Adelantado (UK:/ˌædəlænˈtɑːdoʊ/,[1][2]US:/-lɑːnˈ-/,[2][3]Spanish:[aðelanˈtaðo]; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by someSpanish nobles in service of their respective kings during theMiddle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanishconquistadores of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
Adelantados weregranted directly by the monarch the right to becomegovernors andjustices of a specific region, which they were charged with conquering, in exchange for funding and organizing the initial explorations, settlements and pacification of the target area on behalf of theCrown of Castile. These areas were usually outside the jurisdiction of an existingaudiencia orviceroy, andadelantados were authorized to communicate directly with theCouncil of the Indies.[4]
The term has its origins in thereconquista and comes from the phrasepor adelantado (Spanish: 'in advance', although translations stating 'one who goes before' and 'the forward man' are also found). It is acalque of ArabicMuqaddam (مقدم) which has the exact same meaning. According to theSiete Partidas, the office ofadelantado was the equivalent of the Romanpraefectus urbi (transl. urban prefect).
The earliest definitively knownadelantado was appointed byAlfonso X in 1253 in the recently conquered territory ofLa Frontera (Andalusia). However the office had precedents in the duties and rights held by some officers of theNavarrese dynasty of Castile and León, andÁlvar Fáñez orFortún Sánchez in the Ebro valley performed similar services in detached territories beyond the frontier. It was during this time that theSiete Partidas, commissioned by Alfonso X, more precisely defined the powers of the office.
That law code created the position of anadelantado mayor, who was at the same time an intermediary appellate judge, located in the judicial hierarchy between local justices and the king's court, and an executive officer, who as a direct representative of the king was charged with implementing royal orders in his assigned area. Most appointees were from the upper nobility or the royal family. After its success in Andalusia, the institution was introduced in the northern areas of the peninsula, merging with and becoming indistinguishable from an older judicial office, the RoyalMerinos.
Beyond the peninsula, the termadelantado was granted toAlonso Fernández de Lugo in theconquest of the Canary Islands and was confirmed to members of his family. The term became modified over time. During thecolonization of the Americas and theSpanish East Indies (Asia), each charter specified different powers to eachadelantado, sometimes in a vague manner, which often led to confusion as in the case betweenJuan de Oñate and the Viceroy of New Spain.[5]
The title was granted both as an inheritable title and one that lasted for the grantee's life only. With the publication of the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries (Ordenanzas de descubrimientos, nueva población y pacificación de las Indias) in 1573, the attributes ofadelantados became regularized, although the title was granted much less often after this date, especially since the institutions ofaudiencias, governors and viceroys had been developed.[6]
Nevertheless, the Ordinances are useful because they illustrate the powersadelantados often had. The Ordinances established thatadelantados, in their capacity as governors and justices of the new territories, had the right to hear civil and criminal cases in appeal, to name theregidores and employees of thecabildos of any towns founded, to name interim treasury officials, to issue ordinances on the use of land and mines, to establish districts, and to organizemilitias and name their captains.
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The first use of the titleadelantado in the Americas was byBartholomew Columbus, brother ofChristopher Columbus, who governedHispaniola under this title during his brother's absence from 1494 to 1498. It was later inherited byDiego Colón after much litigation. Other conquistadors who were granted the title include: