Provincial deputation in Spanish America
The Provincial Deputation was created by the Spanish Constitution of 1812 to provide a representation of the territorial division of Spain and the American dominions of the Spanish monarchy during the term Cortes of Cádiz. The Cortes created new structures for home rule, the provincial deputations and the constitutional ayuntamientos. The provincial deputations were a way by which regions ruled by juntas and areas in rebellion in the Americas could keep local control, but maintain their ties to the larger Spanish Empire.[1]
Provincial deputation in Spanish America (1812-1814) - (1820-1823) |
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The term "province" in America had an imprecise meaning. The American deputies with the word referred to the small province (Partido), while the European deputies did with great province (kingdom, viceroyalty). The Spanish courts identified province with Intendancy.
With the constitution and the creation of provincial deputations, the Cortes abolished the viceroyalties; the provincial deputations dealt directly with the government in Spain.[2] The province was governed by a Jefe Político (political chief) appointed by the central government. With the absolutist restoration in Spain in 1814 and 1823, the provinces as political entities disappeared and their territories were again included in the restored viceroyalties. However, by 1825 all but Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines remained of The Indies, following the Spanish American wars of independence.
American Provinces of Spain under the Spanish Constitution of 1812
| Province | Capital |
|---|---|
| Nueva España | Mexico City[3] |
| Provincias internas orientales (Las Californias) | Monterrey[4] |
| Provincias internas occidentales | Durango[5] |
| San Luis Potosí | Guanajuato[6] |
| Nueva Galicia | Guadalajara[7] |
| Yucatán | Mérida[8] |
| Guatemala (Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Chiapas) | Guatemala |
| Nicaragua (Nicaragua, Costa Rica) | León |
| Cuba y las Floridas | La Habana |
| Puerto Rico | San Juan |
| Cuba | Santiago de Cuba |
| Santo Domingo | Santo Domingo |
| Venezuela | Caracas |
| Nueva Granada | Santa Fe |
| Quito | Quito |
| Lima | Lima |
| Cuzco | Cuzco |
| Chile | Santiago |
| Río de la Plata | Buenos Aires |
| Charcas | Chuquisaca |
References
- Rodríguez O., Jaime E. The Independence of Spanish America. New York: Cambridge University Press 1998, p.87.
- Rodríguez O., The Independence of Spanish America, p. 87.
- Berry, Charles R. "The Election of Mexican Deputies to the Spanish Cortes, 1810-1822", in Mexico and the Spanish Cortes, 1810-1822, p. 22
- Berry, "The Election of Mexican Deputies", p. 22
- Berry, "The Election of Mexican Deputies", p. 22
- Berry, "The Election of Mexican Deputies", p. 22
- Berry, "The Election of Mexican Deputies", p. 22
- Berry, "The Election of Mexican Deputies", p. 22
Bibliography
- Berry, Charles R. "The Election of Mexican Deputies to the Spanish Cortes, 1810-1822", in Mexico and the Spanish Cortes, 1810-1822, Nettie Lee Benson, ed. University of Texas Press 1971, pp. 10-42.
- Rieu-Millan, Marie Laure. Los diputatods americanos en las Cortes de Cádiz. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1990.
- Municipios y provincias: historia de la organización territorial española