Captaincy General of Yucatán

The Captaincy General of Yucatán () was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created in 1617 to provide more autonomy for the Yucatán Peninsula, previously ruled directly by a simple governor under the jurisdiction of Audiencia of Mexico.  Its creation was part of the, ultimately futile, Habsburg attempt in the late 16th century to prevent incursion into the Caribbean by foreign powers, which also involved the establishment of Captaincies General in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and neighboring Guatemala.  With the addition of the title of captain general to the governor of Yucatán, the province gained greater autonomy in administration and military matters.  Unlike in most areas of Spanish America, no formal corregidores were used in Yucatán, and instead the governor-captain general relied on other subordinate officials to handle the oversight of local districts.  The Captaincy General remained part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with the viceroy retaining the right to oversee the province's governance, when it was deemed necessary, and the Audiencia of Mexico taking judicial cases in appeal.  The province and captaincy general covered the territory that today are the States of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán, and nominally  the northern areas of  Petén and Belize. 

Law IV ("Que el Governador de Yucatan guarde las ordenes del Virrey de Nueva España") of Title I ("De los Terminos, Division, y Agregación de las Governaciones") of Book V of the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias of 1680 reproduces the November 2, 1627 royal decree (real cédula) of Philip V, which established the nature of the relationship between the Governor of Yucatán and the Viceroy of New Spain: "It is convenient that the governors and captain generals of the Province of Yucatán, precisely and in a timely manner fulfill the orders that the viceroys of New Spain give them.  And we order that the governors obey them and fulfill them." 

In 1786, as part of the Bourbon Reforms the Spanish Crown established an Intendancy of Yucatán covering the same area as the Province.  The intendancy  took control of government and military finances and had broad powers to promote the local economy. 

See also
 History of Mexico
 Republic of Yucatán
 History of Central America

References

Bibliography
Farriss, Nancy M. Maya Society Under Colonial Rule.  Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1984.  
Moseley, Edward H. "From Conquest to Independence: Yucatan Under Spanish Rule, 1521-1821" in Yucatan: A World Apart.  The University of Alabama Press, 1980.  
Patch, Robert W. Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1648-1812.  Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993.  

Category:New Spain
Category:Colonial Mexico
Yucatan
Category:1617 establishments in New Spain
Category:History of the Yucatán Peninsula
Category:Spanish-speaking countries and territories