A Useless tool. The "Juicios de residencia" in the Audience of Lima in the late XVIIth

Abstract

Established as a tool designed to control public servants of the colonial administration, the trial of residence started almost at the same time as the Spanish presence in America. However, for various reasons of different nature -legal, clientelist and political-, this mechanism was rendered useless by the end of the 17th century. Thus, taking the three magistrates of the Audience of Lima as examples, we'll analyse the inefficacy of the trial of residence.