This vast territory was divided into four Viceroyalties,[1] Mexico, Peru, Rio de la Plata, (Buenos Ayres,) and New Granada; and five Captain-general-ships, which comprised the Peninsula of Yŭcătān, Guatĕmāla, Chile, Vĕnĕzuelā, and the Island of Cuba. The Captains-general, although holding situations of minor importance, were independent of the Viceroys, as were the Viceroys of each other: indeed, in most cases, natural barriers precluded the possibility of communication.
The government of each of the Colonies was rested in the hands of one of these great servants of the crown. In Mexico, the Viceroy was endowed with all the prerogatives of royalty, and considered as the alter ego of the King himself. The only checks upon his authority were the "Residencia," or legal investigation of his conduct, to which, at the King's pleasure, he might be subjected, on his return to Spain, but which was seldom, if ever, enforced; and the "Audiencia" or court of appeal in dernier resort, with which, as honorary president, he had many means of cultivating a good understanding. The Audiencia, however, which was composed entirely of Europeans, possessed con-
- ↑ Originally, there were only two Viceroyalties, (those of Mexico and Peru,) on which all the other colonial establishments depended. The abuses to which this system gave rise, led to the establishment of a separate government in New Granada in 1718; in Venezuela in 1731; in Chile in 1734; and in Buenos Ayres in 1778.
