Crown of Castile

Not to be confused withKingdom of Castile.

Crown of Castile Corona Castellae(Latin) Corona de Castilla(Spanish)
1230–1715
Royal Standard Trastámara (Shield)
Evolution of the Crown of Castile
Capital	Madrid(1561–1601; 1606–1715) Valladolid(1601–1606)[a]
Official languages	Spanish
Minority languages	Basque Galician Astur-Leonese Mozarabic Andalusian Arabic Judaeo-Spanish Guanche
Religion	Official religion: Roman Catholicism Minority religions: Sunni Islam Sephardic Judaism
Demonym(s)	Castilian
Government	Monarchysubject tofueros
Monarch
• 1230–1252	Ferdinand III(first)
• 1474–1504	Isabella IandFerdinand V
Legislature	Cortes of Castile
Historical era	Middle Agesandearly modern period
• Permanent union ofCastile&León	23 September 1230
•Union of Ferdinand II and Isabella I	19 October 1469
•Conquest of Granada	2 January 1492
•Occupation of Navarre	1512 (annexed 7 July 1515)
• Ascension ofCharles I	23 January 1516
•Nueva Planta decrees	1715
Area
1300	335,000 km2(129,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1300	3,000,000
Currency	Spanish real Spanish maravedí
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Castile Kingdom of León Emirate of Granada Habsburg Spain Bourbon Spain British Gibraltar
a.^Itinerant courtuntilPhilip IIfixed it to Madrid.

TheCrown of Castilewas a medievalpolityin theIberian Peninsulathat formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms ofCastileandLeónupon the accession of the then Castilian king,Ferdinand III,to the vacantLeonese throne.It continued to exist as a separate entity after thepersonal unionin 1469 of the crowns of Castile andAragonwith the marriage of theCatholic Monarchsup to thepromulgationof theNueva Planta decreesbyPhilip Vin 1715.

In 1492, the voyage ofChristopher Columbusand the discovery of theAmericaswere major events in the history of Castile. TheWest Indies,Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea were also a part of the Crown of Castile when transformed from lordships to kingdoms of the heirs of Castile in 1506, with theTreaty of Villafáfila,and upon the death of Ferdinand the Catholic. The discovery of thePacific Ocean,theconquest of the Aztec Empire,theconquest of the Inca Empire,theSpanish conquest of New Granadaas well as the conquest of thePhilippinesall helped shape the Crown of Castile into a global empire in the 16th Century.

The title of "King of Castile" remained in use by theHabsburg rulersduring the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon,Majorca,Valencia,andSicily,and Count ofBarcelona,RoussillonandCerdagne,as well as King of Castile and León, 1516–1556.

In the early 18th century,Philip of Bourbonwon theWar of the Spanish Successionand imposedunification policiesover theCrown of Aragon,supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain. Even though theNueva Planta decreesdid not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country (of Castile and Aragon) was called "Spain" by both contemporaries and historians.

History

Preceding events

Two kingdoms: León and Castile

Main articles:Kingdom of LeónandKingdom of Castile

Towards unification

The Kingdom of León arose out of theKingdom of Asturias.The Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre. In the 11th century, it became a kingdom in its own right.

The two kingdoms had been united twice previously:

• From 1037 until 1065 underFerdinand I of León.Upon his death his kingdoms passed to his sons, León toAlfonso VI,Castile toSancho II,and Galicia toGarcía.
• From 1072 until 1157 under Alfonso VI (died 1109),Urraca(died 1126), andAlfonso VII.From 1111 until 1126 Galicia was separate from the union under Alfonso VII. In 1157 the kingdoms were divided between Alfonso's sons, withFerdinand IIreceiving León andSancho IIICastile.

Occupation of western Navarre

From 1199 to 1201 underAlfonso VIIIthe Castilian king's armies invaded theKingdom of Navarre,anne xing thereafterÁlava,DurangaldeaandGipuzkoa,includingSan SebastiánandVitoria (Gasteiz).However, these western Basque territories saw their Navarrese charters confirmed under Castilian rule.

Crown of Castile from the rule of Ferdinand III until the ascension of Charles I

Union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III

Ferdinand IIIreceived the Kingdom of Castile from his mother, QueenBerengaria of Castilegranddaughter of Sancho III in 1217, and the Kingdom of León from his fatherAlfonso IX of Leónson of Ferdinand II in 1230. From then on the two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered theGuadalquivir Valley,while his son Alfonso X conquered theKingdom of MurciafromAl-Andalus,further extending the area of the Crown of Castile. Given this, the kings of the Crown of Castile traditionally styled themselves "King ofCastile,León,Toledo,Galicia,Murcia,Jaén,Córdoba,Seville,and Lord ofBiscayandMolina",among other possessions they later gained. The heir to the throne has been titledPrince of Asturiassince the 14th century.

Union of theCortesand the legal code

Equestrian heraldic of KingJohn II of Castilein theEquestrian armorial of theGolden Fleece1433–1435. CollectionBibliothèque de l'Arsenal.

Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation fromCastile,León,Galicia,Toledo,and theBasque Provinces.Initially the number of cities represented in theCortesvaried over the next century, untilJohn Ipermanently set those that would be allowed to send representatives (procuradores):Burgos,Toledo,León, Sevilla, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén,Zamora,Segovia,Ávila,Salamanca,Cuenca,Toro,Valladolid,Soria,MadridandGuadalajara(with Granada added after its conquest in 1492).

UnderAlfonso X,most sessions of theCortesof both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León ( "de Castiella e de Estremadura e de tierra de León") and those of Seville in 1261 of Castile, León and all other kingdoms ("de Castiella e de León e de todos los otros nuestros Regnos"). Subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but the representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on.

Although the individual kingdoms and cities initially retained their individual historical rights-including the OldFueroof Castile (Viejo Fuero de Castilla) and the differentfuerosof the municipal councils of Castile, León, Extremadura and Andalucía-a unified legal code for the entire new kingdom was created in theSiete Partidas(c. 1265), theOrdenamiento de Alcalá(1348) and the Leyes de Toro (1505). These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, the Código Civil Español, was enacted.

Spanish languages and universities

Map of Castilian and Aragonese Universities

In the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among themCastilian,Leonese,BasqueandGalician-Portuguese.But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as the language of culture and communication – one example of this is theCantar de Mio Cid.

In the last years of the reign ofFerdinand III,Castilian began to be used for some important documents, such as theVisigothic Code,the basis of the legal code for Christians living in MuslimCordova,but it was during the reign ofAlfonso Xthat it became the official language. Henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations ofArabiclegal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin.

Some scholars think that the substitution of Castilian for Latin was due to the strength of the new language, whereas others consider that it was due to the influence of Hebrew-speaking intellectuals who were hostile towards Latin, the language of the Christian Church.

In 1492, under theCatholic Monarchs,the first edition of theGrammar of the Castilian LanguagebyAntonio de Nebrijawas published. Castilian was eventually carried to theAmericasin the 16th century by theconquistadors.Because of Castilian's importance in the land ruled by theSpanish Crown,the language is also known as Spanish.

Furthermore, in the 13th century many universities were founded where instruction was in Castilian, such as the LeoneseUniversity of Salamanca,the CastilianEstudio Generalof Palencia and theUniversity of Valladolid,which were among the first universities in Europe.

In the 13th century, emerging groups of local grazers coalesced into the powerfulMesta,the headpin forwool tradeover the following three centuries.In time, Castile would become a leading export market forwoolin the late middle ages.

Ascension of the Trastámara dynasty

Expansion of Castilian territory.

TheCastilian Civil Warpitting supporters ofHenry of TrastámaraagainstPeter Ientailed a struggle of competing factions, with the former party being favoured by the Castilian nobility (and, to a lesser extent, the Clergy),whereas the latter party lied on the side of Jews',conversos'and town councils' interests.A substantial transfer from the royal patrimony to the nobles ensued upon the prevail of the Trastámaras in the conflict.Likewise, the resulting dynastic change ran parallel to a radicalization of theantisemitic sentimentin Castile.

On the death ofAlfonso XIa dynastic conflict started between his sons, theInfantesPeter (Pedro)andHenry,Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in theHundred Years' War(between England and France). Alfonso XI had marriedMaria of Portugalwith whom he had his heir, theInfantePeter. However, the King also had many illegitimate children withEleanor of Guzman,among them the above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peter's right to the throne once the latter became king.

In the resulting struggle, in which both brothers claimed to be king, Pedro allied himself withEdward, Prince of Wales,"the Black Prince". In 1367, the Black Prince defeated Henry II's allies at theBattle of Nájera,restoring Pedro's control of the kingdom. The Black Prince, seeing that the king would not reimburse his expenses, left Castile. Henry, who had fled to France, took advantage of the opportunity and recommenced the fight. Henry finally was victorious in 1369 in theBattle of Montiel,in which he had Peter killed.

In 1371 the brother of the Black Prince,John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster,marriedConstance,Peter's daughter. In 1386, he claimed the Crown of Castile in the name of his wife, the legitimate heir according to the Cortes de Seville of 1361. He arrived inA Coruñawith an army and took the city. He then moved on to occupySantiago de Compostela,PontevedraandVigo.He askedJohn I,Henry II's son, to give up the throne in favor of Constance.

John declined but proposed that his son, theInfanteHenry,marry John of Gaunt's daughterCatherine.The proposal was accepted, and the titlePrince of Asturiaswas created for Henry and Catherine. This ended the dynastic conflict, strengthened theHouse of Trastámara's position and created peace betweenEnglandand Castile.

Relations with the Crown of Aragon during the 14th century

Castilian territory at the end of the 14th century.

During the reign ofHenry IIIroyal power was restored, overshadowing the much powerful Castilian nobility. In his later years Henry delegated some of his power to his brotherFerdinand I of Antequera,who would be regent, along with his wifeCatherine of Lancaster,during the childhood of his sonJohn II.After theCompromise of Caspein 1412, Ferdinand left Castile to become King ofAragon.

Upon the death of his mother, John II at the age of 14, took to the throne and married his cousinMaria of Aragon.The young king entrusted his government to regentÁlvaro de Luna,the most influential person in court and allied with the lesser nobility, the cities, the clergy, and the Jews. This brought together the mutual dislikes of the king shared by the greater Castilian nobility and the AragoneseInfantes,sons of Ferdinand I ofAntequera,who sought to control the Castilian crown. This eventually led to war in 1429 and 1430 between the two kingdoms.Álvaro de Lunawon the war and expelled the AragoneseInfantesfrom Castile.

Second Conflict of Succession

Main article:War of the Castilian Succession

Henry IVunsuccessfully tried to re-establish the peace with the nobility that his father, John II, had shattered. When his second wife,Joan of Portugal,gave birth toInfanta Joanna,it was claimed that she was the result of an affair of the Queen withBeltrán de la Cueva,one of the King's chief ministers.

The King, besieged by riots and the demands of the nobles, had to sign a treaty in which he named as his successor his half-brotherAlfonso,leaving Infanta Joanna out of the line of succession. After the death of Alfonso in an accident, Henry IV signed theTreaty of the Bulls of Guisandowith his half-sisterIsabella Iin which he named her heiress in return for her marrying a prince chosen by him.

Catholic Monarchs: Union with the Crown of Aragon

The Surrender of Granada(Francisco Padilla, oil on canvas, 1882)

In October 1469Isabella IandFerdinand II,heir to the throne ofAragon,married in secret in thePalacio de los Viveroin CastilianValladolid.The consequence was a dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and theCrown of Aragonin 1479 when Ferdinand ascended to the Aragonese throne. This union however was not effective until the reign of his grandsonCharles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).Ferdinand and Isabella were related and had married without papal approval. Although Isabella wanted to marry Ferdinand, she refused to proceed with the marriage until she received aPapal dispensation.Consequently, Ferdinand's father forged a papal dispensation for the two to marry. Isabella believed that the dispensation was authentic and the marriage went ahead. A genuine papal dispensation arrived afterwards. LaterPope Alexander VIbestowed upon them the title of'los Reyes Católicos'('the Catholic Monarchs').

Henry IV,half brother of Isabella, considered the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella as breaking theTreaty of the Bulls of Guisando,under which Isabella would ascend to the Castilian throne on his death only if her suitor was approved by him. Henry wanted to ally Castile with Portugal or France rather than Aragon. He therefore decided to name his daughterInfanta Joannaas heiress to the throne rather than Isabella I. When he died in 1474 theWar of the Castilian Successionbroke out over who would ascend to the throne. It lasted until 1479 when Isabella and her supporters came out victorious.

Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs (The return of Columbus)

After Isabella's victory in the civil war and Ferdinand's ascension to the Aragonese throne the two crowns were united under the same monarchs. However, this was a personal union and both kingdoms remained administratively separate to some extent, each maintaining largely its own laws; both parliaments remained separate, the only common institution would be theInquisition.Despite their titles of "Monarchs of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Sicily" Ferdinand and Isabella reigned over their respective territories, although they also took decisions together. Its central position, larger territorial area (three times greater than that of Aragon) and larger population (4.3 million as opposed to the 1 million in Aragon) led to Castile becoming the dominating partner in the union.

As a result of theReconquista(Reconquest) the Castilian aristocracy had become very powerful. The monarchs needed to assert their authority over the nobility and the clergy. With this end in mind they founded a law enforcement body, theConsejo de la Hermandad,more commonly known as theSanta Hermandad(the Holy Brotherhood), which was staffed and funded by the municipalities. They also took further measures against the nobility, destroying feudal castles, prohibiting private wars and reducing the power of theAdelantados(a governor-like military office in regions recently conquered). The monarchy incorporated military orders under theConsejo de las Órdenesin 1495, reinforced royal judicial power over the feudal one and transformed theAudienciasinto the supreme judicial bodies. The crown also sought to better control the cities, and so in 1480 in the Cortes of Toledo it created thecorregidores,representatives of the crown, which supervised the city councils. In religion, they reformed religious orders and sought unity of the various sections of the church. They pressured Jews to convert to Catholicism, in some cases persecuted by the Inquisition. Finally in 1492, the monarchs decided that those who would not convert would be expelled. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 people were expelled from Castile. From 1502 onwards, they began to convert the Muslim population.

Between 1478 and 1497 the monarchs' forces conquered the threeCanary IslandsofGran Canaria,La PalmaandTenerife.On 2 January 1492 the monarchs enteredGranada'sAlhambramarking the completion and end of theReconquista.Also in 1492, theChristopher Columbusmaritime expedition claimed the newly found lands inthe Americasfor the Crown of Castile and began theNew Worldconquests. In 1497 Castile conqueredMelillaon the north coast of North Africa. After Castile's conquest of the Kingdom of Granada, its politics turned towards the Mediterranean, and Castile militarily helped Aragon in its problems with France, culminating in the reconquest ofNaplesfor the Crown of Aragon in 1504. Later that same year, Queen Isabella died, on November 26.

Period of regency – Joanna I

Upon Queen Isabella I's death 1504, the crown passed to her daughterJoanna,who was married toPhilip of Austria(nicknamed 'Philip the Handsome'). But Isabella knew of her daughter's possible mental health incapacities (and so nicknamed 'Juana la Loca' or 'Joanna the Mad') and named Ferdinand asregentin the case that Joanna "didn't want to or couldn't fulfil her duties". In the 'Salamanca Agreement' of 1505, it was decided that the government would be shared by Philip I, Ferdinand V and Joanna. However, poor relations between Phillip, who was supported by the Castilian nobility, and Ferdinand resulted in Ferdinand renouncing his regent's powers in Castile in order to avoid an armed conflict.

Through theConcordia de Villafáfilaof 1506, Ferdinand returned to Aragon and Phillip was recognized as King of Castile, with Joanna a co-monarch. In theTreaty of Villafáfilain 1506 King Ferdinand the Catholic renounced not only the government of Castile in favour of his son-in-law Philip I of Castile but also the lordship of the Indies, withholding a half of the income of the kingdoms of the Indies. Joanna of Castile and Philip immediately added to their titles the kingdoms of Indies, Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea. Phillip died and Ferdinand returned in 1507 once again to be regent for Joanna. Her isolated confinement-imprisonment in the Santa Clara Convent atTordesillas,to last over forty years until death, began with her father's orders in 1510.

In 1512 a jointCastilian-Aragonese force invaded Navarreand most of theKingdom of Navarresouth of the Pyrenees was annexed to Castile.

Crown of Castile within Habsburg Spain

Charles I

"TheComunerosPadilla, Bravo and Maldonado in thePatíbulo",byAntonio Gisbert,1860.

Charles Ireceived the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon and the empire through a combination of dynastic marriages and premature deaths:

• when his fatherPhilip Idied in 1506, he becamesovereignof theNetherlands;
• upon the death ofFerdinand II of Aragon,his grandfather, in 1516 he gained the rule of Aragon and Castile (with the Americas), in co-regency title with his motherQueen Joanna.He maintained her confinement-imprisonment, so she was Queen of Aragon and of Castile in title only.
• upon the death ofMaximilian,his paternal grandfather, in 1519, Charles was electedHoly Roman Emperoras a consequence of which he is better-known asCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Charles I was not well received in Castile. This was partly because he was a foreign-born king (born inGhent), and even before his arrival in Castile he had granted important positions toFlemishcitizens and had used Castilian money to fund his court. The Castilian nobility and the cities were on the verge of an uprising to defend their rights. Many Castilians favoured the king's younger brotherFerdinand,who grew up in Castile, and in fact theCouncil of Castileopposed the idea of Charles as King of Castile.

In 1518 the Castilian parliament inValladolidnamed theWallonianJean de Sauvage as its president. This caused angry protests in the parliament, which rejected the presence of foreigners in its deliberations. Despite threats, the parliament led by Juan de Zumel representingBurgos,resisted and forced the king to respect the laws of Castile, remove all foreigners from important governmental posts, and learn to speakCastilian.After taking his oath, Charles received a subsidy of 600,000 ducats.

Charles was conscious of the fact that he had options to become emperor and needed to impose his authority over Castile to gain access to its riches for his imperial goals. The riches from theAmericascame through Castile which was one of the more dynamic, rich, and advanced territories in Europe in the 16th century. It started to realise that it could become immersed within an empire. This, added to the broken promise of Charles, only increased hostility towards the king. In 1520 inToledoParliament rejected a further subsidy for the king. Parliament inSantiago de Compostelareached the same decision. Finally, when Parliament was held inA Coruña,many members were bribed and others denied entry, with the result that the subsidy was approved. Those members who voted in favour were attacked by the Castilian people and their houses were burned. Parliament was not the only opposition which Charles would come up against. When he left Castile in 1520, theCastilian War of the Communitiesbroke out, and the revolts released Joanna, claiming to support her to be the sole monarch and encouraging her to agree the dethronement of Charles. While sympathetic to revolts, Joanna however refused to sign any documents to support them or depose her son.Los comuneroswere defeated one year later (1521). After their defeat, Parliament was reduced to a merely consultative body. To prevent Joanna from being proposed to be an alternative monarch by opponents again, Charles continued her confinement until her death in 1555, after which Charles became the only monarch of Spain.

Imperial policies of Philip II

Philip IIcontinued the politics of Charles I, but unlike his father he made Castile the core of theSpanish Empire,centralising all administration inMadrid.The other Spanish regions maintained certain degree of autonomy, being governed by aViceroy.

In fact, since the reign of Charles I the financial burden of the empire had fallen mainly on Castile, but under Philip II the cost quadrupled. During his reign, as well as increasing existing taxes he created some new ones, among them theexcusadoin 1567. That same year Philip ordered the proclamation of theLa Pragmática;an act whereby all Moriscos had to abandon all Moorish traditions and become true Catholics. This edict limited religious, linguistic and cultural freedom of the Morisco population and provoked theMorisco Revolt(1568–1571), which was put down byJohn of Austria.

Castile entered a phase of recession in 1575; Spain as a whole followed, which provoked the suspension of wages (the third of his reign). In 1590 theCortesapproved themillones;a new tax on food. This exhausted Castilian cities and hindered the economy. In 1596, pay was once again suspended.

Later Habsburgs

Worldwide Crown of Castile

In the previous kingdoms, positions in national institutions were filled by educated gentlemen. Philip II's administrators would normally come from either theUniversity of Alcaláor theUniversity of Salamanca.AfterPhilip IIIthe nobility once again asserted their right to govern the country. In order to show that there was a new order ruling there was a cleansing of the blood ofSpain.Religious persecution led Philip to declare theexpulsion of the Moriscosin 1609.

Faced with the collapse of the Exchequer, in order to maintain the hegemony of Philip IV's Spanish Empire, theCount-Duke of Olivares,the king'sfavourite(valido) from 1621 to 1643, tried to introduce a series of reforms. Among these was theUnión de Armas,the creation of a new army of 140,000 reservists. Every territory within the kingdom contributed citizens proportionally in order to maintain the force. His aims of union did not work and the Spanish Crown continued as a confederation of kingdoms.

Luis Méndez de Haro took over from Olivares as favourite Philip IV between 1659 and 1665. This was in order to alleviate interior conflicts sparked off by his predecessor (revolts inPortugal,CataloniaandAndalusia) and achieve peace in Europe.

Upon the death of Philip IV in 1665, and with the incapacity ofCharles IIto govern, Spain suffered an economic slowdown and battles for power between the different 'favourites'. The death of Charles II in 1700 without descendants provoked theWar of the Spanish Succession.

After the war, all the territories were unified as a single country under theCrown of Spain.

Spanish territorial divisions within the Crown of Castile

The Crown in late medieval Spain

Spanish North America, 18th century

South America, 18th century

In Spain

• Kingdom of Castille/Reino de Castilla
• Kingdom of León/Reino de León
• Principality of Asturias/Principado de Asturias
• Kingdom of Galicia/Reino de Galicia
• Lordship of Biscay/Señorío de Vizcaya
• Province of Gipuzkoa/Provincia de Guipúzcoa
• Province of Álava/Provincia de Álava
• Extremadura
• Kingdom of Toledo/Reino de Toledo
• Kingdom of Murcia/Reino de Murcia
• Kingdom of Córdoba/Reino de Córdoba
• Kingdom of Jaén/Reino de Jaén
• Kingdom of Seville/Reino de Sevilla
• Kingdom of Granada/Reino de Granada (after 1492)
• Kingdom of Navarre/Reino de Navarra (after 1512)

Overseas (before 1715)

• Kingdom of the Canaries/Reino de Canarias
• Viceroyalty of the Indies/Virreinato de las Indias (1492–1526)

North–Septentrional

• Viceroyalty of New Spain/Virreinato de la Nueva España (after 1535)
  • Kingdom of Mexico/Reino de México (administered by the Royal Audience of Mexico, presided directly by the Vice-roy of New Spain)
  • New Kingdom of Galicia/Nuevo Reino de Galicia
  • Captaincy General of Guatemalaor Kingdom of Guatemala/Capitanía General de Guatemala or Reino de Guatemala
  • Kingdom of New Biscay/Reino de Nueva Vizcaya
  • New Kingdom of León/Nuevo Reino de Léon
  • Santa Fe of New Mexico/Santa Fe de Nuevo México
  • New Extremadura/Nueva Extremadura
  • Province of New Navarre/Provincia de Nueva Navarra
  • Province of the Californias/Provincia de Las Californias
  • Provincia de Venezuela/Provincia de Venezuela
  • Captaincy General of the Philippines/Capitanía General de las Filipinas
  • Captaincy General of Cuba/Capitanía General de Cuba
  • Captaincy General of Puerto Rico/Capitanía General de Puerto Rico
  • Captaincy General of Santo Domingo/Capitanía General de Santo Domingo
  • Captaincy General of Yucatán/Capitanía General de Yucatán

South–Meridional

• Viceroyalty of Peru/Virreinato del Perú (after 1542)
  • Province of Tierra Firme/Provincia de Tierra Firme (administered by theRoyal Audiencia of Panama[1st one, 1538–43], [2nd one, 1564–1751])
  • New Kingdom of Granada/Nuevo Reino de Granada (administered by theRoyal Audience of Santa Fe de Bogotá)
  • Kingdom of Quito or Presidency of Quito/Reino de Quito or Presidencia de Quito (administered by theRoyal Audiencia of Quito)
  • Kingdom of Peru/Reino de Peru (administered by theRoyal Audiencia of Lima,presided directly by the Vice-roy of Peru)
  • Province of Charcas/Provincia de Charcas (administered by theRoyal Audiencia of Charcas)
  • Captaincy General of Chile/Capitanía General de Chile (unofficially referred as Kingdom of Chile/Reino de Chile)
  • Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata/Vireinato del Rio de La Plata,Governorate of the Río de la Plata/Gobernácion del Río de la Plata (administered by theRoyal Audiencia of Buenos Aires) (1661–72)

In the viceroyalties the viceroy, whose term etymologically means "in the place of the king", concentrated all public power. They were freely appointed and removed by the Monarch, when the sovereign wanted he/she could remove the viceroy from the office. In New Spain and Peru they played the role of sovereign, but in reality they only obeyed the orders of the Monarch of the Crown of Castile.

See also

• Heraldry of Castile
• Heraldry of León
• Kingdom of Castile
• Kingdom of León
• Kingdom of Galicia
• List of Castilian Monarchs
• Chief of the King's Guard (Portugal and Castile)

Further reading

• "Castile. Titles of European hereditary rulers".nobhist.narod.ru.2022.