the _Consejo_ became, therefore, an important source of legislation, and in 1552 it was decided that they should have the same force as the laws of the king himself. Late in the sixteenth century it became customary to call the _Consejo_ the _Consejo de Castilla_ (Council of Castile), by which name, henceforth, it was more generally known. [Sidenote: Importance of the Cámara.] In like manner other councils were formed (in addition to those dating from the era of the Catholic Kings) which relieved the monarch of many of his responsibilities. The most important was the _Consejo de la Real Cámara_ (Council of the Royal Chamber), more often called the _Cámara de Castilla_, or simply the _Cámara_. This was founded by Philip II in 1588 to assist him in handling such matters as the kings had always retained for themselves, apart from the _Consejo Real_, such as questions arising in connection with the _patronato real_, or royal patronage, of the church and appointments generally to the various councils, _audiencias_, and other important posts in Castilian administration. Men of the highest character were chosen to compose the _Cámara_, and secrecy as to their discussions was imposed upon them. In 1616 the _Cámara_ advanced a step further, in that certain affairs--such as pardons for crime, authorizations for entailing estates in primogeniture, the naturalization of foreigners, and the removal of civil and political disabilities from individuals subject to them--were left for it to resolve without consulting the king. The king still intervened in the more important matters. Among the new councils of the era were those of finance (_Hacienda_), war (_Guerra_), and indulgences (_Cruzada_), all of Castilian origin. [Sidenote: Expansion of the royal judiciary.]