Spanish Colonial Administration: Viceroyalties and the Machinery of Empire

Spain governed its American possessions through an elaborate, multi-layered administrative structure built around the viceroyalty. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was formally established in 1535, with Antonio de Mendoza as its first viceroy and Mexico City as its capital, followed by the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542, with Lima as its capital, once the civil wars among the conquistadors had been pacified. Two further viceroyalties were later carved out of these original two to tighten territorial control: New Granada (provisionally in 1717, definitively in 1739) and the Río de la Plata (1776). Each viceroy acted as the direct representative of the king's person in America, wielding sweeping executive, judicial, and military powers, while Real Audiencias — royal courts with consultative and governing functions, beginning with Mexico City in 1527 and Lima in 1543 — served as an institutional counterweight. Below the viceregal level, corregimientos, gobernaciones, and cabildos (town councils) managed intermediate and local government, with Spanish and criollo notables participating in municipal affairs.