The Real Audiencia de Buenos Aires, were two '' audiencias'', or highest courts, of the Spanish crown, which lived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. The authority of the first extended to the territory of the

Governorate of the Río de la Plata The Governorate of the Río de la Plata (1549−1776) ( es, Gobernación del Río de la Plata, links=no, ) was one of the governorates of the Spanish Empire. It was created in 1549 by Spain in the area around the Río de la Plata. It was at fir ...

and operated from 1661 to 1671. The second began to function in 1783 and had as its territory the areas of the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called " Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, i ...

not covered by the Audiencia de Charcas, that is to say the intendancies of

, Córdoba del Tucumán, Salta del Tucumán and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. In 1810, after the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

, it was suspended, and in 1813 the

Assembly of the Year XIII The Assembly of Year XIII ( es, Asamblea del Año XIII) was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on October 181 ...

permanently disbanded it. The Audiencias lived in the city's ''cabildo'' building.

History

Audiencia of Buenos Aires during the Governorate

Created by Philip IV by

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

(''real cédula'') in 1661, it covered the governorates of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

(established in 1617) and Tucumán. This Audiencia was dissolved in 1671. The Recompilation of Laws of the Indies of 1680, Law XIII (''Audiencia y Chancilleria Real de la Ciudad de la Trinidad, Puerto de Buenos Ayres'') Title XV (''De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias'') of Book II, compiles the limits and functionaries of this Audiencia.

Audiencia of Buenos Aires under the Viceroyalty

Created during the reign of Charles III of Spain (1759–1788) and during the government of viceroy

Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo (1719 in Mérida, Yucatán – 1799 in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata. Biography Son of a prominent peninsular politician, he studied i ...

, in 1783, as part of the

, from 1 August 1776. Its territory included the intendancies mentioned above and the subordinate Governorates of

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

and Montevideo.

References

{{Spanish Empire Colonial Argentina

History of Buenos Aires Former political divisions related to Argentina 1661 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1671 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1783 establishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 1813 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata