The Royal ''Audiencia'' of Santiago ( es, Real Audiencia de Santiago) was an ''

Audiencia Real A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

'' or royal law court that functioned in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

during the Spanish colonial period. This body heard both civil and criminal cases. It was founded during the 17th century and abolished in 1817.

Structure

Law XII (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de Santiago de Chile) of Title XV (De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias) of Book II of the ''Recopilación de

Leyes de las Indias The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...

'' 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 reside another Royal ''Audiencia'' and Chancellery of ours, with a president-governor-captain general; four judges of civil cases 'oidores'' who shall also be judges of criminal cases 'alcaldes del crimen'' a crown attorney 'fiscal'' a bailiff 'alguacil mayor'' a lieutenant of the Gran Chancellor; and the other necessary ministers and officials, which will have for district all of said Kingdom of Chile, with the cities, towns, places and lands, which are included in the government of those provinces, including what is now pacified and populated, as well as what shall be subdued, populated and pacified inside and outside the
Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pas ...
and inland to the
Cuyo Province The Province of Cuyo was a historical province of Argentina. Created on 14 November 1813 by a decree issued by the Second Triumvirate, it had its capital in Mendoza, and was composed of the territories of the present-day Argentine provinces of ...
, inclusive. And we order that said president-governor-captain general govern and administer its government (''gobernación'') in all matters and by all means, and that said ''Audiencia'', nor any other minister interfere in this, except our Viceroy of Peru, in the cases, which comply with the laws in this book and as permitted by our orders, and that said president do not intervene in matters of justice, and leave the ''oidores'' to decree in them freely, and that all sign that which they decree, sentence or dispatch.

The Province of Cuyo was transferred to the Audiencia of Buenos Aires, when the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called " Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, i ...

was created in the late eighteenth century.

Independence

The ''Audiencia'' it was dissolved in 1810 after the election of the First Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile with the resignation of some of its hearers and the exile of others, being replaced by a Court of Appeals, which was the first judicial court of the Government of Chile. With the restoration of the

old regime Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

, after the battle of Rancagua, the governor Mariano Osorio surely reopened the court (1814), which he presented until 1817 when it was finally shut down by the independent government of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

, again replaced by a new appeals court, this time called the ''Cámara de Apelaciones''. This was in turn the ancestor of today's Chilean Appeals Court in Santiago.

References

Sources

* Barrientos Grandon, Javier (1992): «Las reformas de Carlos III y la Real Audiencia de Santiago», en Temas de Derecho de la Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Nº 2. p. 23-46 * Barrientos Grandon, Javier (1993): «La Real Audiencia de Concepción (1565-1575)», en Revista de estudios histórico-jurídicos de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, vol. 1992-1993, Nº 15. p. 131-178 * Barrientos Grandon, Javier (2000), La Real Audiencia de Chile. La institución y sus hombres 1605-1817, Madrid: Fundación Histórica Tavera. CD-ROM, Nuevas Aportaciones a la Historia Jurídica de Iberoamérica. * Barrientos Grandon, Javier (2003): «La creación de la Real Audiencia de Santiago de Chile y sus ministros fundadores: Sobre la formación de familias en la judicatura chilena», en Revista de estudios histórico-jurídicos de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Nº 25. p. 233-338 * Muñoz Feliu, Raúl (1937), La real audiencia de Chile, Santiago de Chile. Tesis de licenciatura. * Valenzuela, Jaime (1998): «Conflicto y equilibrios simbólicos ante un nuevo actor político: la Real Audiencia en Santiago desde 1609», en Cuadernos de Historia de la Universidad de Chile, Nº 18. p. 115-138 {{Spanish Empire Captaincy General of Chile

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Viceroyalty of Peru History of Santiago, Chile Legal history of Chile 1565 in the Captaincy General of Chile 1565 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1565 establishments in South America 1565 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1818 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire 1818 disestablishments in South America