Adelantado

Adelantados were granted directly by the monarch the right to become governors and justices 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 the Crown of Castile.

[4] The term has its origins in the reconquista and comes from the phrase por adelantado (Spanish: 'in advance', although translations stating 'one who goes before' and 'the forward man' are also found).

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 Royal Merinos.

Beyond the peninsula, the term adelantado was granted to Alonso Fernández de Lugo in the conquest of the Canary Islands and was confirmed to members of his family.

During the colonization of the Americas and the Spanish East Indies (Asia), each charter specified different powers to each adelantado, sometimes in a vague manner, which often led to confusion as in the case between Juan de Oñate and the Viceroy of New Spain.