''Corregimiento'' (; , ) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

''. The name comes from the word ''corregir,'' meaning "to correct".

Historical corregimientos

''Corregimientos'' were found historically in the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Ca ...

, the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

, and the

Spanish West Indies The Spanish West Indies, Spanish Caribbean or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish) were Spanish territories in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empir ...

Castile

Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...

''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 (, , ) were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V of Spain, Philip V, the first House of Bourbon, Bourbon Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain, during and shortly after the end of the War of the Spani ...

under the rule of Philip V—the first Bourbon king of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the ''corregidor'' was replaced by an

intendant An intendant (; ; ) 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 the War of the Spanish Success ...

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

Isabel II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

Crown of Aragon

In the territories of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, and the

Land of Valencia Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

formerly under the ancient

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

, the ''corregimiento'' () replaced the former administrative divisions following the

. However, ''corregimientos'' disappeared in this area during the French occupation, 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 An ''alcaldía mayor'' was a civil division of the government of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity ...

''.

Present-day ''corregimientos''

Colombia

The ''corregimientos'' of Colombia are smaller units than the historical ones. The word is used for the population centers that do not reach the level of

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. They are thus under a municipality or a department.

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