Written by a scholar who worked from the original documents in Manila, this study takes the audiencia—the royal tribunal at the centre of Spanish colonial government—and examines it through the Audiencia of Manila between 1583 and 1800. Cunningham covers its founding, judicial work, the residencia, administrative duties, its relations with the governors and its role in defending the colony against the Dutch.
A detailed institutional history for students of the Spanish empire, the Philippines or colonial law. Download the free EPUB.