In the Spanish colonies an alcalde was usually an ordinary judge, not always trained in the law to the extent of being a letrado or togado. An alcalde ordinario or an alcalde de ayuntamiento tried cases in first instance. An alcalde mayor or an alcalde de partido might try cases on appeal from these. Generally speaking, alcaldes ordinarios were town judges, in contrast to alcaldes mayores who had provincial jurisdiction as well. Alcaldes ordinarios and regidores were members of the town ayuntamientos or cabildos (municipal councils). Regidores did not exercise judicial functions.
[4] Recopilación de leyes de los reinos de las Indias (hereinafter to be referred to as the Recopilación), lib. 2, tit. 2, ley 13. For an account of the Recopilación, see footnote 40, below.
[5] Bancroft, History of Central America, I, 269; see note 27 of this chapter.
[6] In some of the early Spanish colonies the alcalde was elected by his fellow-townsmen. He exercised the functions of judge and chief executive, subject to the governor, or adelantado, and in the absence of the latter assumed the government of the colony. Alcaldes in new settlements or on expeditions were different in character and exercised functions distinct from those of the alcaldes of the later periods. This earlier type probably existed in Española under Columbus (see Bancroft, History of Central America, I, 175, 330, note 7). That their duties varied in different colonies may be deduced from the statement of Bancroft that “the alcaldes mayores of New Spain under Cortés were merely entrusted with judicial powers ... later those of San Luís Potosí and other places acted also as lieutenants for captains-general, and exercised, in other respects, the duties and ceremonies of governors” (Bancroft, History of Mexico, III, 520). The term, therefore, does not always convey a clear impression of the exact nature of the duties attached to the office.
[7] Bancroft, History of Central America, I, 269.
[8] Altamira, Historia, II, 479.
[9] Bourne, Spain in America. 222; Vander Linden, L’expansion coloniale de l’Espagne, 339; see note in Bancroft, History of Central America, I. 280–283.
[10] Bourne, Spain in America, 222; Moses, The Spanish dependencies in South America. I, 250–1; see Col. Doc. Ined., XXXI, 139–155.
[11] Recopilación, 9–1–2, 5.
[12] Ibid., 2–2–82, auto 36; Desdevises du Dezert, Espagne de l’ancien régime. Les institutions. 100–101; see Veitia Linaje, Norte de la contratación de las Indias Occidentales, passim.