A ''veinticuatro'' (meaning Twenty-four) or 'Caballero Veintiquatro' (Knight/Gentleman Veintiquatro) was an official in several Andalusian cities in pre-modern Spain, notably Úbeda,

Baeza Baeza may refer to: * Baeza, Ecuador * Baeza, Spain ** University of Baeza ** Baeza Cathedral * '' Brusqeulia baeza'', a species of moth People * Baeza (rapper) (born 1993), American rapper, singer, actor, hip hop producer, and songwriter * Acar ...

, Jaén, Córdoba, Seville, Jerez de la Frontera and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. The office or post itself was referred to as a ''veintiquatría''. It was largely equivalent to the role of an Alderman, or

Councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, in English local government. It was an office reserved exclusively to those of noble birth- (

Hidalgos Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

, of which there were many in Spain), though, like many official positions, the post could be bought and sold among Hidalgos. Many of the

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s, and the merchants who established the Spanish Empire in America, (for example, the immensely rich

Diego Caballero Diego Caballero (died 1560) was a Spanish merchant and conquistador in the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean area and in islands off the coast of Venezuela. He organized raids on natives, whom he then enslaved in pearl fishing and other enterprises. He e ...

, were ''Caballeros Veintiquatro'', or bought the post to display the new position in Spanish society the wealth gained in the Americas had allowed them to achieve. The ''Veintiquatro'' name apparently derived from the original number (24) of members of a town council, but this varied with time and from town to town. They had immense privileges their duties were many and various, from deciding and collecting local taxes, to regulating and inspecting markets and shipping and including the relief of poverty and inspecting prisons.Veintiquatros of Seville

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Real Academía Española ''Diccionario de la Lengua Española'', 4th Definition of the meaning of Veinticuatro

* Veintiquatros of Sevill

* Marichalar, Amalio, ''et al.'' ''Historia de la legislación y recitaciones del derecho civil de España'' Madrid 186

page 332 Spanish noble titles Noble titles

Spanish words and phrases Obsolete occupations History of Andalusia