A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish colonial and early postcolonial administrative council that governed a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of all land-owning heads of

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

('' vecinos''). The colonial cabildo was essentially the same as the one that was developed in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Castile. The word ''cabildo'' has the same Latin root (''capitulum'') as the English word chapter and in fact is also the Spanish word for a

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

. Historically, the term ''ayuntamiento'' was often preceded by the word ''excelentísimo'' ( English: "most excellent") as a style of office in referring to the council. That phrase is often abbreviated ''Exc.^mo Ay.^to''

History

The Castilian cabildo has some similarities to the ancient Roman ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

'' and ''

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

'', especially in the use of plural administrative officers and its control of the surrounding countryside, the ''territorium'', but its evolution is a uniquely-medieval development. With the collapse of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

and the establishment of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

, the ancient municipal government vanished. In many areas, seeking to escape from the political instability around them, people entrusted themselves to large landholders and to exchanging their service for the landholder's protection in a process that ultimately led to

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

. (See also

Manorialism Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "Land tenure, tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features incl ...

.) In areas in which the old ''territoria'' survived, the Visigothic kings appointed a single officer, called either a ''comes'' or a ''iudice'', to replace the defunct ''municipia'' or ''civitates''. After the

Muslim conquest The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests **Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia ***Muslim conq ...

, the new rulers also appointed various judicial officers to manage the affairs of the cities.

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

s heard any cases that fell under the purview of

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

, and ''sahibs'' oversaw the administration of the various other areas of urban life, such as the markets and the public order. The cabildo proper began its slow evolution in the process of the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. As fortified areas grew into urban centres, or older cities were incorporated into the expanding Christian kingdoms of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, León and Castile, kings and sometimes local lords granted the cities various levels of self-rule and unique sets of laws (the ''

fuero (), (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ...

s'') and made them the administrative centre of a large ''terminus'' or '' alfoz'', which was analogous to the ancient ''territorium''. In general, municipal governments often consisted of a council (''consejo'') that was open to all the property-owning adult males of the city and a nobleman appointed to represent the king and organize the defense of the city and ''terminus''. By the 13th century, these open councils proved unwieldy and were replaced by a smaller body, the cabildo or ''ayuntamiento'' consisting of set number of ''regidores'' (usually 24 in the largest cities) elected by the property owners in the city. The new bodies took their permanent form by the end of the 14th century. As part of the same process, a municipal council (the ''consell'') with different attributes and composition also evolved in the neighboring

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

during this period.

Structure

In theory, every municipality in the Spanish colonies in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and the Spanish Philippines had a cabildo. Municipalities included not only the cities but also the surrounding lands. All lands were ultimately assigned to a municipality. Usually, the cabildo made local laws and reported to the ''presidente'' (president) of the '' audiencia'', who in turn reported to the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. The cabildo had judicial, legislative, and administrative duties. For that reason, it was often addressed with the formula, ''Consejo, Justicia y Regimiento'' (Council,

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

The cabildo consisted of several types of officials. There were four to twelve '' regidores'', depending on the size and importance of the municipality. ''Regidores'' were not just deliberative officers, but all shared in the administration of the territory by dividing tasks among themselves. Initially the ''regidores'' were elected by all the heads of household. In the late Middle Ages, those elections often turned violent, with citizens forming bands to control elections and even resorting to murder. To minimize that problem, kings began to appoint a certain number of or even all of the ''regidores'' in certain cities. By the modern era, different cabildos had different mixes of elected and appointed ''regidores'' both in Europe and overseas. Finally, to add another layer of control, the kings introduced '' corregidores'' to represent them directly and preside over the cabildos. Although many municipalities lost their right to elect all or some of their ''regidores'' as time went on, cities and cabildos gained new power with the development of the Castilian and Leonese Parliaments (the '' cortes'') because cities had a right to representation in them.O'Callaghan, ''A History of Medieval Spain'', 447. In addition to the council members, the cabildo had one or two magistrates, the '' alcades'', whom the ''regidores'' elected every January 1. ''Alcaldes'' served as judges of first instance in all criminal and civil cases and acted as presiding officers of the cabildo unless there was a ''corregidor''. In provincial capitals, the first ''alcalde'' would fill in for incapacitated governors. Other officers were the ''alférez real'' (royal standard-bearer), who had a vote in cabildo deliberations and would substitute the ''alcalde'' if the latter could not carry out the functions of his office; the ''alguacil mayor'', who oversaw local

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

; the ''fiel ejecutor'', who was the inspector of weights, measures and markets, in charge of the supplies of the city and oversaw municipal sanitation; the ''procurador'' or city attorney; and a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

. After the Bourbon Reforms, ''

peninsulares In the context of the Spanish Empire, a ''peninsular'' (, pl. ''peninsulares'') was a Spaniard born in Spain residing in the New World, Spanish East Indies, or Spanish Guinea. In the context of the Portuguese Empire, ''reinóis'' (singular ''r ...

'' were almost exclusively appointed to the positions of viceroy and bishop. Other offices, such as ''oidores'' of the ''audiencia'', ''corregidores'' (in the places in which they continued to exist after the Bourbon Reforms) and

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

, also saw a rise in the proportion of ''peninsulares'' being appointed. The last ones had been positions to which creoles once had easy access, especially after the approval of the sale of offices, which began during the financial crisis in the late 16th century. As a result of being shut out of those offices, creoles turned to the cabildos for political power. Soon enough, cabildos became the centre of power for creoles, as evidenced in many of the clashes, usually with the ''peninsular''-dominated ''audiencias'', in the period leading up to the

Spanish American Wars of Independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

. In the first decades of the national period, the traditional form of the cabildo was kept in several Spanish American nations although they were eventually replaced by legislative municipal councils.

Currently existing

Because cabildos were the city government, the city administrative offices were often called the "''cabildo''". Those names are preserved in parts of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and even in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. At present, cabildos exist only on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

(''cabildos insulares''),with one governing each island, and they are elected. Cabildos there resemble the consells insulars (''island councils'') of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

References

Sources

* Din, Gilbert C. (1996) ''The New Orleans Cabildo: Colonial Louisiana's First City Government, 1769-1803'' Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, * Fisher, John (1969) "The Intendant System and the Cabildos of Peru, 1784-1810" ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' 49(3): pp. 430–453 * "Municipios", ''Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.'' Caracas: Fundación Polar, 1997. * O'Callaghan, Joseph F. ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1975. * Pike, Fredrick B. (1960) "The Cabildo and Colonial Loyalty to Hapsburg Rulers" ''Journal of Inter-American Studies'' 2(4): pp. 405–420 * Pike, Fredrick B. (1958) "The Municipality and the System of Checks and Balances in Spanish American Colonial Administration" ''The Americas'' 15(2): pp. 139–158 * Meissner, Jochen (1993) ''Eine Elite im Umbruch: Der Stadtrat von Mexiko zwischen kolonialer Ordnung und unabhangigem Staat, 1761-1821'' F. Steiner, Stuttgart, , in German, (''An Elite in the Breach: The Cabildos of Mexico between Colonial Order and the Unforgiving State'')

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica Cabildo''El cabildo secular en Puerto Rico: Siglos XVI - XVIII, by Jorell A. Meléndez Badillo.''
{{Spanish Empire City councils Spanish colonial governors and administrators Subdivisions of the Spanish Empire Colonial Mexico Colonial Peru New Spain