Everything about Audiencia totally explained
Real audiencia (
royal audiency) was a judicial district that functioned as an
appeals court in Spain. Each audiencia had
oidores (Spanish:
hearer, a judge). The first audiencia was founded at
Valladolid in the kingdom of
Castile in
1371. The Valladolid Audiencia functioned as the highest court in Castile for the next two centuries. After the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon to form the crown of
Spain and the Spanish conquest of
Granada in
1492, the audiencia was divided in two, with the Audiencia of Valladolid taking cases from north of the
River Tagus (Tajo), and the Audiencia of Granada (1494) taking cases from south of the river.
Under
Charles V and
Philip II, the audiencia system was extended first to
Aragon (1528) and then to the rest of the Spanish Empire. Audiencias in cities that belong to Spain today included
Seville (1566),
Las Palmas (1568),
Mallorca (1571),
Asturias (1717), and
Extremadura (1790).
Audiencias outside Spain
Audiencias in Spanish possessions in Europe included
Sardinia (1564-1718) and
Sicily (1569-1815).
The Spanish crown imposed the audiencia system on the Americas as part of its campaign to bring the area and its Spanish settlers and conquerors under royal control. The first audiencia in the Americas was established at
Santo Domingo (modern
Dominican Republic) in
1511; it was quickly suppressed due to opposition by the Spanish settlers, but was re-established permanently in
1526. As the Spanish conquest of the Americas continued, further audiencias were founded. (Most of the laws dealing with their establishment can be found in Book II, Title XV of the
Recopilación de Leyes de los Reynos de las Indias issued in
1680.)
In what became the
Viceroyalty of New Spain, there were audiencias in
Mexico City (1527; covered the central part of what is now
Mexico),
Guatemala (1543; covered
Central America),
Guadalajara or
Nueva Galicia (1548; covered what is now northern Mexico), and
Manila (1583; covered the
Philippines).
In what became the
Viceroyalty of Peru, there were audiencias in
Panama (1534-1543; covered Central America and the littoral regions of the southern Caribbean until its abolishment, and Panama proper after its reestablishment);
Lima (1543; covered only modern
Peru after the establishment of the other South American
audiencias);
Santa Fe de Bogotá or
Nueva Granada (1548; covered most of modern
Colombia);
Charcas (1559, modern
Bolivia);
Quito (1565, covering most of modern
Ecuador and southern Colombia), and
Concepción de Chile (1565-1575). The latter was replaced by the Audiencia of
Santiago de Chile (1609). The final colonial audiencias were created at
Buenos Aires (
Argentina) in 1661-72 and permanently in 1783,
Caracas (
Venezuela) in 1786, and
Cuzco (Peru) in 1787. The creation of the 18th century
audiencias were part of the
Bourbon Reforms, which also involved setting up new viceroyalties.
In the viceregal capitals of Spanish America, such as
Mexico City and
Lima, the
viceroy himself served as a
presidente (president) of the audiencia. Likewise the
governor-captain general served in this function in the various audiencias located in the capital of a captaincy general. In the remaining audiencias, such as in Quito, where there was no viceroy or captain general, the head
oidor was the president of the audiencia.
In addition to their judicial functions, the colonial audiencias exercised legislative and executive functions.
Sources
- Artola, Miguel (1991) Enciclopedia de Historia de España. (V. Diccionario Temático). Madrid, Alianza Editorial ISBN 84-206-5294-6
- Coronas Gonzalez, S.M. (1981), "La Audiencia y Chancilleria de Ciudad Real (1494-1505)" en Cuadernos de Estudios Manchegos, 11, pp. 47 - 139.
- Dougnac Rodríguez, Antonio (1994), Manual de Historia del Derecho Indiano, México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. ISBN 9683641474.
- Sánchez Bella, Ismael; De la Hera, Alberto; y Díaz Rementeria, Carlos (1992), Historia del Derecho Indiano, Madrid: MAPFRE. ISBN 8471005123.
Bibliography
Burkholder, Mark A. and D. S. Chandler. Biographical Dictionary of Audiencia Ministers in the Americas. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1982. ISBN 0313220387
Burkholder, Mark A. and D. S. Chandler. From Impotence to Authority: The Spanish Crown and the American Audiencias, 1687-1808. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1977. ISBN 0826202195.
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