Questions Below Refer To The Following Passage. The cabildo, which is Spanish for “municipal council,” was the fundamental unit of local government in colonial Spanish America. Following a tradition going back to the Romans, the Spanish considered the city to be of paramount importance, with the surrounding countryside directly subordinate to it. In local affairs, each municipality in Hispanic America was governed by its cabildo, or council, in a manner reminiscent of Castilian towns in the late Middle Ages. A council’s members and magistrates, together with the local judge... Show more Questions Below Refer To The Following Passage. The cabildo, which is Spanish for “municipal council,” was the fundamental unit of local government in colonial Spanish America. Following a tradition going back to the Romans, the Spanish considered the city to be of paramount importance, with the surrounding countryside directly subordinate to it. In local affairs, each municipality in Hispanic America was governed by its cabildo, or council, in a manner reminiscent of Castilian towns in the late Middle Ages. A council’s members and magistrates, together with the local judge appointed by the king, enjoyed considerable prestige and power. The size of a council varied but was always small. The cabildos of important cities, such as Lima and Mexico, had about 12 members. The cabildo was in charge of all ordinary aspects of municipal government— e.g., policing, sanitation, taxation, the supervision of building, price and wage regulation, and the administration of justice. To assist them in these responsibilities, the city councilors appointed various officials, such as tax collectors, inspectors of weights and measures and the markets, and peace officers. In spite of royal decrees to promote honest and efficient city government, the cabildos were often corrupt and rapacious. By the mid-sixteenth century, appointments to cabildos were ordinarily made by the Spanish crown and sometimes became hereditary. Occasionally, the propertied class in a city elected some of the councilors. Sometimes citizens were asked to attend a open town meeting on important matters. Such open meetings became very important to the movement for the independence of Hispanic America in the early nineteenth century. Show less
Questions Below Refer To The Following Passage.
The cabildo, which is Spanish for “municipal council,” was the fundamental unit of local government in colonial Spanish America. Following a tradition going back to the Romans, the Spanish considered the city to be of paramount importance, with the surrounding countryside directly subordinate to it. In local affairs, each municipality in Hispanic America was governed by its cabildo, or council, in a manner reminiscent of Castilian towns in the late Middle Ages. A council’s members and magistrates, together with the local judge appointed by the king, enjoyed considerable prestige and power. The size of a council varied but was always small. The cabildos of important cities, such as Lima and Mexico, had about 12 members. The cabildo was in charge of all ordinary aspects of municipal government— e.g., policing, sanitation, taxation, the supervision of building, price and wage regulation, and the administration of justice. To assist them in these responsibilities, the city councilors appointed various officials, such as tax collectors, inspectors of weights and measures and the markets, and peace officers. In spite of royal decrees to promote honest and efficient city government, the cabildos were often corrupt and rapacious. By the mid-sixteenth century, appointments to cabildos were ordinarily made by the Spanish crown and sometimes became hereditary. Occasionally, the propertied class in a city elected some of the councilors. Sometimes citizens were asked to attend a open town meeting on important matters. Such open meetings became very important to the movement for the independence of Hispanic America in the early nineteenth century.
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