Real Audiencia of Guatemala facts for kids
The Real Audiencia of Santiago de Guatemala was a very important court and government office in Central America when Spain ruled the area. It was also known as the Audiencia of Guatemala. Think of it as a special court that could review decisions from lower courts, and its leader was also the main boss of the Spanish territory called the Captaincy General of Guatemala.
This important office was first set up by special rules in 1542 and 1543. Its main office was in a city called Antigua Guatemala.
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How Central America Was Settled
Spanish explorers started settling the area that would become the Kingdom of Guatemala in 1524. In the north, people like Gonzalo and Pedro de Alvarado and Hernán Cortés led trips into what is now Guatemala and Honduras. In the south, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba explored what is now Nicaragua.
The main city of Guatemala moved a few times early on. In 1540, the city of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala was built. But in 1542, a big flood destroyed this city. So, a new capital, Antigua Guatemala, was founded. Antigua Guatemala became a very rich city over the years. However, a series of earthquakes damaged it, and it was ordered to be left in 1776. The third and current capital is Guatemala City.
In 1543, when the Audiencia was created, it helped define the borders of the kingdom. This was the first time Central America (except for Panama) was seen as one big region within the Spanish Empire.
The Audiencia's Beginning
The Audiencia of Los Confines (meaning "of the Borders") for Guatemala and Nicaragua was created by a royal rule on November 20, 1542. This rule also created the Audiencia of Lima in Peru. These new Audiencias took over from an older one in Panama.
Some smaller Spanish areas like Guatemala, Honduras, Chiapas, and Nicaragua were changed, but some were later brought back or new ones were made. For example, Honduras was brought back in 1552, and Costa Rica in 1574.
On September 13, 1543, another rule said the Audiencia should move to Valladolid de Comayagua and that the region of Yucatán should be added to its area. This change didn't happen until 1550.
The Audiencia temporarily moved to Gracias a Dios in 1544. But later rules in 1548 and 1549 ordered it to return to Santiago de Guatemala.
In 1550, a rule confirmed that Yucatán would be part of the Guatemala Audiencia, not the Audiencia of Mexico. Then, in 1553, the region of Soconusco was also moved to the Guatemala Audiencia.
Moving to Panama
On September 8, 1563, King Philip II decided that the Audiencia should move to Panama. This meant there would no longer be a separate Audiencia just for Guatemala. The new Panama Audiencia covered a large area. The other parts of the old Guatemala Audiencia were then put under the Audiencia of Mexico.
Returning to Guatemala
On January 15, 1568, a new rule brought the Audiencia of Guatemala back! It had the same area as before 1563, but Yucatán stayed with the Audiencia of Mexico. Then, on January 25, 1569, the region of Soconusco was moved back from the Audiencia of Mexico to the Guatemala Audiencia.
A very important book of Spanish laws, called the Recopilación de Leyes de las Indias (Laws of the Indies) from 1680, described exactly what the Audiencia of Guatemala was like. It said:
"In the City of Santiago de los Caballeros in Guatemala, there will be a Royal Audiencia and Chancery. It will have a president (who is also the governor and captain general), five judges (called oidores), a crown attorney, a bailiff, and other needed officials. Its area will include Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chiapas, Honduras, Verapaz, and Soconusco, along with the coastal islands. To the east, it borders the Audiencia of Tierrafirme; to the west, the one of New Galicia; to the north, the North Sea; and to the south, the South Sea. We order that the governor and captain general of these areas, who is also the president of the Royal Audiencia, will manage the government of the land, just like our viceroy of New Spain does. He will decide how to divide the native people's work and appoint other officials. The judges should not get involved in these government matters, and the president should not interfere with justice matters. The president will sign the decisions made by the judges."
Later Changes
Around 1786, as part of some big changes by the Spanish royal family (called the Bourbon Reforms), new local government offices called intendancies were created. These new offices took over many of the older local government roles. The leaders of these intendancies had a lot of power over money and were supposed to help the local economy grow.
New intendancies were set up in places like San Salvador (El Salvador), Ciudad Real (Chiapas), Comayagua (Honduras), and León (Nicaragua). The president of the Audiencia and governor-captain general of Guatemala became the main supervisor for the whole territory. He also acted as the local leader for Guatemala itself.
The southern part of Costa Rica, which was mostly farms, stayed under a military and civil governor. This governor only managed military money, while the civil government's money was handled by the intendancy in León. These new intendancies helped shape the local identity of these areas and became the basis for the future countries of Central America.
See also
In Spanish: Real Audiencia de Guatemala para niños
