Capitulation (treaty)

A Capitulación is a public contract in which the Crown of Castile a Adelantado the

• Future discovery
• Military possession on behalf of the Crown and the
• Civilian population

Usually at their own expense against the assurance of the royal share of twenty percent ( Quinto real) found the precious metals and stones rendered. The contract had the character of a concession to a private entrepreneur and laid down the framework of an authorized expedition. The concessionaire committed itself to developing an Provincia, a limited area, the extent of which was often misjudged because of the unclear geographical conditions. In such Capitulación of private entrepreneurs has been committed within a specified time limit for the establishment of settlements, market towns and cities to exact a fixed scheme, harbors and fortifications, while he in turn beside the royal pardon (Spanish = " la merced "), which in itself tax breaks and ground allocations mostly reflected a title like Virrey (Spanish = Viceroy ), Gobernador ( Governor spanish = ), Teniente was gobernador (Spanish = Deputy Governor ) or general Capitán (Spanish = Captain-General ), I promise. A Capitulación has nothing to do with a surrender, but it stands for recapitulation in terms of a summary of the agreement (see capitulation )! Nor is it a certificate of appointment (Spanish = " título " ) for an office, because that was separately.

In general, the Adelantado in the Capitulación was obliged to perform " Requerimiento " (Spanish = prompt), the ritual annexation by the reading of an ultimatum. She later served the legitimacy of slavery: The representation of the principles of Christian dogma and the supposed rights of Spain to submit to the jurisdiction of the Castilian crown followed by the threat of war and enslavement in case of resistance. The Capitulación undertook the concessionaire also obedience to the crown, to be accountable for the royal share of settlement creation, and to missionary work in the sense of the Catholic faith. To ensure the royal legal and fiscal supervision and the royal fifth, put the Capitulaciones usually the participation of royal overseer, " Veedor ", as well as writers and notaries, " Escribanos " fixed.

The entrepreneur received by the Capitulación the military command of the to be solicited and be fitted by himself troupe, which was connected in case of success with the highest military, civil and judicial powers that were restricted or unrestricted inheritable. After signing the Capitulación was incumbent on the entrepreneur's task to equip his expedition (eg his ship ) and sailors to recruit priests and soldiers. Since the Conquistadores no royal soldiers or mercenaries in the rule that a firm pay or a fixed Heuer received the Adelantado, but volunteers who are indebted for purchasing their own equipment was directed their interest thereon, maximum profits from the expedition to, since only then the enormous debts were ablate. Failures that were not rare in an expedition, no one really could not afford, because the risk was generally not the crown, but only the private investors. This explains at least in part the enormous greed of gold expedition.

Result of this financing model of the expeditions was another colonial institution which aroused great interest in the enslavement of the natives of the colony: The Adelantado was given the right to the " encomienda " (Spanish = entrustment assignment), Land Tenure and Indians the Conquistadores for life allot: you legitimate the colonial masters, the " encomenderos ", the formation of latifundia and committed the indigenous for forced labor. The encomienda was originated during the medieval Reconquista of the voluntary assumption of free vassals of the Crown under the protection of an aristocrat in return for its military protection against Moorish attacks and included taxes and labor services to the landlords. In the colonial context, the Conquistadores were allowed to undertake the indigenous tribute to benefits in the form of payments in kind and labor, but were in turn obliged to Christian proselytizing. While from the private armies of the Conquistadores were no permanent military associations that committed the encomenderos encomienda to the Crown, at any time summon weapons and horse. So you talked a relatively weak colonial army in the form of an urban militia. With the " Leyes Nuevas " 1542 - 1545 the encomienda should be limited to the first generation of conquistadors and prevent exploitation and enslavement. The Spanish crown was interested to mitigate the effect of Capitulaciones and not allow the emergence of high-handed, to the Crown aspiring for autonomy landlords. For this purpose, a separate agency, the Casa de Contratación was in Seville, created, whose task it was to the people and to control the trade between the Castilian mother country and the colonies in the New World, real for the discharge of Quinto and the to ensure compliance with the Castilian laws.

Exhibited the Castilian crown Capitulaciones Already the conquest of the Canary Islands. During the Portuguese colonization of America was initially stronger after lehnsrechtlichem model, put the Castilian crown quite early on individual entrepreneurial development. The best known is the Capitulación " Capitulación of Santa Fe " on April 17, 1492 in Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon Christopher Columbus the right to "India trip " to the west granted, further, he was named " Admiral of the ocean ", as well as Viceroy and Governor-General of all he discovered islands and countries appointed, besides, he was now entitled to the hereditary title of " to lead Dons ", in addition, they endorsed him a 10% commission on trade between the mother country and the colonies. Columbus took with not only gold samples from the Caribbean, he also kidnapped people for proof of his presence in "India ". Francisco Pizarro also let himself give a Capitulación the Spanish king Charles I before his conquest of the Inca Empire.