Captaincy General of Yucatán

The Captaincy General of Yucatán ( _es. Capitanía General de Yucatán) was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created in 1617 to provide more autonomy for the Yucatán Peninsula, previously under the jurisdiction of previously under the direct rule of a simple governor and the jurisdiction Audiencia of Mexico. Its creation was part of the, ultimately futile, Habsburg attempt in the late sixteenth century to prevent incursion into the Caribbean by foreign powers, which also involved the establishment of Captaincies General in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and neighboring Guatemala] . The addition of the the title of captain general to the governor of Yucatán granted the province greater autonomy in administration and military matters. It remained part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with the viceroy retaining the right to oversee the province's governance. The province and captaincy general covered the territory that today are the States of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán, and nominally the northern areas of Petén and Belize.

Law IV ("Que el Governador de Yucatan guarde las ordenes del Virrey de Nueva España") of Title I ("De los Terminos, Division, y Agregación de las Governaciones") of Book V of the "Recopilación de Leyes de Indias" of 1680 reproduces the November 2, 1627 royal decree ("real cédula") of Philip V, which established the nature of the relationship between the Governor of Yucatán and the Viceroy of New Spain: "It is convenient that the governors and captain generals of the Province of Yucatán, precisely and in a timely manner fulfill the orders that the viceroys of New Spain give them. And we order that the governors obey them and fulfill them." [Cite book| author = Spain|title = Recopilación de las Leyes de Indias. Titulo Uno. De los Terminos, Division, y Agregación de las Governaciones| year = 1680| publicación = Madrid| id = [http://www.congreso.gob.pe/ntley/Imagenes/LeyIndia/0205001.pdf Spanish-language facsimile of the original] ]

In 1786, as part of the Bourbon Reforms the Spanish Crown established an Intendancy of Yucatán covering the same area as the Province. The intendancy took control of government and military finances and had broad powers to promote the local economy.

ee also

* History of Mexico
* Republic of Yucatán
* History of Central America
* Venezuela (first republic)
* Gran Colombia

References

Bibliography

*Farriss, Nancy M. "Maya Society Under Colonial Rule". Princeton, Princeton Universtiy Press, 1984. ISBN 9780691101583
*Moseley, Edward H. "From Conquest to Independence: Yucatan Under Spanish Rule, 1521-1821" in "Yucatan: A World Apart". The University of Alabama Press, 1980. ISBN 0-8173-0025-2