Creole Appointments and the Sale of Audiencia Positions in the Spanish Empire under the Early Bourbons, 1701–1750

Abstract

Soon after Philip V assumed the Spanish throne in 1700, he began selling appointments of oidor, alcalde del crimen , and fiscal for the American audiencias. By 1750 he and his successor Ferdinand VI had sold about one-fourth of all appointments; the Crown added over 1,000, 000 pesos to the treasury by resorting to this expedient. Primarily through purchasing judicial appointments, numerous creoles (Spaniards born in America) entered these prestigious tribunals.