Corregimiento (; , ) is a Spanish language term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A corregimiento was usually headed by a corregidor. The name comes from the word corregir, meaning "to correct".
Historical corregimientos
Corregimientos were found historically in the Kingdom of Castile, the Kingdom of Aragon, and the Spanish West Indies.
Castile
In
Old Castile corregimientos existed since the 13th century and were the administrative divisions of the
Junta General de las Siete Merindades de Castilla Vieja.
[Rafael Sánchez Domingo, Las merindades de Castilla Vieja y su Junta General, La Olmeda, Burgos, 1994 ] After the Nueva Planta decrees under the rule of Philip V—the first Bourbon king of
Spain, the
corregidor was replaced by an
intendant.
in Castile existed until 1835, the year in which the municipal administration was reorganized under Queen Isabel II.
[Real Decreto de 23 de julio de 1835]
Crown of Aragon
In the territories of
Aragon,
Catalonia, and the Land of Valencia
[Vicent Giménez Chornet, Compte i raó: la hisenda municipal de la ciutat de València en el segle XVIII, Universitat de València, 2002, ] formerly under the ancient Crown of Aragon, the
corregimiento () replaced the former administrative divisions following the Nueva Planta decrees. However,
corregimientos disappeared in this area during the
Peninsular War, being replaced by the territorial divisions of the French military rulers.
[Eliseo Serrano Martín, El Matarraña y la Historia Moderna. Portal Aragon.] Corregimientos were finally superseded following the territorial division of Spain in 1833.
Captaincy General of Guatemala
The
corregimiento of Totonicapán and Huehuetenango was a division under the Audiencia of Guatemala from 1547 to 1678, when it was reorganised as an
alcaldía mayor.
Present-day corregimientos
Colombia
The
corregimientos of Colombia are smaller units than the historical ones. The word is used for the population centers that do not reach the level of municipality. They are thus under a municipality or a department.
Panama
The
corregimientos of Panama are district subdivisions. They are led by the
Representante de Corregimiento, also known as a
corregidor.
See also
