Royal Audiencia of Concepción
Encyclopedia
Before 1565, the highest court of Chile was the justicia mayor
, whose sentences were appealed before the Royal Audiencia of Lima. In 1560 local authorities formally requested the president of the Audiencia of Lima for the creation of an audiencia for Chile. It was argued that it would serve to control the actions of the governor
s of Chile, improve royal treasury's collection of revenue and hasten the end of the Arauco War
.
In 1565 King Phillip II
ordered the creation of a Chilean audiencia in his decree of May 18. The audiencia had four oidor
es, one of them serving as president; a fiscal or public prosecutor; and the related subordinate officials, such as an alguacil mayor (greater bailiff) and his lieutenants, notaries public, an interpreter, a chaplain and a doorman.
In cases when the office of the governor of Chile went vacant, the oidores of the Audiencia were to assume administration of the government. Due to various problems in its operation, the Audiencia was dissolved less than a decade later by the royal decree of August 26, 1573, which took effect on June 25, 1575, a month after it received notification of the decree. After it was dissolved the judicial functions of the Audiencia were entrusted to the lieutenant governor and capitán general of Chile.
Corregidor (position)
A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...
, whose sentences were appealed before the Royal Audiencia of Lima. In 1560 local authorities formally requested the president of the Audiencia of Lima for the creation of an audiencia for Chile. It was argued that it would serve to control the actions of the governor
Royal Governor of Chile
The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Kingdom of Chile. This district was also called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General...
s of Chile, improve royal treasury's collection of revenue and hasten the end of the Arauco War
Arauco War
The Arauco War was a conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people in what is now the Araucanía and Biobío regions of modern Chile...
.
In 1565 King Phillip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
ordered the creation of a Chilean audiencia in his decree of May 18. The audiencia had four oidor
Oidor
Oidor is the Spanish name of the member judge of the Royal Audiencias and Chancillerías, originally courts of Kingdom of Castile, which became the highest organs of justice within the Spanish Empire...
es, one of them serving as president; a fiscal or public prosecutor; and the related subordinate officials, such as an alguacil mayor (greater bailiff) and his lieutenants, notaries public, an interpreter, a chaplain and a doorman.
In cases when the office of the governor of Chile went vacant, the oidores of the Audiencia were to assume administration of the government. Due to various problems in its operation, the Audiencia was dissolved less than a decade later by the royal decree of August 26, 1573, which took effect on June 25, 1575, a month after it received notification of the decree. After it was dissolved the judicial functions of the Audiencia were entrusted to the lieutenant governor and capitán general of Chile.
Sources
- Barrientos Grandon, Javier (1993). "La Real Audiencia de Concepción (1565-1575)," in Revista de estudios histórico-jurídicos de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, vol. 1992-1993, no. 15, p. 131-178