transcript of a memory on the captaincies of Paraíba and Ceará, written in 1816, exposes the biographical traits of the author, the general lines of his speech and the discussion focuses on the governance structure of the captaincies of Portuguese America. In this sense, we critically appraised the text from memory in the light of historiography and other documentary sources relevant to the topic of the colonial administration.
Memory; Paraíba and Ceará; colonial administration