Reorganization of the Viceroyalty of Peru (1542)

Timeline

1. 1542Valladolid (site of the edict's promulgation) · ValladolidCharles V issued the New Laws, formally creating the Viceroyalty of Peru and stipulating that encomiendas could not be inherited and that Indians should be granted freedom, while appointing the first viceroy, Núñez Vela, to take up his post.
2. 1543–1546Peru (along the Lima–Quito route) · PeruAfter arriving in Peru, Núñez Vela attempted to implement the reforms, encountering strong resistance from the conquistador elite; he was ultimately killed in the conflict of 1546, plunging the reorganization into crisis and triggering larger-scale rebellions.
3. 1544–1548Lima · LimaThe Crown revised the controversial clauses of the New Laws in 1544, conceding to the colonial elite on the encomienda question; after suppressing the rebellion in 1548, the administrative framework of the Viceroyalty of Peru as the largest colonial unit in Spanish America was finally established.