This system of government, with the many separate offices or audiencias each wielding authority largely in their own way in their own district, yet with each audiencia coordinated in its larger efforts and guiding principles by the Council of the Indies, appears to have been a highly successful government. For better or for worse, the Spanish government managed to maintain dominion over much of the Caribbean and in Central and South America for many centuries, and this system of government administration was in place for much of that time (Stearns & Langer 2001). The degree of autonomy that each audiencia enjoyed made it easy for them to govern both effectively and flexibility, responding to issues and opportunities within their district without the need to check with higher authorities in most regards. This greatly increased the efficacy of the overall governmental structure.
This does not mean that there isn't room for improvement in the system of government that the Spanish employed in the Caribbean and throughout the New World, however, and there are some changes that could have made the centralized control of these colonies more of a reality. The widespread nature of the colonies and the independent audiencias is not conducive to the central Spanish government receiving accurate information...
Adding an additional layer of government with offices that oversaw multiple audiencias could have helped to create a more centralized system, much like state governments oversee (in some respects) individual county or city governments. This would not have led to a major sacrifice of the flexibility held by the audiencias that made them an effective source of government within their districts, but would have enabled greater centralized oversight than was provided by the Council of the Indies. Making this change would have been relatively easy an inexpensive, and could have greatly increased the revenues produced by the different colonies by allowing for more coordinated and cooperative efforts.
The Spanish system of administering government in the Caribbean was highly effective, even if t did appear rather fragmented and haphazard in some aspects. With some changes, it is possible that this government could have been improved still further. As it is, however, the Spanish proved to be an extremely effective long-term colonial power, with their dominion in the area lasting several centuries.
Reference
Stearns, P. & Langer, W. (2001). The encyclopedia of world history. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.
