Charcas (Audiencia)
Encyclopedia
The Royal Audiencia and Chancery of la Plata de los Charcas (Spanish
: Audiencia y Cancillería Real de La Plata de los Charcas) usually shortened to the Audiencia of Charcas, was a Spanish
audiencia with its seat in Upper Peru
, what is today Bolivia
. It was established in 1559 in Ciudad de la Plata de Nuevo Toledo (later Charcas, today Sucre
) and had jurisdiction
over Upper Peru
, Paraguay
and the Governorate of the Río de la Plata, today Uruguay
and northern Argentina
. This was the audience that oversaw the incredible silver output of the mines at Potosí
. It was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru
until 1776, when it was transferred to the newly created Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
.
originally established the audiencia by royal decree on 4 September 1559. Law IX (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de la Plata, Provincia de los Charcas) of Title XV of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias
of 1680 — which compiles the original 1559 decree and the ones of 29 August 1563, 1 October 1566, 26 May 1573 — describes the borders and functions of the Audiencia.
in the independence period, which deposed the Audiencia judges. These juntas, set up in 1809, were quashed by forces from Peru and Río de la Plata the following year, but the Audiencia was not reestablished until 1816, and then under the auspices of the viceroy of Peru. Areas of the Upper Peru under patriot control sent deputies to the Congress of Tucumán
of 9 July 1816 which declared the independence of the provinces of the Río de la Plata. But real patriot control of Upper Peru was not established until April 1825, when Peru
vian and Gran Colombia
n republican forces under the command of Antonio José de Sucre
finally routed the royalist army in the region. The Republic of Bolivia was created on 6 August 1825.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Audiencia y Cancillería Real de La Plata de los Charcas) usually shortened to the Audiencia of Charcas, was a Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
audiencia with its seat in Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
, what is today Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. It was established in 1559 in Ciudad de la Plata de Nuevo Toledo (later Charcas, today Sucre
Sucre
Sucre, also known historically as Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and the capital of the department of Chuquisaca. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of 2750m...
) and had jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and the Governorate of the Río de la Plata, today Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and northern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. This was the audience that oversaw the incredible silver output of the mines at Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
. It was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
until 1776, when it was transferred to the newly created Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
.
Structure
Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
originally established the audiencia by royal decree on 4 September 1559. Law IX (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de la Plata, Provincia de los Charcas) of Title XV of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias
Laws of the Indies
The Laws of the Indies are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for its American and Philippine possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political and economic life in these areas...
of 1680 — which compiles the original 1559 decree and the ones of 29 August 1563, 1 October 1566, 26 May 1573 — describes the borders and functions of the Audiencia.
In Ciudad de la Plata de Nuevo Toledo, Province of the CharcasCharcasCharcas may refer to:* Charcas Province, a province in Potosí Department, Bolivia* Real Audiencia of Charcas, one of six political units of the Viceroyalty of Peru* Charcas, a historical name of Sucre, capital of Bolivia...
in PeruViceroyalty of PeruCreated in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
, shall reside another Royal Audiencia and Chancellery of ours, with a president; five judges of civil casesPrivate lawPrivate law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...
[oidores], who shall also be judges of criminal casesCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
[alcaldes del crimen]; a crown attorney [fiscal]; a bailiff [alguacil mayor]; a lieutenant of the Gran Chancellor; and the other necessary ministers and officials; and which shall have for district the Province of the Charcas, all of El CollaoEl Collao ProvinceEl Collao Province is a province of the Puno Region in Peru, created in 1992. The capital of the province is the city of Ilave.- Political division :The province measures and is divided into five districts:...
, from the town of AyabiriAyaviri, MelgarAyaviri is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Melgar in the region Puno.-References:...
, along the road of Urqusuyu, from the town of Asillo by the road of Umasuyu, from Atuncana, by the road of ArequipaArequipaArequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
, towards the part of the Charcas, inclusive with the Provinces of Sangabana, CarabayaCarabaya ProvinceCarabaya Province is a province of the Puno Region in Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Macusani.- Political division :The province measures and is divided into ten districts:- External links :...
, Juríes y DiaguitaDiaguitaThe Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a group of South American indigenous peoples. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the provinces of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán in northwestern Argentina, and in the Atacama and Coquimbo...
s, Moyos [see also Moxos peopleMoxos peopleThe Moxos, also known as the Mojos, are an indigenous people living around the head-waters of the Madeira River in northern Bolivia, particularly on both banks of the Mamore River. They submitted to Inca domination, but in 1564 gallantly repulsed the Spaniards. A century later, however, the Jesuits...
] y ChunchoChunchoThe Chuncho are a native ethnic group in South America. At the time of the Spanish conquest the Chuncho lived in the forests east of Cuzco, in central Peru and dwelled in communal houses living chiefly by hunting. Chuncho has also been used to describe one of three aboriginal stocks of Peru, the...
s, and Santa Cruz de la SierraSanta Cruz de la SierraSanta Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...
, sharing borders: in the north with the Royal Audiencia of LimaViceroyalty of PeruCreated in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
and provinces not yet discovered; in the south with the Royal Audiencia of ChileReal Audiencia of ChileRoyal Audience of Santiago :-Structure:Law XII of Title XV of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de las Indias of 1680—which reproduces Philip IV's decree of February 17, 1609—describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia.In the city of Santiago de Chile shall...
; and in the east and west with the two Seas of the NorthAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and SouthPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and the line of demarcationTreaty of TordesillasThe Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...
between the Crowns of the Kingdoms of CastileCrown of CastileThe Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
and PortugalPortuguese EmpireThe Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
, along the Province of Santa Cruz of Brazil. All said territories are and shall be understood to comply with Law 13, which deals with the founding and erection of the Royal Audiencia of Trinidad, Port of Buenos AyresReal Audiencia of Buenos AiresThe Real Audiencia de Buenos Aires, were two audiencias, or highest courts, of the Spanish crown, which resided in Buenos Aires. The authority of the first extended to the territory of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata and operated from 1661 to 1671...
, because our will is that said law be kept, complied with and executed precisely and punctually.
Independence
Upper Peru was one of the first regions in Spanish America to establish juntasJunta (Peninsular War)
In the Napoleonic era, junta was the name chosen by several local administrations formed in Spain during the Peninsular War as a patriotic alternative to the official administration toppled by the French invaders...
in the independence period, which deposed the Audiencia judges. These juntas, set up in 1809, were quashed by forces from Peru and Río de la Plata the following year, but the Audiencia was not reestablished until 1816, and then under the auspices of the viceroy of Peru. Areas of the Upper Peru under patriot control sent deputies to the Congress of Tucumán
Congress of Tucumán
The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816, from the Spanish Empire....
of 9 July 1816 which declared the independence of the provinces of the Río de la Plata. But real patriot control of Upper Peru was not established until April 1825, when Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian and Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
n republican forces under the command of Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá , known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.-Ancestry:...
finally routed the royalist army in the region. The Republic of Bolivia was created on 6 August 1825.