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55-500: The Council of the Indies was abolished in 1812 by the Cortes of Cádiz , briefly restored in 1814 by Ferdinand VII , and definitively abolished in 1834 by the regency , acting on behalf of the four-year-old Isabella II . Isabella I had granted extensive authority to Christopher Columbus , but then withdrew that authority, and established direct royal control, putting matters of the Indies in

110-625: A court of last resort . There were two secretaries of the Council, one in charge of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , encompassing Mexico, Nueva Galicia , Guatemala, Hispaniola , and their dependencies in the Spanish East Indies ; the other in charge of Peru , Chile , Tierra Firme (northern South America), and the New Kingdom of Granada . The name of the Council did not change with the addition of

165-503: A Chamber of the Indies, similar to the Chamber of Castile. The first three counselors to form the Chamber of the Indies were Álvarez de Toledo, Aponte, and Molina de Medrano, whose titles were issued on January 19, 1601. Alonso Molina de Medrano took his oath as the first chamberlain of the Indies five days later. With the ascension of the Bourbon dynasty at the start of the eighteenth century,

220-560: A conflict between the viceroy and the Audiencia. Philip named Moya, then the sitting Archbishop of Mexico. As visitador, he took up the accusations against the corrupt oidores and other officials of the viceroyalty. He dismissed the former and punished the latter, some by hanging. In a letter reporting to the king, he praised those officials who had honestly met their obligations, and castigated others. Suárez de Mendoza died in June, 1583. The Audiencia

275-591: A five-person Regency, charged with convening the Cortes. The Regency drew up a list of American-born Spaniards already present in Spain. By the time the delegates were to be chosen, some of Spain's American territories had successfully established their own juntas. These did not recognize the authority of either the central junta or the regency and so did not send representatives although many other regions in America did. The Regency made

330-480: A parliamentary body could legislate in the absence of a king. The liberals carried on the reformist philosophy of Carlos III and added to it many of the ideas of the French Revolution . They wanted equality before the law, a centralized government, an efficient civil service , a reform of the tax system , the replacement of feudal privileges by freedom of contract and the recognition of property rights . As

385-684: A reformist regime would be welcomed by the Spanish people, but they chose loyalty to Ferdinand VII. In order to further shore up French dominance and implement structural changes, Napoleon brought together as many aristocrats as possible to Bayonne, where they ratified "the first written constitution of the Spanish-speaking world." This document is variously called the Bayonne Statute and the Bayonne Constitution . It abolished privileges fueros ,

440-418: A separate Secretary of State for the Indies ( Secretarío del Estado del Despacho Universal de Indias ). In the late eighteenth century, the Council became powerful and prestigious again, with a great number of well qualified councillors with experience in the Indies. In 1808 Napoleon invaded Spain and placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. The Cortes of Cádiz , the body Spaniards considered

495-467: A series of administrative changes, known as the Bourbon reforms , were introduced. In 1714 Philip V created a Secretariat of the Navy and the Indies ( Secretaría de Marina e Indias ) with a single Minister of the Indies, which superseded the administrative functions of the Council, although the Council continued to function in a secondary role until the nineteenth century. Fifty years later Charles III set up

550-564: A single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous ones. The General and Extraordinary Cortes that met in the port of Cádiz starting 24 September 1810 "claimed legitimacy as the sole representative of Spanish sovereignty ", following the French invasion and occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars and the abdication of the monarch Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV . It met as one body, and its members represented

605-510: A unitary state with equal laws across the Spanish Empire. The principal aim of the new constitution was the prevention of arbitrary and corrupt royal rule; it provided for a limited monarchy that governed through ministers subject to parliamentary control. It established that the unicameral legislature would meet annually in the capital. The constitution maintained that suffrage was not to be determined by property qualifications, and it favoured

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660-697: The Audiencia ), nobles and religious to the most humble members of society, to solemnly swear to defend the Catholic faith and persecute heretics "as rabid dogs and wolves, infectors of spirits and destroyers of the vineyard of Our Lord." He celebrated the first auto-da-fé in New Spain in 1571. Two years later, on June 15, 1573, Moya de Contreras was chosen Archbishop of Mexico and consecrated bishop on November 21, 1573, by Antonio Ruíz de Morales y Molina , Bishop of Tlaxcala (Puebla de los Angeles) . He served until 1591,

715-499: The Dos de Mayo Uprising (2 May) 1808, Napoleon forced Ferdinand to abdicate the throne in favor of his father, who had abdicated under pressure. Because Charles hated his son so much that he did not want him to be his heir, he then abdicated in favor of Napoleon himself. Napoleon turned over the throne of Spain to his older brother Joseph Napoleon , who was crowned in July 1808. Napoleon thought that

770-552: The Spanish Constitution of 1812 denied people of African ancestry political rights and representation. Its first regulation includes one of the first examples of a seasonally adjusted schedule, a practice which led to the adoption of daylight savings time a century later. A revolutionary document, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 marked the initiation of the Spanish tradition of liberalism, and when Fernando VII

825-675: The University of Salamanca . Later he became head of the cathedral school in the Canary Islands , and then inquisitor of Murcia . In 1571 he became the first inquisitor general of New Spain (and thus the first inquisitor general in the New World). He established the Tribunal del Santo Oficio in Mexico City in 1571. As inquisitor general he required people of New Spain, from the oidores (members of

880-642: The indias orientales of the East Indies and other Pacific territories claimed by Spain to the original indias occidentales . Internecine fighting and political instability in Peru and the untiring efforts of Bartolomé de las Casas on behalf of the natives' rights resulted in Charles's overhaul of the structure of the Council in 1542 with issuing of the " New Laws ", which put limits on the rights of Spanish holders of encomiendas , grants of indigenous labor. Under Charles II

935-682: The inquisition , and preserved the Cortes. Catholicism was kept as the sole religion. It is said that all but a few pro-French Spaniards rejected this document. From the first days of the Peninsular War , which erupted in Spain; in resistance to the French invasion and occupation of the peninsula, local ruling bodies or juntas appeared as the underground opposition to the French-imposed government. They were established by army commanders, guerrilla leaders or local civilian groups. Convinced that unity

990-575: The Americas declared independence. The archives of the Council, the Archivo General de Indias one of the major centers of documentation for Spanish, Spanish American, and European history, are housed in Seville . Cortes of C%C3%A1diz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional cortes (Spanish parliament ), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as

1045-504: The Bourbon monarchy. At the time of the invasion, Charles IV had been at serious odds with his son and heir Ferdinand VII. In March 1808, the Tumult of Aranjuez , first forced Charles IV's first minister Manuel Godoy to be sacked; and then Charles IV himself was forced to abdicate under pressure. French armies were occupying Portugal and Spain, with some 50,000 in the capital Madrid, so that whoever

1100-442: The Cortes promulgated the proposition that it, rather than the king, was the national sovereign since it represented the people. Then, the national assembly divided the government into legislative, executive and judiciary branches. Given the contingencies of war that resulted from the forced displacement of Fernando VII , the regency announced that it would act as the executive until his restoration. The national assembly restructured

1155-576: The Cortes was considerable, since he had founded a review in London called El Español (1810–1814), which was backed by the British Foreign Office and distributed by British firms with trade in Spanish America. It became highly influential in Spanish America. The aim of the publication was to "assist the Cortes frame a moderate constitution, and, more important, to effect reconciliation between

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1210-537: The Cortes was located in Cádiz, the most important port for trade with the Americas, meant that the powerful merchant guild ( consulado ) of Cádiz influenced discussions in the Cortes. The consulado attempted to maintain their trade advantages. The Americans wanted freer trade, but the Cortes's location gave the large merchant houses power. In Cádiz, pressures grew to send Spanish troops to quell rebellions in Spanish America, which alarmed Great Britain, now Cádiz's ally against

1265-608: The Council had responsibility for all aspects of the Indies, under Philip II the financial aspects of the empire were shifted to the Council of Finance in 1556-57, a source of conflict between the two councils, especially since Spanish America came to be the source of the empire's wealth. When the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established as an institution in Mexico and Lima in the 1570s,

1320-550: The Council of the Indies was removed from control. The head of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition, Juan de Ovando y Godoy became president of the Council of the Indies 1571-75. He was appalled by the ignorance of the Indies by those serving on the Council. He sought the creation of a general description of the territories, which was never completed, but the Relaciones geográficas were the result of that project. The height of

1375-479: The Council undertook the project to formally codify the large volume of Council and Crown's decisions and legislation for the Indies in the 1680 publication, the Laws of the Indies ( es:Recopilación de las Leyes de Indias ) and re-codified in 1791. The Council of the Indies was usually headed by an ecclesiastic, but the councilors were generally non-clerics trained in law. In later years, nobles and royal favorites were in

1430-484: The Council's power was in the sixteenth century. Its power declined and the quality of the councillors decreased. In the final years of the Habsburg dynasty , some appointments were sold or were accorded to people obviously unqualified, such as a nine-year-old boy, whose father had rendered services to the crown. A Royal Decree dated August 25, 1600, endorsed by the secretary Pedro Franqueza, favorite of Lerma , established

1485-707: The Crown of Castile in the Americas) and proclaimed the extinction of the system of kingdoms and provinces of Spain and the Indies. The majority of the Criollo people of Spanish America rejected the pretensions of the Spaniards and assumed the sovereignty of the former American kingdoms of the Crown of Castile , over which the King of Spain had been sovereign. Spain's American colonies took advantage of

1540-510: The French in the Peninsular War . Britain ordinarily would have been for the opening up of trade in Spanish America, but during the Peninsular conflict, it wanted as many troops as possible in Spain to defeat the French. Britain rejected pressure to support Spain's attempt to repress rebellion in Spanish America. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos , who had served as Charles IV's minister of justice but had been sidelined by Manuel Godoy , argued for

1595-437: The Indies and laid the foundations for the creation of a colonial bureaucracy. He presided over a committee or council, which contained a number of members of the Council of Castile ( Consejo de Castilla ), and formed a Junta de Indias of about eight counselors. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor was already using the term "Council of the Indies" in 1519. The Council of the Indies was formally created on August 1, 1524. The king

1650-613: The Spanish America, participated. The composition of the Cortes of Cádiz was diverse, with about one-third clerical, one-sixth nobles and the remainder from the " third estate ", the middle class. Historians of Mexico have investigated many aspects of New Spain's representation at the Cortes. Among the most prominent delegates at the Cortes were José María Couto , who served as vice president in April 1813; José María Gutiérrez de Terán , who served as secretary, vice president, and president at various points; and Miguel Ramos Arizpe . The fact that

1705-657: The Spanish Nation." It was so called because it would be both the legislative body for the empire and the body that would write a constitution for it. By the beginning of 1810, the forces under the Junta's command had suffered serious military reverses at the battles of Ocaña and Alba de Tormes. The French inflicted large losses on the Spanish, took control of southern Spain and forced the government to retreat to Cádiz, its last available redoubt on Spanish soil. The Supreme Central Junta dissolved itself on 29 January 1810 and set up

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1760-597: The colonies. The move was unpopular among liberal officers assigned to the American wars. By the second half of 1826 only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under the Spanish flag in the Americas, with the Philippines and Guam also under Spanish rule in Asia. Pedro Moya de Contreras Pedro Moya de Contreras (sometimes Pedro de Moya y Contreras ) (c. 1528, Pedroche , Córdoba Province , Spain – December 21, 1591, Madrid )

1815-451: The convocation of a general Cortes. Jovellanos sought precedents in Spanish history for earlier forms of constitutionalism and found them in the Visigoths. Jovellanos rejected the notion that the Cortes could fundamentally change "the essence of our ancient constitution," and was concerned that sweeping changes would open Spain to the dangers of democracy and despotism. However, he did argue for

1870-506: The decision to have the Americans elect representatives from their regions to attend the Cortes. Since part of Spanish America was in open revolt, this question of representatives from those regions was fraught. It was argued that the process was illegal, but the Regency decided it was better to have some American representation than none at all. The Regency set electoral procedures for delegates and

1925-587: The entire Spanish Empire , that is, not only Spain but also Spanish America and the Philippines . The Cortes of Cádiz was seen then, and by historians today, as a major step towards liberalism and democracy in the history of Spain and Spanish America. The liberal Cortes drafted and ratified the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , which established a constitutional monarchy and eliminated many institutions that privileged some groups over others. Napoleon's armies invaded Portugal (1807) and then Spain (1808), upending

1980-455: The government while prosecuting a war in Spain and maintaining control overseas. Once deliberations started, the delegates split into liberal and conservative factions. Conservative Spaniards saw the Cortes at Cádiz as, at best, an interim solution until "the Desired One", as Fernando VII was called by his supporters, could be restored to the throne. Most monarchists , however, did not admit that

2035-406: The hands of her chaplain, Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca in 1493. The Catholic Monarchs (Isabella and Ferdinand ) designated Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca to study the problems related to the colonization process arising from what was seen as tyrannical behavior of Governor Christopher Columbus and his misgovernment of Natives and Iberian settlers. Rodríguez de Fonseca effectively became minister for

2090-450: The independence of the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature, but also argued for a bicameral legislature that would have an upper house reserved for the aristocracy. He advocated voting rights based on "qualities of property, rank, and education," to limit democracy. Seville-born Joseph Blanco White had aided Jovellanos in his research into the precedents for Spanish constitutionalism. But his influence on Spanish America's view of

2145-436: The insurgent juntas in America and Spain." He was deeply sympathetic to the Americans, publishing letters from Mexican elite Fray Servando Teresa de Mier and Buenos Aires creole patriot, Mariano Moreno , who had called for the opening of trade that would destroy the Spanish monopoly. Blanco White's El Español was denounced by one delegate to the Cortes as "an enemy of his country worse than Napoleon." In its first session,

2200-402: The legitimate government in Spain and its overseas territories in the absence of their Bourbon monarch, abolished the Council in 1812. It was restored in 1814 upon Ferdinand VII 's restoration, and the autocratic monarch appointed a great number of councillors with American experience. The Council was finally abolished in 1834, a year after Ferdinand VII's death and after most of Spain's empire in

2255-416: The liberals were the majority, they were able to transform the assembly from an interim government to a constitutional convention . The product of the Cortes' deliberations reflected the liberals' dominance. The Spanish Constitution of 1812 came to be the "sacred code" of liberalism , and during the 19th century, it served as a model for liberal constitutions of Latin nations. The national assembly created

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2310-494: The number of seats from each region. There were to be 30 representatives from Spanish America: 15 from northern Spanish America plus the Philippines (which was under the administrative jurisdiction of New Spain ). New Spain was allocated 7 suplentes : Guatemala, 2; Cuba, 2; the Philippines, 2; Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, 1; Spanish South America got 15: Peru, 5; Santa Fé, 3; Buenos Aires, 3; Venezuela, 2; and Chile, 2. Those eligible to serve were to be at least 25 years old and from

2365-459: The place they would represent. Not made explicit was that only males were eligible to serve. When the Cortes convened for the first time on 24 September 1810, 104 deputies were present, 30 representing overseas territories (interim delegates who were living in Spain at the time of the French invasion). Only one of the 36 American deputies arrived in time for the opening session, Ramón Power y Giralt . Eventually, about 300 deputies, including 63 from

2420-490: The position of the commercial class in the new parliament since there was no special provision for the Catholic Church or the nobility . The constitution set up a rational and efficient centralised administrative system, based on newly formed provinces and municipalities, rather than following historic boundaries. The repeal of traditional property restrictions gave the liberals the freer economy that they wanted. However,

2475-506: The postwar chaos to proclaim their independence. Most established republican governments. The fact that the Constitution was considered too liberal by the conservative elements in the colonies only precipitated their decision to join the effort for independence from Spain. When Ferdinand was restored to the throne in Madrid , he expended wealth and manpower in a vain effort to reassert control over

2530-652: The ranks of councilors, as well as men who had experience in the high courts ( Audiencias ) of the Indies. A key example of such an experienced councilor was Juan de Solórzano Pereira , author of Política Indiana , who served in Peru prior to being named to the Council of the Indies and led the project on the Laws of the Indies. Other noteworthy Presidents of the Council were es:Francisco Tello de Sandoval ; es:Juan de Ovando y Godoy ; Pedro Moya de Contreras , former archbishop of Mexico; and Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas , former viceroy of both Mexico and Peru. Although initially

2585-738: The year of his death. In 1585 he convoked and presided at the Third Provincial Council of the Church in Mexico, which established standards for the Church that endured to the end of the colonial era. This council banned the enslavement of the Indians. As both archbishop and viceroy, one of his major concerns was education of the Indians. He founded the Seminary of the Indies, to teach them Christian doctrine, reading, writing, singing and trades. While bishop, he

2640-430: Was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colony of New Spain , namely inquisitor general, Archbishop of Mexico , and Viceroy of Mexico , September 25, 1584 – October 17, 1585. He was the 6th Viceroy, governing from September 25, 1584, to October 16, 1585. During this interval he held all three positions. Moya de Contreras received the degree of doctor of canon law from

2695-407: Was able to remedy many of the prevalent abuses, with immediate punishment for those found to be transgressors of the law or of decency. This resulted in much enmity among the governing class, but the lower classes proclaimed him as their defender. He was able to increase rents and payments to Spain considerably. In 1584 he resigned as viceroy, but retained his other positions (including visitador) for

2750-406: Was formally in charge of the colony for 16 months, until the installation of the new viceroy. However, Moya de Contreras continued in the position of visitador during the interregnum, with much influence. In 1584, he was named viceroy to succeed Suárez. He took up the new position on September 25, 1584. He now held the three most important positions in the colony. With this concentration of power, he

2805-502: Was informed weekly, and sometimes daily, of decisions reached by the Council, which came to exercise supreme authority over the Indies at the local level and over the Casa de Contratación ("House of Trade") founded in 1503 at Seville as a customs storehouse for the Indies. Civil suits of sufficient importance could be appealed from an audiencia in the New World to the Council, functioning as

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2860-639: Was needed to co-ordinate efforts against the French and to deal with British aid, several provincial juntas, in Murcia , Valencia , Seville and Castile and León , called for the formation of a central body. After a series of negotiations that included the discredited Council of Castile , a Supreme Central Junta met in Aranjuez on 25 September 1808. Serving as surrogate for the absent royal government, it called for representatives from local provinces and overseas territories to meet in an "Extraordinary and General Cortes of

2915-467: Was on the throne of Spain, the monarch had to contend with French troops. Napoleon saw the opportunity to bring down the dysfunctional and weak Bourbon monarchy by pitting father and son against each other further, to his own advantage. He invited Ferdinand VII to Bayonne , France, where Ferdinand thought that Napoleon was going to affirm him as Spain's legitimate ruler. His father Charles and mother María Luisa were also separately called to Bayonne. After

2970-537: Was restored to the throne in 1814, he refused to recognize it. He dismissed the Cortes Generales on 4 May and ruled as an absolute monarch . These events foreshadowed the long conflict between liberals and traditionalists that marked Spanish history in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Cádiz Cortes declared that the people of Spain have the sovereignty of all kingdoms of the Monarchy of Spain (including those of

3025-440: Was the principal consecrator of Juan de Medina Rincón y de la Vega , Bishop of Michoacán (1574); Francisco Gómez de Mendiola y Solórzano , Bishop of Guadalajara (1574); and Alfonso Graniero Avalos , Bishop of La Plata o Charcas (1579). In 1583 Moya de Contreras's predecessor as viceroy, Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, 4th conde de la Coruña , asked King Philip II to name a special visitador (royal inspector) to help resolve

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