Real Audiencia of Manila

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The Real Audiencia of Manila was located in the center of the city

The Real Audiencia of Manila (fully Spanish Audiencia y Cancillería Real de Manila ) was a court in Manila , an institution of colonial administration and at the same time a judicial district ( Real Audiencia ) of the Spanish crown. It existed from 1583 to 1821 as part of the viceroyalty of New Spain and until 1898 as part of the Spanish colonial administration of the Philippines .

The role of the Real Audiencias in the colonies

After the conquest of Central and South America ( Conquista ) by the Spaniards, King Charles V issued the “Laws on India” (Spanish: Leyes de Indias ) as well as the “New Laws” (Spanish: Leyes Nuevas ), in which he is the administration of the overseas colonies in the "Viceroyalty of New Castile" organized and regulated.

The Real Audiencias were responsible for the implementation of the laws and the support of the military governors . They fulfilled tasks in administration and finance that went far beyond that of a court according to today's understanding, especially as a separation of powers was unknown. In addition to a chairman and usually four judges (Spanish: Oidores ), there was a public prosecutor (Spanish: fiscal ), but also subordinate executive forces such as a bailiff (Spanish: alguacil mayor ), police officers, translators, etc.

The foundation in 1583

After Ferdinand Magellan's discovery of the Philippines in 1521, several Spanish expeditions followed. In 1565 Spain formally took possession of the archipelago, and from 1569 to 1571, the military conquest by Spanish troops under Miguel López de Legazpi followed . The governor and captain general of the Philippines was subordinate to the viceroyalty of New Spain , founded in 1530, and had to report to the viceroy in Mexico City .

With a document dated May 5, 1583, King Philip II ordered the establishment of a Real Audiencia in Manila. This started operations in 1584. The Audiencia of Manila was the first (and only) Audiencia of the Spaniards in Asia. When it was founded, audiences already existed on the American continent: Santo Domingo (1511), Mexico City (1527), Panamá (1538), Lima (1543), Guatemala (1543) and Guadalajara (1548).

The first chairman of the Audiencia of Manila was Santiago de Vera , who was sent to the Philippines as the newly appointed governor of Mexico coming; Melchor de Avalos and Pedro de Rojas were placed at his side as oidores . Vera saw the Audiencia as a limitation of his power as governor; he dissolved the Audiencia in 1590 and sent the Oidores back to New Spain.

Under the governor Francisco Tello de Guzmán , who took office in 1596, it was rebuilt and occupied from 1598.

Jurisdiction

The Manila Audiencia was responsible for the Spanish Philippines and nominally for China.

Concretization of the tasks 1680

With the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias in 1680, the Spanish Crown summarized the individual provisions in the New World that had been enacted over the years into one legal text. The number of oidores for the Manila Audiencia was set at four .

English conquest 1762

In 1762 , English troops under the command of Admiral Samuel Cornish captured Manila. Under the leadership of Oidor Simón de Anda , some Spaniards managed to flee into the interior and from there to drag the English into a guerrilla war . With the Peace of Paris of 1763 , the Spanish got the Philippines back and the Audiencia was able to continue its work in Manila.

19th century

With Mexican independence in 1821, the viceroyalty of New Spain ended. From then on the Spanish government administered the Philippines directly from Madrid; the governor reported directly to Spain.

In 1893, parts of the criminal justice system were transferred to newly established courts of law in Cebu and Vigan .

resolution

With the founding of the Katipunan independence movement and the revolution of 1896, the governor and audiencia gradually lost their sovereignty.

When the US defeated the Spanish in the Spanish-American War, the Paris Peace Treaty awarded the Philippines to the US. After the Americans had defeated the Filipinos in the Filipino-American War by 1901 , administration and justice were transferred to the semi-autonomous Philippines in accordance with standards set by the Taft Commission .

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