The Captaincy of Tukums (German: Hauptmannschaft Tuckum) was founded in 1617 as a subdivision of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. In 1795, the Duchy was incorporated into the Russian Empire, and in 1819 Tuckum County (Kreis Tuckum) became one of the ten counties of the Courland Governorate.
After establishment of the Republic of Latvia in 1918, the Tukuma apriņķis[1] existed until 1949, when the Council of Ministers of the Latvian SSR split it into the newly created districts (rajons) of Tukums, Dobele, Saldus and Kandava (dissolved in 1959).