An ''alcalde mayor'' was a regional magistrate in
Spain
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, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and its
territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...
from, at least, the 14th century to the 19th century. These regional officials had
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...
,
administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
, military and legislative authority. Their judicial and administrative functions superseded those of an ''
alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
.'' Their area of territorial jurisdiction was called an
alcaldía mayor
An ''alcaldía mayor'' was a civil division of the government of New Spain until 1786 when the intendencia
An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal ...
. Judicial appeals from the decisions of an ''alcalde mayor'' were heard by an ''
audiencia''.
In
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
(Mexico), ''alcaldes mayores'' were chief administrators in colonial-era administrative territories termed ''alcaldías mayores''; in colonial-era Peru the units were called ''corregimientos''.
[Mark A. Burkholder, "Alcalde Mayor" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 1, p. 45. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.]
See also
*
Alcalde ordinario
Alcalde ordinario refers to the judicial and administrative officials in the cabildos in the Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas during the times of the Spanish Empire in the 16th through 19th centuries. Always existing in pairs, they were ca ...
*
Presidente municipal
A ''presidente municipal'' (English: "municipal president") is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. This title was also used in the Philippines under the Spanish and American colonization; it is comparable to a mayor of the town or city ...
*
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
*
Sargento mayor
*
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
*
Cabildo
*
Regidor
A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''.
Mexico
In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipal ...
*
Síndico
*
Ayuntamiento
''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain:
* ca, ajuntament ().
* gl, concello ().
* eu, udaletxea (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin Amer ...
*
Teniente a guerra
Teniente a guerra (roughly translated into English as "War lieutenant") was a title used in times of the Spanish colonial Empire to describe a position exercising duties similar to those exercised by a town or city mayor today (2019). A teniente ...
*
Corregimiento
''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a '' corr ...
*
Alcalde de la Santa Hermandad
Alcalde de la Santa Hermandad () was a term used in the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the times of the Spanish Empire. The term referred to judicial magistrates named in towns and villages within the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire i ...
References
Further ereading
* Corominas, Joan and José A Pascual. ''Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico'', 7 vols. Madrid, Editorial Gredos, 1981.
*
Haring, C. H., ''The Spanish Empire in America''. New York, Oxford University Press, 1947.
* O'Callaghan, Joseph F. ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Ithaca,
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...
, 1975. {{ISBN, 0-8014-0880-6
Spanish words and phrases
Heads of local government