Real Audiencia de Quito
Ecuador, 1563–1822. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Real Audiencia of Quito was an administrative unit in the Spanish Empire which had political, military, and religious jurisdiction over territories that today include Ecuador, parts of northern Peru, parts of southern Colombia and parts of northern Brazil. It was created by Royal Decree on 29 August 1563 by Philip II of Spain in the city of Guadalajara. The Audiencia was effectively autonomous because the Viceroyal government (to which the Audiencia was technically subordinate in political matters) was too far away to administer its territories effectively. It ended in 1822 with the incorporation of the area into the Republic of Gran Colombia.
Seat of power: Quito
No rulers documented for this era yet.
Culture
- Power was devolved to the Audiencia by the Viceroy and the audiencia territory was directly administered by the President of the Audiencia and the political, military, and religious officials underneath him.
- The Audiencia of Quito briefly became independent for 3 years after it staged the Quito revolution in 1809, was annexed again to the Spanish Empire in 1812.
- In the late fifteenth century, the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac defeated the Quitu, the region's original inhabitants, and incorporated Quito into the Inca Empire, designating it the capital of the Inca Empire's northern region.
Picture
Quito's historic center is among the largest and best-preserved in the Americas, and in 1978 Quito and Kraków were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO.
Image: Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.