The Portuguese arrived in the Kingdom of Kotte in 1505. By 1551, they had appointed a captain-major to control the Portuguese occupied territory called Ceylon on the island of modern-day Sri Lanka. In that time, there were numerous captains-major until 1594. The post of captain-major was preceded by that of the captain in 1518. In 1594, the captain-major was replaced with a governor.
| width=9% | Portrait | width=25% | Name | width=9% | Birth | width=9% | Death | width=9% | Captain-major from | width=9% | Captain-major until | width=30% | Sovereign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| João Henriques | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1551 | 1552 | John III | ||||||
| Diogo de Melo Coutinho (1st time) | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1552 | 1552 | John III | ||||||
| Duarte de Eça | 1480 | 15?? | 1552 | 1553 | John III | ||||||||
| Fernão Carvalho | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1553 | 1555 | John III | ||||||
| Afonso Pereira de Lacerda | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1555 | 1559 | John III Sebastian | ||||||
| Jorge de Meneses Baroche | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1559 | 1560 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Baltasar Guedes de Sousa | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1560 | 1564 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Pedro de Ataíde Inferno | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1564 | 1565 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Diogo de Melo | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1565 | 1568 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Fernando de Monroy | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1568 | 1570 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Diogo de Melo Coutinho (2nd time) | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1570 | 1572 | Sebastian | ||||||
| António de Noronha | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1572 | 1575 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Fernando de Albuquerque | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1575 | 1578 | Sebastian | ||||||
| Manuel de Sousa Coutinho | 1540 | 1591 | 1578 | 1583 | Sebastian Henry Filipe I | ||||||||
| João de Correia de Brito | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1583 | 1590 | Filipe I | ||||||
| Simão de Brito | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1590 | 1591 | Filipe I | ||||||
| Pedro Homem Pereira | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | 1591 | 1594 | Filipe I |