The Second Real Audiencia of New Spain
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Title
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The Second Real Audiencia of New Spain
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Description
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While the cabildos of Mexico-Tenochtitlan were mostly run and elected by the indigenous residents of the city, much of the political power rested in the hands of the Spanish who used bureaucracy to further their interests. However, some of the policies enacted to squash native resistance to Spanish laws led to the widespread extermination of the indigenous people. The native population dropped from 25.2 million in 1518 to 750,000 in 1622. This concerned officials, for they could not collect tribute from a dwindling population. To combat this issue, the Real Audiencia, the highest court of New Spain, was dismissed due to harshness of its policy toward Indian communities and replaced with an entirely new court meant to carry out the instructions of the crown and rule in favor of royal jurisdiction over Spaniards and natives. Consisting of almost 18 judges, the court was made up of twelve civil judges and six criminal judges. Covering criminal and civil matters equally, the court would convene daily for four hours. Decisions required majority vote, while some cases would only be heard by a single judge. The Audiencia also served as a court of appeals, overruling lower courts when necessary. The Second Audiencia, convened on July 30, 1530, allowed for a wave of native litigation against Spanish officials. However, this new court reflected the crown’s determination to establish dominant power in New Spain. By regulating tribute according to criteria developed by the crown, the Audiencia ensured that the natives paid tribute without creating excessive burden and guaranteed the maintenance of the colonies and increased revenue for the Royal Treasury. The Second Audiencia, considered the highest colonial tribunal, had an extensive jurisdiction over all legal matters that spanned to the farthest limits of presidency, captaincy-general, or viceroyalty. This is evidenced by the review of legal documents of a petition from Fray Buenaventura de Armadea detailing disputes between civil and religious authorities over native tributes.
Sources: Armadea, Buenaventura. Petition from Fray Buenaventura de Armadea. Manuscript. Mexico City, 1696. Texas Christian University, Latin American Collection. Borah, Woodrow. Justice by Insurance: The General Indian Court of Colonial Mexico and the Legal Aides of the Half-Real. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2018. E., Rodríguez O. Jaime. Political Culture in Spanish America, 1500-1830. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018. Kahle, Louis G. "The Spanish Colonial Judiciary." The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly 32, no. 1 (1951): 26-37. Medrano, Ethelia Ruiz, Julia Constantine, and Pauline Marmasse. Reshaping New Spain Government and Private Interests in the Colonial Bureaucracy, 1535-1550. Chicago: University Press of Colorado, 2012.
Petition from Fray Buenaventura de Armadea