Nevertheless, the audiencia president was at the same time governor and captain general of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, which granted him broad administrative powers and autonomy over the Spanish possessions of the Caribbean and most of its mainland coasts.
Law II ("That in the City of Santo Domingo in Hispaniola reside the Royal Audiencia and Chancellory, and of its Ministers, District and Jurisdiction") of Title XV ("Of the Royal Audiencias and Chancellories of the Indies") of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de las Indias of 1680—which compiles the decrees of September 14, 1526; June 4, 1527; April 19, 1583; October 30, 1591, and February 17, 1620—describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia.
The president of the Audiencia retained administrative oversight of Margarita, Cumaná and Caracas throughout the majority of the colonial period.
Because Spain ceded Hispaniola to France in the Peace of Basel of 1795, the Audiencia was transferred to Santa María del Puerto Príncipe (today Camagüey, Cuba) by the royal decree of March 17, 1799.
In 1838 the Real Audiencia of Havana was created, with the Puerto Príncipe retaining jurisdiction over the Eastern and Central departments of Cuba, since Spain had lost Florida and Louisiana.