Kingdom of CastileThe Kingdom of Castile (kæˈstiːl; Reino de Castilla, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name is popularly thought to come from the castles built in the region. It began in the 9th century as the County of Castile (Condado de Castilla), an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right.
Cabildo (council)A cabildo (kaˈβildo) or ayuntamiento (aʝuntaˈmjento) was a Spanish colonial, and early post-colonial, administrative council which governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected; but they were considered to be representative of all land-owning heads of household (vecinos). The colonial cabildo was essentially the same as the one developed in medieval Castile. The cabildo was the legal representative of the municipality—and its vecinos—before the Crown, therefore it was among the first institutions established by the conquistadors themselves after, or even before, taking over an area.
Corregidor (position)A corregidor (korexiˈðoɾ) was a local administrative and judicial official in Spanish Empire. They were the representatives of the royal jurisdiction over a town and its district. He was the highest authority of a corregimiento. In the Spanish Americas and the Spanish Philippines, a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in Pre-Spanish Imperial fourteenth century Castile. The idea of appointing Crown officials to oversee local affairs was inspired by the late-medieval revival of Roman law.
IntendantAn intendant (ɛ̃tɑ̃dɑ̃; intendente ĩtẽˈdẽtɨ; intendente intenˈdente) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701 to 1714 the French royal House of Bourbon secured its hold on the throne of Spain; it extended a French-style intendancy system to Spain and Portugal - and subsequently worldwide through the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire.
MayorIn many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play a solely ceremonial role.
BurgosBurgos (ˈbuɾɣos) is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries, at the edge of the central plateau. The municipality has a population of about 180,000 inhabitants. The Camino de Santiago runs through Burgos. Founded in 884 by the second Count of Castile, Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, Burgos soon became the leading city of the embryonic County of Castile.
MunicipalityA municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term municipality may also mean the governing body of a given municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis.
ReconquistaThe Reconquista (Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician for "reconquest") is the historical term used to describe the military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Moors from the 8th century until 1492, to recapture the Iberian territories which were lost due to the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The beginning of the Reconquista is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga (circa 718 or 722), in which an Asturian army achieved the first Christian victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion.
