The royal governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the royal governor also held the title of a captain general. There were 66 such governors or captains during the Spanish conquest and the later periods of Spanish-centered colonialism. Since the first Spanish–Mapuche parliaments in the 17th century it became an almost mandatory tradition for each governor to arrange a parliament with the Mapuches.

(Dissolved 1810-1814 Patria Vieja)