Overlapping Authority.

More so than the early English colonies, Spanish colonies were tied closely to the military, an imperial bureaucracy, and the church. The imperial bureaucracy had three components: the office of the viceroy, responsible for civil and military matters and the local governors; the audiencias, or appeals courts; and the episcopate, or church. Their powers overlapped, and in theory they worked to complement one another. In practice, however, disputes arose frequently over authority.

Underlying Theory.

In part the jurisdictional confusion was intentional. The Spanish government knew that if the authority of these groups overlapped they would check each other and none would get too powerful. But another reason was that the agencies reflected the Spanish monarchy itself. The monarch was seen as both king and vicar of Christ, with secular and spiritual authority. In that sense both the church and...