Intendant

Anintendant(French:[ɛ̃tɑ̃dɑ̃]^ⓘ;Portuguese:intendente[ĩtẽˈdẽtɨ];Spanish:intendente[intenˈdente]) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially inFrance,Spain,Portugal,andLatin America.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]Theintendancy systemwas a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In theWar of the Spanish Successionof 1701 to 1714 the French royalHouse of Bourbonsecured its hold on the throne of Spain; it extended a French-style intendancy system to Spain and Portugal - and subsequently worldwide through theSpanish EmpireandPortuguese Empire.Regions were divided into districts, each administered by an intendant.^[5] The title continues in use in Spain and in parts of Spanish America for particular government officials.

Development of the system in France[edit]

Intendants wereroyalcivil servants in France under theOld Regime.A product of the centralization policies of the French crown, intendants were appointed "commissions," and not purchasable hereditary "offices," which thus prevented the abuse of sales of royal offices and made them more tractable and subservient emissaries of the king. Intendants were sent to supervise and enforce the king's will in the provinces and had jurisdiction over three areas: finances, policing and justice.

Their missions were always temporary, which helped reduce favorable bias toward a province, and were focused on royal inspection. Article 54 of theCode Michaudescribed their functions as "to learn about all crimes, misdemeanors and financial misdealings committed by our officials and of other things concerning our service and the tranquility of our people" ( "informer de tous crimes, abus et malversations commises par nos officiers et autres choses concernant notre service et le soulagement de notre peuple").

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the intendants were chosen from thenoblesse de robe( "administrative nobility" ) or the upper-bourgeoisie. Generally, they weremasters of requestsin theConseil des parties.They were chosen by theController-General of Financeswho asked the advice of theSecretary of State for Warfor those who were to be sent in border provinces. They were often young:Charles Alexandre de Calonnebecame an intendant at the age of 32,TurgotandLouis Bénigne François Berthier de Sauvignyat the age of 34, andLouis-Urbain-Aubert de Tournyat the age of 40.

A symbol of royal centralization and absolutism, the intendant had numerous adversaries. Those nostalgic for an administration based on noble lineage (such asSaint-Simon) saw intendants as parvenus and usurpers of noble power. Partisans of a less absolute monarchy (such asFénelon) called for them to be abolished.Jacques Necker,the only Minister of Finances since 1720 who had not himself been an intendant, accused them of incompetence because of their youth and social aspirations. Thecahiers de doléancesof 1789 depicted them as over zealous agents of fiscal policies which weighed heavily on the people.

The termintendantwas also used for certain positions close to theController-General(see this term for more information):

intendants of finance
intendants of commerce
intendants of the sovereign council

In the same way, the termintendant généralwas used for certain commissioned positions close to theState Secretariesof War and of the Navy.

History[edit]

As early as the 15th century, the French kings sent commissioners to theprovincesto report on royal and administrative issues and to undertake any necessary action. These agents of the king were recruited from among the masters of requests, theCouncillors of Stateand members of theParlementsor theCourt of Accounts.Their mission was always for a specific mandate and lasted for a limited period. Along with these, there were also commissioners sent to the army, in charge of provisioning the army, policing and finances; they would supervise accountants, providers, merchants, and generals, and attend war councils and tribunals for military crimes. Such commissioners are found inCorsicaas early as 1553, inBourgesin 1592, inTroyesin 1594, and inLimogesin 1596.

WhenHenry IVascended the throne in 1589, one of his prime focuses was to reduce the privileges of the provincial governors who, in theory, represented "the presence of the king in his province" but had, during the civil wars of the early modern period, proven themselves to be highly intractable; these positions had long been held by only the highest rankednoblefamilies in the realm. The Intendants to the provinces —- the term "Intendant" appears around 1620 during the reign ofLouis XIII– became an effective tool of regional control.

Under Louis XIII's ministerCardinal Richelieu,with France's entry into theThirty Years' Warin 1635, the Intendants became a permanent institution in France. No longer mere inspectors, their role became one of government administrators. During theFrondein 1648, the members of Parlement of theChambre Saint-Louisdemanded that the Intendants be suppressed;MazarinandAnne of Austriagave in to these demands except in the case of border provinces threatened by Spanish or Imperial attack. At the end of the Fronde, the Intendants were reinstated.

WhenLouis XIV(1643–1715) was in power, theMarquis of Louvois,War Secretarybetween 1677 and 1691, further expanded the power of the provincial intendants. They monitored Louis's refinements of the French military, including the institution of a merit promotion system and a policy of enlistment limited to single men for periods of four years. After 1680, Intendants in France had a permanent position in a fixed region (or "généralité"); their official titles beingintendant de justice, police et finances,commissaires départis dans les généralités du royaume pour l'exécution des ordres du roi(orde Sa Majesté).^[6]

The position of Intendant remained in existence until theFrench Revolution.The title was maintained thereafter for military officers with responsibility for financial auditing at regimental level and above.

A 2021 study, which used a dataset of 430 intendants from 1640 to 1789, found that less than half of these officials went through the legally-specified training path.^[7]The study raised questions about the impersonal nature of these bureaucrats, with evidence indicating that familial and marital ties were factors in appointments, and that appointment duration had wide variability.^[7]

Functions[edit]

Appointed and revoked by the king and reporting to theController-General of Finances,the Intendant in his "généralité" had at his service a small team of secretaries. In the 18th century, the "généralité" was subdivided into "subdelegations" at the head of which was placed a "subdelegate" (having also a team of secretaries) chosen by the Intendant. In this way, the Intendant was relatively understaffed given his large jurisdiction.

Notable intendants[edit]

Claude-François Bertrand de Boucheporn,inCorsicathenPau,BayonneandAuch
Paul Esprit Marie de la BourdonnayeinPoitiers
Charles Alexandre de CalonneinMetz,then inLille,futureController-General of Finances
Nicolas-François Dupré de Saint-MaurinBordeaux
Antoine-Martin Chaumont de La GalaizièreinSoissonsthen inLorraine
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Auget de MontyoninPoitiers
Louis-Urbain-Aubert de TournyinLimoges,then inBordeaux
Anne-Robert-Jacques TurgotinLimoges,futureController-General of Finances

New France[edit]

The French North American colony ofNew France,which later became the Canadian province ofQuebec,also had a senior official called anintendant,who was responsible to the French King. New France's first intendant wasJean Talon,comte d'Orsainville in 1665, and the last one, at the time of theBritish conquest of QuebecwasFrançois Bigot.

Spain and Spanish Empire[edit]

Intendants were introduced into Spain and theSpanish Empireduring the eighteenth-centuryBourbon Reforms.The reforms were designed by the new dynasty to make political administration more efficient and to promote economic, commercial, and fiscal development of their new realms.^[8]Anintendentewas in charge of a Spanish administrative unit, called anintendencia,which could include one or more provinces. Theintendentewas appointed directly by the Crown and had responsibility to oversee the treasury, the collection of taxes, and corruption practices and to promote agriculture and economic growth in general. With fiscal powers that gave them a say in almost all administrative, ecclesiastical and military matters,intendenteswere conceived by the Bourbon kings to be a check on other local officials (who in the past couple of centuries had come to gain their position through the sale of offices or inheritance), just as theintendantshad been in France a century earlier. Throughout the 18th century the Bourbons experimented with the powers and duties of the intendants, both in Spain and overseas, so what follows is only a general description of the Spanish intendancy. In any given area at any given time, the duties of the intendant would have been specified by the laws that established that particular intendancy.

The firstintendenciaswere established in Spain after 1711, during theWar of the Spanish Successionon the advice ofJean Orry,who had been sent byLouis XIV of Franceto help his young grandsonPhilip Vset up his new government. The first intendants (superintendentes generales del ejército) oversaw the finances of the army and of the territories conquered by the Bourbons, and after the war, they were made permanent (intendentes de ejército y provincia). (After 1724, most intendancies lost their military character except in areas with acaptaincy generaland inNavarre.) In 1749 an intendancy was established in every province, with the intendant also holding the office ofcorregidorof the capital city. (The offices were separated again in 1766). Districtalcaldes mayoresorcoregidoreswere subordinated to the provincialintendente-corregidorand assisted him in managing the province and implementing reforms.^[9]

As a result of theSeven Years' Waran intendancy was set up inCubain 1764.^[10]The Cuban intendant had oversight of the army's and the royal treasury's finances. (Two new intendancies with oversight only over the treasury were established in 1786 inCamagüeyandSantiago de Cuba.) After a two years of experimentation with the new office, an intendancy was introduced inLouisiana(1764).

That same yearVisitador GeneralJosé de Gálvezcreated a plan to set up intendancies inNew Spain(Mexico). The first one was set up in central Mexico in 1786, followed in 1787 byVeracruz,Puebla,Valladolidin Michoacan,Guadalajara,Oaxaca,Guanajuato,Zacatecas,San Luis Potosí,Durango,Sonora,and in 1789Mérida,the main city in Yucatán. These administrative changes codified existing regional divisions of Center (Mexico, Veracruz, Puebla, Michoacan), South (Oaxaca, Mérida), and North (Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Durango, and Sonora).

In 1776 Gálvez, now Minister of the Indies, established an intendancy (superintendencia) for all ofVenezuelain 1776, and several in theRío de la Platain 1783. Most of the overseas intendants were assisted by officials (subdelegados) who replaced the oldcorregidoresoralcaldes mayores.Initially intendancies were held by a separate person from theviceroyor the governor, but eventually in many places the offices were granted to one person due to conflicts that emerged between these two.

More intendancies were established inQuito,Peru,Philippines,Puerto Rico(1784),Guatemala,more areas ofNew Spain,Chile(1786) andCuenca(1786). TheRevolt of the Comunerosprevented their installation inNew Granada.

Portugal and Portuguese Empire[edit]

In Portugal, historically, the title "intendant" (intendentein Portuguese) has been mainly associated with police roles.

From 1760 to 1832, the head of the Police of the Kingdom of Portugal had the title of "Intendant General of the Police of the Court and of the Kingdom". A similar title - that of "Intendant General of the Public Security" - was used from 1928 to 1932 to designate the head of the Portuguese Civil Police.

Current use in Hispanic and Lusophone countries[edit]

Portugal[edit]

Rank insignia of an intendant of the Portuguese Public Security Police.

Presently, intendant is a rank of officer in thePublic Security Police,roughly equivalent to the military rank oflieutenant-colonel.Analogously, the police rank of sub-intendant corresponds to the rank ofmajor,while the police rank of superintendent corresponds to the rank ofcolonel.

The rank insignia of an intendant consists of a dark blueepauletwith two crossedhorsewhipsinside alaurel wreathand two PSP stars. Each PSP star consists in a six points silver star with the "SP"monogramin the center. The rank insignia of a sub-intendant is similar but with only a single PSP star.

Spain[edit]

Nowadays in the Spanish armed forces, the title Intendant refers to a Colonel in the Supply Branch either in the Navy, Army or Air Force. It is also used in some branches of the administration such as the Catalan Police, (Mossos d'Esquadrain Catalan) or in some Autonomous Communities (Comunidades Autónomasin Spanish).

Argentina[edit]

InArgentina,intendente(m) orintendenta(f) refers tocity mayors– heads of government ofmunicipalities(orpartidosinBuenos Aires Province).^[11]This meaning is not at all connected to the usage in other countries.Spanish-languagemedia in countries other than Argentina tend to refer to Argentine city mayors asalcaldes,which is the most common Spanish word for mayor. In theArgentine Army,"Intendencia" is the Spanish name of the Quartermaster Corps, and its members are informally called "intendentes". In some organizations, such as clubs, gated communities, large companies, etc., "intendente" is the name given to the person in charge of general maintenance of common spaces.

Chile[edit]

Chileisadministratively dividedin 16regions.Between 1976 (1974 in some regions) and 2021, each region was headed by an intendant, appointed by thepresident.

Cuba[edit]

InCuba,the intendant was introduced by the Constitution of the Republic (2019) to head the Administrative Councils - subordinate to the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power (town halls) - and with strictly executive-administrative functions. As the highest local authority is the President of the Municipal Assembly (mayor), it is up to him to designate and remove the intendant, after agreement with the majority of the Delegates of People's Power (councilors).

Paraguay[edit]

TheRepublic of Paraguayis administratively divided into 17departamentos(departments), each of which is headed by angobernador departamental(departmental governor). Thesedepartamentosare divided into 261^[12]distritos(districts) (plus thecapital district), districts are headed by anintendente municipal(municipal intendant), these intendants are popularly elected, and serve a term of five years.

Uruguay[edit]

Uruguayis divided administratively into 19departamentos(departments). The executive power of each department is theintendencia(intendancy), headed by anintendente departamental(departmental intendant). The intendants are popularly elected, and serve a term of five years.

Russia and Soviet Union[edit]

The position of intendant was part of the tsarist Russian army from 1812 to 1868; intendants were responsible for supplies, finances, etc. in the field. After the 1935 rank reform that established 'personal ranks' in the Soviet military, it was reintroduced as the rank title for administrative and supply officers. The specific ranks, their collar insignia, and their line equivalents were:

technician-intendant second class,two rectangles, lieutenant
technician-intendant first class,three rectangles, senior lieutenant
intendant third class,one rectangle, captain
intendant second class,two rectangles, major
intendant first class,three rectangles, colonel.
brigindendant(i.e., brigade intendant), one diamond, kombrig (brigade commander)
divintendant(i.e., division intendant), two diamonds, komdiv (division commander)
korindendant(i.e., corps intendant), three diamonds, komkor (corps commander)
armintendant(i.e., army intendant), four diamonds, komandarm (army commander) second class.

On 7 May 1940, the rank title system for all Soviet Army senior officers was changed to bring it closer in line with standard European practice, and the ranks of major general of the intendant service, lieutenant general of the intendant service, and colonel general of the intendant service were introduced. Senior officers from brigintendant to armintendant rank underwent a re-attestation process and were given a general rank.

On 30 March 1942, the 'intendant' ranks equivalent to those between lieutenant and colonel were abolished, and officers holding those ranks also underwent a re-attestation process and received ranks ranging from lieutenant of the intendant service to colonel of the administrative service.

Scotland[edit]

InScotlandintendant is an archaic title meaning "supervisor" or "curator". The senior officer of theCity of Glasgow Policewas called an Intendant in the document establishing the force in 1800.

United States[edit]

For much of its history, the chief magistrate of the city ofCharleston, South Carolinawas the Intendant of the City, roughly corresponding to a mayor. The title Intendant was also used in other Lowcountry towns, where the office was assisted by "wardens," a system which may have derived from earlier ecclesiastical administration under colonial rule.

Other uses[edit]

It is also commonly found today in many theaters andopera housesin Europe, where it is the equivalent to the title ofgeneral director,given to an individual in a managerial position, generally having control over all aspects of the company.

InStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Intendant was a title in themirror universe.The mirror universe version ofKira Nerysheld the position ofIntendant ofBajor.

References[edit]

Portions of the section on France are a translation of the articleIntendant (Ancien Régime)from theFrench Wikipedia,accessed on 13 August 2006.

^American Heritage Dictionarydefinition of "intendant"
^"Definition of INTENDANT".
^"Oxford Languages | the Home of Language Data".Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2016.
^"Intendant: Meaning and Definition of | Infoplease".
^ Jacquelyn Briggs Kent, "Intendancy System" inEncyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture,vol. 3, pp. 286-87. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
^Esmein, Adhémar(1911)."Intendant".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 683.
^^a ^bSasaki, Yu (2021)."The Royal Consultants: The Intendants of France and the Bureaucratic Transition in Pre-modern Europe".Journal of Historical Political Economy.1(2): 259–289.doi:10.1561/115.00000008.hdl:2065/00073286.ISSN 2693-9290.S2CID 238784308.
^James Lockhart and Stuart Schwartz,Early Latin America,New York: Cambridge University Press 1983, pp. 352.
^Artola, Miguel.Enciclopedia de Historia de España,Tomo V. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1991. Pgs. 678–679.ISBN 84-206-5294-6
^Excerpts of the Cuban intendancy regulations can be found at "Establishment of the Intendancy in Cuba" in Charles Gibson, ed.The Spanish Tradition in America(Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1968), 223–228.
^Mensa, Andrea (2007)."El Estado municipal en Argentina"[Municipal State in Argentina](PDF).Provincia(in Spanish).17.Universidad de Los Andes:43.ISSN 1317-9535.
^Siete nuevos municipios elegirán por primera vez a sus autoridades