Royal Patronage (Patronato Real)

Type Object Region Spain Time c. 1493

The Patronato Real was the Spanish crown's system of privileges over the Catholic Church in its American colonies, rooted in late-15th-century papal …

Timeline

c. 1493–1512Spain · SpainPope Alexander VI's 1493 bull and the 1508 bull Ea quae confirmed the Spanish crown's priority rights over missions in the Americas; domestic laws such as the 1512 Laws of Toro wrote the patronage into Castilian law.
1531–1540New Spain · New SpainIn the 1530s the crown nominated bishops, approved religious order activities, and collected its share of church tithes through the Council of the Indies; governorates and dioceses were governed in parallel, with the Patronato Real ensuring colonial administration's control over missions and the church.
1535–1540Spain and the Americas · Spanish colonial AmericasAfter the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Patronato Real and the encomienda's civilizing obligation supported each other: orders such as the Franciscans and Dominicans accelerated missionary work north and south in the later 1530s, and the patronage system provided ideological and organizational support for colonial expansion.

Sources

Patronato Real https://www.britannica.com/topic/patronato-real
The Spanish Crown and the Church in America — John F. Schwaller (2011)