Editing Captain general (section)

==History==
The term ''captain general'' started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of [[commander-in-chief]] of an army (or fleet) in the field, probably the first usage of the term ''[[general]]'' in military settings. A popular term in the 16th and 17th centuries, but with various meanings depending on the country, it became less and less used in the 18th century, usually replaced with, simply, ''general'' or ''[[field marshal]]''; and after the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] it had all but disappeared in most European countries, except Spain and former colonies. See also ''[[Feldhauptmann]]'' ("field captain"). Other ranks of general officer, as distinct from [[field officer]], had the suffix "general"; e.g. [[major general]], [[lieutenant general]], [[brigadier general]], [[colonel general]].

=== Republic of Venice ===
In the [[Republic of Venice]], it meant the commander-in-chief in war time. The captain general of the land forces was usually a foreign mercenary or [[condottiere]], but the [[Venetian navy]] was always entrusted to a member of the city's patriciate, who became [[Captain General of the Sea]]. It is at least documented since 1370 and was used up to the [[fall of the Republic of Venice]] in 1797.

=== Great Britain ===
From 30 June to 22 October 1513, [[Catherine of Aragon]] held the titles Governor of the Realm and Captain General of the King's Forces as [[regent|Queen Regent]] of [[England]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyonthenet.com/Tudors/catherine_aragon_timeline.htm|title=The Tudors - Catherine of Aragon Timeline - History|date=4 December 2013|website=historyonthenet.com|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126103655/http://www.historyonthenet.com/tudors/catherine_aragon_timeline.htm|archive-date=26 January 2017}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=February 2016}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Dr Sean |date=2020-05-20 |title=The National Archives - Katherine of Aragon and an army for the North in 1513 |url=https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/katherine-of-aragon-and-an-army-for-the-north-in-1513/ |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=The National Archives blog |language=en-GB}}</ref> winning the [[Battle of Flodden]] against a Scottish invasion while [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] was in France fighting the [[Battle of the Spurs]].

==== Commander-in-Chief of the Forces====
In the mid-17th century, with the first establishment in England of something akin to a [[standing army]], the title Captain General was used (either alongside or in place of that of [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]]) to signify its commanding officer. In 1645 [[Thomas Fairfax]] was appointed "Captain General and Commander-in-Chief all the armies and forces raised and to be raised within the Commonwealth of England."<ref name=lingard>{{cite book|first=John|last=Lingard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZxXAAAAcAAJ&q=Commander-in-Chief+within+the+Commonwealth+of+England+fairfax&pg=PA447|title=A History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans|page=447|volume=XI|publisher=Baldwin and Cradock|year=1829}}</ref> After the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]], King Charles II likewise designated [[General Monck]] "Captaine Generall of all our Armies and land forces and men … in and out of our Realmes of England, Scotland and Ireland and Dominion of Wales"; (he was also referred to on occasion as "Lord Generall" and "Commander in Chief of all His Majesty's Forces").<ref name=Roper1998>{{cite book |last1=Roper |first1=Michael |title=The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964 |date=1998 |publisher=Public Record Office |location=Kew, Surrey }}</ref> The office then remained [[in abeyance]] until 1678 when it was granted to the [[Duke of Monmouth]], but he was deprived of this and other titles the following year.<ref name=Roper1998/> There were no subsequent appointments until the reign of [[Queen Anne of Great Britain|Queen Anne]].

In the 18th century, the office of Captain General was held by the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] (1702 to 1711), the [[James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde|Duke of Ormonde]] (1711 to 1714) and the Duke of Marlborough again (1714 to 1722). Thereafter there was no permanent Commander-in-Chief or equivalent appointed until 1744; the following year the office of Captain General was vested in [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland]]. Cumberland resigned in 1757; his successors in command were for the most part appointed Commander-in-Chief but not Captain General, with one exception: the last appointment of a Captain General of the Forces was that of [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Prince Frederick, the Duke of York]] in 1799.<ref name=Roper1998/>

Any distinction that there may have been at this time between the office of "Captain General" and "Commander-in-Chief" is unclear. One difference is that the Commander-in-Chief was appointed by [[Commission (document)|commission]] and the Captain General by [[Letters patent|patent]], leading some to surmise that the appointment of Captain General was 'one of dignity, not of power';<ref name="Roper1998" /> however the matter is somewhat academic as most Captains General held the appointment of Commander-in-Chief simultaneously (and from 1757 the appointment of Commanders-in-Chief was itself done by patent).

====Other uses====
Since the 17th century the title Captain General has been in use in England for the titular head of the [[Honourable Artillery Company]]<ref name="HAC">{{cite web |title=Relationship between the Active Unit and the Company |url=https://www.hac.org.uk/home/about-the-hac/who-we-are/relationship-between-the-active-unit-and-the-compa/ |website=The Honourable Artillery Company |access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref> and in Scotland for the senior officer of the [[Royal Company of Archers]].<ref name="Paul1875">{{cite book |last1=Paul |first1=Sir James Balfour |title=The History of the Royal Company of Archers: The Queen's Body-guard for Scotland |date=1875 |publisher=WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS |location=EDINBURGH AND LONDON |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyroyalcom00paulgoog/page/n51 35] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyroyalcom00paulgoog}}</ref>

In 1947 the position of Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Marines was changed by its incumbent, King [[George VI]], to that of [[Captain General Royal Marines]]; likewise, the position of Colonel-in-Chief of the [[Royal Regiment of Artillery]] was changed by its incumbent, George VI, to Captain General.

The formal head of the Combined Cadet Force is also titled Captain General.

===New South Wales===
From 1787 (the year before the arrival in Australia of the [[First Fleet]]) to 1837, the [[Governor of New South Wales]] was referred to as Captain-General.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/nsw2_doc_1787.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-08-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625105213/http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/nsw2_doc_1787.pdf |archive-date=2009-06-25 }}</ref>

=== Prussia ===
In Prussia a ''Generalkapitän'' was the commander of the [[castle guard]] and [[lifeguard (military)|life]][[1st Foot Guards (German Empire)|guards]].

=== United States ===
In the Thirteen [[United Colonies]] and, later, the United States of America, during the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[George Washington]] was the "Captain-General and Commander in Chief of the Forces."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Washington, George |author1-link=George Washington |editor1-last=Chase |editor1-first=Philander D. |title=The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 3, 1 January 1776 – 31 March 1776 |date=1988 |publisher=University Press of Virginia |location=Charlottesville |pages=501–502 |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0373 |access-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925065955/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0373 |archive-date=25 September 2021 |chapter=Proclamation on the Occupation of Boston}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Soldiers of the Maryland Division |editor1-last=Chase |editor1-first=Philander D. |title=The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 20, 8 April – 31 May 1779 |date=2010 |publisher=University Press of Virginia |location=Charlottesville |pages=22–23 |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-20-02-0021 |access-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920141335/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-20-02-0021 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |chapter=To George Washington from Soldiers of the Maryland Division, 9 April 1779}}</ref> George Washington is the only general in the United States to be referred to as "Captain-General" of the armed forces.

==== Connecticut ====
In Connecticut, the state Constitution of 1965 states that the Governor is also the Captain General of the [[Connecticut State Militia]].

==== Rhode Island ====
In Rhode Island, the Governor holds two different military titles. According to Article IX, section 3 of the Rhode Island Constitution, the Governor holds the titles of "captain-general" and "Commander-in-Chief".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/RiConstitution/C09.html |title=Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |access-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818005134/http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/RiConstitution/C09.html |archive-date=18 August 2011 |work=[[State of Rhode Island]] General Assembly |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Vermont ====
The 1786 Constitution of Vermont, which became effective when [[Vermont Republic|Vermont was an independent country]] and continued in effect for two years after Vermont's [[admission to the Union]] in 1791, says "The Governor shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief of the forces of the State, but shall not command in person, except advised thereto by the Council, and then only as long as they shall approve thereof."<ref>Constitution of Vermont – July 4, 1786 {{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vt02.asp |title=Constitution of Vermont - July 4, 1786 |date=18 December 1998 |access-date=2015-09-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904015346/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vt02.asp |archive-date=2015-09-04 }}</ref> The language remained in the 1793 Constitution of Vermont.

=== Netherlands ===
[[Maurice of Nassau]] was appointed to the office of "Captain General of the Union" (commander-in-chief of the [[Dutch States Army]]) and "Admiral General" of the [[Dutch Republic]] in 1587. This was a "confederal" office, under the [[States General of the Netherlands]]. He was also [[stadtholder]] of five of the seven provinces, which was a ''provincial'' appointive office, under the sovereign States of the several provinces. Maurice's nephew [[William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg]] was concurrently also a stadtholder (in two provinces) but he held a normal commission in the States Army. The office was not hereditary, but after 1747 only members of the [[House of Orange-Nassau]] could be ''appointed'' to it.

=== Spain ===

By the late 15th century, the title Captain General, besides being the usual meaning of commander-in-chief in the field, was also linked to the highest commander of specialized military branches (artillery, royal guards, etc.), usually signaling the independence of that particular corps.

No later than the fall of [[Granada]] (1492) the title was conferred also on officers with full jurisdiction of every person subject to ''fuero militar'' (military obligations) in a region. Those officers usually also acted as commanders for the troops and military establishments in their area and, as time passed, those duties (and the title) were mostly united in the highest civilian authority of the area. During the period of Spanish rule in much of [[Latin America]] there were several [[Captaincies of the Spanish Empire]]. The military post of ''captain general'' as highest territorial commander lasted in Spain until the early 1980s.

==== Army ====
{{Main|Captain general of the Army}}
In the late 17th or very early 18th century, a personal rank of ''captain general'' was created in the [[Spanish Army]] (and Navy) as the highest rank in the hierarchy, not unlike the [[Marechal de France]]. When wearing uniform, the kings used captain general insignia. [[Valeriano Weyler]], [[Governor-General|Governor General]] of [[Cuba]] in 1896–97 during the period preceding the [[Spanish–American War]], held the rank. Briefly abolished by the [[Second Spanish Republic]], it was restored during the regime of [[Francisco Franco]] in 1938; Franco himself was the only officer of this rank.<ref name=fnff>{{cite news |url=https://fnff.es/actualidad/201496330/la-corona-y-la-dictadura-totalitaria-de-franco.html |title=La Corona y la 'dictadura totalitaria' de Franco |date=6 November 2012 |access-date=30 June 2019 |work=Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco |language=es}}</ref> Later King [[Juan Carlos I]] (1975), [[Agustín Muñoz Grandes]] (1956) and [[Camilo Alonso Vega]] (1972) were promoted while on active duty; a few posthumous promotions and promotions of retired officers to this rank were also made. In 1999, the rank was reserved to the reigning [[Spanish Monarchy|monarch]].

==== Navy ====
{{Main|Captain general of the Navy}}
The evolution of the title in the [[Spanish Navy]] is parallel to that of the army. During the 16th and 17th century the two main naval captain general posts were ''Capitán-General de la Armada del Mar Océano'' and ''Capitán-General de Galeras'', roughly [[Commander-in-Chief]] for the Atlantic and the Mediterranean respectively.

A peculiar usage of the rank arose in the Spanish Navy of the 16th century. A ''capitán-general'' was appointed by the king as the leader of a fleet (although the term 'squadron' is more appropriate, as most galleon fleets rarely consisted of more than a dozen vessels, not counting escorted merchantmen), with full jurisdictional powers. The fleet [[second-in-command]] was the 'almirante' (admiral), an officer appointed by the capitan-general and responsible for the seaworthiness of the squadron.<ref>"Spanish Galleon: 1530–1690" by Angus Konstam, copyright 2004 [[Osprey Publishing]], Ltd.</ref> One captain-general that sailed under the Spanish flag that is now well known was [[Ferdinand Magellan]], leader of the first fleet to sail around the world.

Under the Nationalist regime of 1939–1975, the only holder of the rank of ''capitán general de la armada'' was the [[Caudillo]], [[Generalísimo]] [[Francisco Franco]].<ref name=fnff/>

====Air force====
{{Main|Captain general of the Air Force}}
The rank of Captain General of the [[Spanish Air Force|Air Force]], originally created by Franco for himself, currently is reserved for the reigning monarch.<ref name=fnff/>

=== Portugal ===

==== Army ====

The title was given, in 1508, to the commander-in-chief of the ''[[Ordenanças]]'' (the territorial army of the crown).

During the [[Portuguese Restoration War]], after 1640, the "Captain-General of the Arms of the Kingdom", became the commander-in-chief of the [[Portuguese Army]], under the direct authority of the War Council and the King. In 1762 the post of the captain-general was replaced by the title ''marechal-general'' – [[Fieldmarshall|fieldmarshall-general]].

==== Navy ====
Like in the Army, the ''Capitão-General da Armada Real'' (Captain-General of the Royal Navy) was the commander-in-chief of the [[Portuguese Navy]] in the 17th and 18th centuries.

=== France ===
The title has been only sporadically used in France. During the 17th century, and for a short while, a rank between [[Lieutenant General]] and [[Marshal of France]] of this denomination was created. The king of France was the Captain [[General of the Army]], but was represented in the field by lieutenant generals who commanded in his absence.

=== Kingdom of Bavaria ===
In the former [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], the ''generalkapitän'' was the leader of the royal [[Hartschier]] guard. The position was associated with the highest class ranking in the ''Hofrangordnung'' (court order of precedence).<ref>[http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/A/Hofrangordnung ''Hofrangordnung''] (German) Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon.</ref>

=== Papal States ===
During the time of the [[Papal States]] the title of [[Captain General of the Church]] was given to the de facto commander-in-chief of the Papal Army. It existed parallel to the office of [[Gonfalonier of the Church]], which was a more ceremonial position than a tactical military command position. Both offices were abolished by [[Pope Innocent XII]] and replaced with the office of [[Flag-bearer of the Holy Roman Church]].

===Bohemia, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine===
The term "Captain General" as [[Hetman]] (the word from the German [[Hauptmann]] "Capitan") is a political title from Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. It was the title of the second-highest military commander (after the monarch) in 15th- to 18th and 20th-century.

=== Siam ===
The rank Captain General ({{langx|th|นายกองใหญ่}}) was used as the highest rank in [[Wild Tiger Corps]], this rank was exclusively for King [[Vajiravudh]] but in 1915 he created rank General of the Wild Tiger Corps ({{langx|th|นายพลเสือป่า}}) for members who are leaders of corps. The rank was equivalent to brigadier.