''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 ''

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 ...

''.

Historical corregimientos

''Corregimientos'' were found historically in the Kingdom of Castile, the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...

, and the Spanish West Indies.

Castile

In Old Castile ''corregimientos'' existed since the 13th century and were the administrative divisions of the ''Junta General de las Siete Merindades de Castilla Vieja''. After the

Nueva Planta decrees The Nueva Planta decrees ( es, link=no, Decretos de Nueva Planta, ca, Decrets de Nova Planta, en, link=no, "Decrees of the New Plant") were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, during ...

under the rule of

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September ...

—the first Bourbon king of Spain, the ''corregidor'' was replaced by an

intendant 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 ...

. ''Corregimientos'' in Castile existed until 1835, the year in which the municipal administration was reorganized under Queen

Isabel II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

Crown of Aragon

In the territories of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, Catalonia, and the Land of Valencia formerly under the ancient Crown of Aragon, the ''corregimiento'' ( ca, Corregiment) replaced the former administrative divisions following the

. However, ''corregimientos'' disappeared in this area during the

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, being replaced by the territorial divisions of the French military rulers. Corregimientos were finally superseded following the territorial division of Spain in 1833.

Captaincy General of Guatemala

The ''corregimiento'' of Totonicapán and Huehuetenango was a division under the Audiencia of Guatemala from 1547 to 1678, when it was reorganised as an '' alcaldía mayor''.

Present-day ''corregimientos''

Colombia

The ''corregimientos'' of Colombia are smaller units than the historical ones. The word is used for the population centers that don't reach the level of municipality. They are thus under a municipality or a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Panama

The ''corregimientos'' of Panama are district subdivisions. They are led by the ''Representante de Corregimiento'', also known as a ''corregidor''.

References

{{Spanish terms for country subdivisions Spanish Empire Spanish words and phrases Types of administrative division