The Audiencia of Santo Domingo in the Seventeenth Century

In this examination of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo—an appellate court of justice for most of the Spanish Caribbean—Marc Eagle analyzes its role, especially the way it provided royal oversight and a connection to the metropolis for the island of Hispaniola and the larger district of the Caribbean over the course of the seventeenth century. The audiencia was beset by internal conflict, beholden to local elites, frequently disrespected by other officials in its district, and plagued by periodic