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Viceroy of Valencia
The Viceroy of Valencia was the highest delegated magistracy of the Crown of the Hispanic Monarchy in the Kingdom of Valencia. The office was a kind of alter ego of the Monarch, who appointed its holder from among the members of the high Castilian nobility.
It replaced the lieutenant general, who had exercised the same function in the 15th century.
History
The office had a precedent in the Middle Ages, when King Martin I the Humane appointed a Viceroy of Valencia in 1403, on an extraordinary basis, to confront the violence of the nobility.[1] The appointee was Don Ferrán López de Luna, half-brother of the King's wife, Doña María de Luna.
The office was permanently institutionalized in 1520 during the reign of Charles I. After the long viceroyalty of Germaine of Foix in the first half of the 16th century, it always fell to members of the high Castilian nobility. This contributed decisively to the Castilianization of the Valencian nobility, over which the Viceroy and his small court exercised great influence.[1] Although its holders were representatives of the Crown, their high social standing did not make them bureaucrats, and for that reason they had no official secretariat for their functions.[2] In theory the term of office was limited to three years, but many viceroys exceeded this period.[1]
In theory, the Viceroy enjoyed broad powers; among other things, he presided over the Audiencia of Valencia. In practice, however, he lacked an armed force of his own and had to seek the cooperation of the kingdom's elite in order to carry out his functions. For this reason, his work consisted of the routine of the "court", private audiences and tournaments.[2] His decisions and those of his officials could be revoked by the Cortes of the Kingdom of Valencia if they contravened the Furs of Valencia.[2] After the last Cortes met in 1645, this power passed to the Junta de Electos of the three estates. The Junta could decide to form an embassy that went to the Monarch's court in Madrid to present directly to the King any possible contrafueros (violations of the Valencian fueros) committed by his officials in the Kingdom.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Furió 1995, p. 251.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Casey 1988, p. 469.
Bibliography
- Casey, James (1988). "De reino a provincia: de la Valencia foral a la absolutista (1609-1707)". In Manuel Cerdá (dir.) (ed.). Historia del pueblo valenciano (in español). Valencia: Levante. ISBN 84-404-3763-3.
- Furió, Antoni (1995). Història del País Valencià (in català). Valencia: Edicions Alfons el Magnànim. ISBN 84-7822-159-X.
