The Audiencia of Santo Domingo in the seventeenth century
Description
The Audiencia of Santo Domingo, a superior appellate court for the district of the Caribbean with significant extrajudicial responsibilities, was one of the primary institutions for the administration of Spain's overseas colonies. However, encroachment by other European powers, relative isolation from the metropolis, and general poverty made the island of Hispaniola an undesirable destination for colonial bureaucrats in the seventeenth century, and the Dominican tribunal was considerably weaker and far less important than its counterparts in the Iberian Peninsula or in major cities like Mexico and Lima. Just the same, the audiencia in Santo Domingo remained an integral part of the colonial judicial system during this time, and provided an entry point to the Indies for many officials who would later move on to positions elsewhere in the Indies By examining the career trajectories of audiencia ministers, as well as the frequent internal and external conflicts they participated in during their time on Hispaniola, the present study illuminates the often chaotic but durable nature of royal administration in seventeenth-century Spanish America. Additionally, the tribunal's responses to difficulties in exercising oversight of provincial officials within the Caribbean region demonstrates the way in which the institution of the audiencia adapted to challenges and competed over jurisdictional boundaries with other administrative entities. Finally, the audiencia's relationship to local society provides the background for a discussion of how the tribunal kept the island tied to an external colonial framework and helped transfer the authority of the later Hapsburg monarchs to the Dominican population