Complex sentence: Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization was effectively begun in 1534, when Dom João III divided the territory into twelve hereditary captaincies, but this arrangement proved problematic and in 1549 the king assigned a Governor-General to administer the entire colony.
Split into simpler sentences: Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization was effectively started in 1534, when Dom João III divided the territory into twelve hereditary captaincies. This arrangement proved problematic, however, and in 1549 the king assigned a Governor-General to administer the entire colony.