Opening the text

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)Cunningham, Charles Henry

History

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)

Name: The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)
Author: Cunningham, Charles Henry

Cunningham, Charles Henry

Philippines -- History -- 1521-1812; Spain -- Colonies -- Administration

The characteristic tendency throughout the history, of the Islands
to lay stress on the military side of the governor's position
was commented on by Montero y Vidal, the modern historian of the
Philippines, in the following terms:


    The authority of the governor-general is complete, and so great a
    number of attributes conferred on one functionary, incompetent,
    as a general rule, for everything outside of military affairs,
    is certainly prejudicial to the right exercise of his duty;
    ... since 1822 the government has always devolved upon an official;
    a general, and in the case of his death, a segundo cabo, and,
    in case of the death of the latter, a commandant of the naval
    station. [464]


The preservation of the peace and the maintenance of the defense
of the Islands was the chief responsibility and the most important
duty of the governor and captain-general. Although the audiencia was
ordered to do all that it could to assist, nevertheless the tribunal
was strictly forbidden to restrict or hinder the governor in the
execution of his military duties. [465] The governor's position as
commander-in-chief of the king's forces, and his pre-eminence in
military affairs, were generally recognized.

Notwithstanding the fact that the early laws conferred exclusive
military powers on the governor, a glance at three hundred years of
Spanish colonial history will show that the audiencias participated
in these matters in two different ways. In fact, an analysis of
the military jurisdiction shows the presence and the exercise,
in general, of two kinds of activity. These consisted, first, of
a special judicial system for the trial of persons under military
law and distinct from the civil jurisdiction, and second, of the
control and disposition of the military forces of the Islands, and
their utilization for defense. One, therefore, was judicial, the
other was administrative, but both of these forces of activity were
within the military sphere. The problem of this chapter, therefore,
consists in determining the conditions, circumstances, and extent of
the audiencia's participation in military affairs, and of its relation
to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor and captain-general.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)Cunningham, Charles Henry

History

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)

Cunningham, Charles Henry

Philippines -- History -- 1521-1812; Spain -- Colonies -- Administration

The characteristic tendency throughout the history, of the Islands
to lay stress on the military side of the governor's position
was commented on by Montero y Vidal, the modern historian of the
Philippines, in the following terms:


    The authority of the governor-general is complete, and so great a
    number of attributes conferred on one functionary, incompetent,
    as a general rule, for everything outside of military affairs,
    is certainly prejudicial to the right exercise of his duty;
    ... since 1822 the government has always devolved upon an official;
    a general, and in the case of his death, a segundo cabo, and,
    in case of the death of the latter, a commandant of the naval
    station. [464]


The preservation of the peace and the maintenance of the defense
of the Islands was the chief responsibility and the most important
duty of the governor and captain-general. Although the audiencia was
ordered to do all that it could to assist, nevertheless the tribunal
was strictly forbidden to restrict or hinder the governor in the
execution of his military duties. [465] The governor's position as
commander-in-chief of the king's forces, and his pre-eminence in
military affairs, were generally recognized.

Notwithstanding the fact that the early laws conferred exclusive
military powers on the governor, a glance at three hundred years of
Spanish colonial history will show that the audiencias participated
in these matters in two different ways. In fact, an analysis of
the military jurisdiction shows the presence and the exercise,
in general, of two kinds of activity. These consisted, first, of
a special judicial system for the trial of persons under military
law and distinct from the civil jurisdiction, and second, of the
control and disposition of the military forces of the Islands, and
their utilization for defense. One, therefore, was judicial, the
other was administrative, but both of these forces of activity were
within the military sphere. The problem of this chapter, therefore,
consists in determining the conditions, circumstances, and extent of
the audiencia's participation in military affairs, and of its relation
to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor and captain-general.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)

The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)

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