An ''alcaldía mayor'' was a civil division of the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of
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 ...
until 1786 when the
intendencia
An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...
system was introduced. In 1786 there were 129 of these subdivisions.
Sources
*Gerhard, Peter. ''A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972.
New Spain
{{NewSpain-stub