Real Audiencia of Guadalajara
Encyclopedia
The Real Audiencia of Guadalajara was the highest tribunal of the Spanish crown
in what is today northern Mexico
and the southwestern United States
in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was created by royal decree on February 13, 1548, and was originally located in Compostela
and permanently seated in Guadalajara
in 1560. Its president was the chief political and executive officer of the district, subordinated only to the viceroy of Mexico.
of 1680—which compiles the decrees of February 13, 1548; May 26, 1574; and May 3, 1575—describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia.
Law XXXXVII, of the same book and title, reproduced the Decree of Philip III
of January 30, 1600, which mandated that when the office of viceroy was vacant, the Audiencia of Mexico
became the acting viceroy, directly governing the provinces under its judicial jurisdiction, and oversaw the district of the Guadalajara Audiencia in administrative matters.
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
in what is today northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was created by royal decree on February 13, 1548, and was originally located in Compostela
Compostela, Nayarit
Compostela is the name of both a municipality and the town within that municipality that serves as the seat. They are in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The population of the municipality was 62,925 in a total area of 1,848 km²...
and permanently seated in Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
in 1560. Its president was the chief political and executive officer of the district, subordinated only to the viceroy of Mexico.
Structure
Law VII (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de Guadalaxara de la Galicia en Nueva España) of Title XV (De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias) of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de las IndiasLaws of the Indies
The Laws of the Indies are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for its American and Philippine possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political and economic life in these areas...
of 1680—which compiles the decrees of February 13, 1548; May 26, 1574; and May 3, 1575—describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia.
In the city of Guadalajara of New Galicia shall reside another Royal Audiencia and Chancellery of ours, with a president, and four judges of civil casesPrivate lawPrivate law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...
[oidores], who will also be judges of criminal casesCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
[alcaldes del crimen]; a crown attorney [fiscal]; a bailiff [alguacil mayor]; a lieutenant of the Gran Chancellor; and the other necessary ministers and officials; and which shall have for district the Province of New GaliciaNueva GaliciaEl Nuevo Reino de Galicia or Nueva Galicia was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain...
, those of CuliacánCuliacánCuliacán is a city in northwestern Mexico, the largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital and capital of the municipality of Culiacán. With 675,773 inhabitants in the city , and 858,638 in the municipality, it is the largest city in the state of Sinaloa...
, CopalaCopala, SinaloaCopala, formerly known as San José de Copala, is a four-century-old silver-mining town in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The town is in the municipality of Concordia.-History:...
, ColimaColima, ColimaColima is capital of the state of the same name, a city and municipality located in the center west of Mexico. It is located near the Colima Volcano, which divides the small state from that of Jalisco. Despite being the capital, the city is not the state’s main tourist attraction, eclipsed by...
, Zacatula, and the towns of AvalosZacatecasZacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
, sharing borders: in the east with the Audiencia of New Spain; in the south with the South SeaPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
; and in the west and north with provinces not yet discovered nor pacified; and the president of said Audiencia of Guadalajara, and not the oidores, shall have the government (gobernación) of its district, and in his absence said Audience of Guadalajara, regardless of whatever decrees in which participation in the government along with the presidents had been conceded to the oidores, which we revoke and annul. And we order that this law of ours be kept, as it is in it contained, and in regards to the government of war and the treasury, the orders, which we have given, be kept.
Law XXXXVII, of the same book and title, reproduced the Decree of Philip III
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
of January 30, 1600, which mandated that when the office of viceroy was vacant, the Audiencia of Mexico
Real Audiencia of Mexico
The Royal Audience of Mexico was the highest tribunal of the Spanish crown in the Kingdom of New Spain or the Kingdom of Mexico...
became the acting viceroy, directly governing the provinces under its judicial jurisdiction, and oversaw the district of the Guadalajara Audiencia in administrative matters.
See also
- Nueva GaliciaNueva GaliciaEl Nuevo Reino de Galicia or Nueva Galicia was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain...
- Nueva Vizcaya, New SpainNueva Vizcaya, New SpainNueva Vizcaya was the first province in the north of New Spain to be explored and settled by the Spanish. It consisted mostly of the area which is today the states of Chihuahua and Durango in Mexico.-Early exploration and the Viceroyalty:...
- Nuño Beltrán de GuzmánNuño Beltrán de GuzmánNuño Beltrán de Guzmán or sometimes Nuño de Guzmán was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was Governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525–1533, and of Nueva Galicia from 1529–1534, President of the first Audiencia from 1528-30. He founded several cities in...
- La Gran ChichimecaLa Gran ChichimecaLa Gran Chichimeca was a term used by the Spanish conquistadores of the 16th century to refer to an area of the northern central Mexican altiplano , a territory which today is encompassed by the modern Mexican states of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Nayarit, Guanajuato and Zacatecas...
- Mixtón War
- Chichimeca WarChichimeca WarThe Chichimeca War was a military conflict waged between Spanish colonizers and their Indian allies against a confederation of Chichimeca Indians. It was the longest and most expensive conflict between Spaniards and the indigenous peoples of New Spain in the history of the colony.The Chichimeca...
- Santa Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo México was a province of New Spain and later Mexico that existed from the late 16th century up through the mid-19th century. It was centered on the upper valley of the Rio Grande , in an area that included most of the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico...
- Nuevo SantanderNuevo SantanderNuevo Santander was a region of the Virreinato de Nueva España, corresponding generally to the modern Mexican state of Tamaulipas and southern Texas. Nuevo Santander was named after Santander, Spain, and settled by Spanish American colonists in a concerted settlement campaign peaking in 1748-1750...
- Nuevo LeónNuevo LeónNuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
- Commandancy General of the Provincias InternasCommandancy General of the Provincias InternasThe Provincias Internas or Commandancy General of the Internal Provinces of the North was a colonial, administrative district of the Spanish Empire, created in 1776 to provide more autonomy for the frontier provinces in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, present day northern Mexico and southwestern...