Real Audiencia of Caracas

From 1550 to 1786, the territory of Venezuela was under the jurisdiction and administration of the Real Audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá. Over time, the Spanish moved away from their rigid centralized administrative system and divided their colonial empire into smaller, more manageable units. As a consequence, the Viceroyalty of New Granada (from 1717) and, within it, the Captaincy General of Venezuela were established. By royal decree of 6 July 1786, King Charles III ordered the establishment of a separate Royal Audiencia in Caracas. ==Jurisdiction==

The reason for its establishment was a territorial reorganization of the colony. The regions of Cumaná, Margarita and Trinidad were transferred from the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo to Caracas, while the territories of Caracas, Maracaibo, and Guyana were removed from the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá. ==References==