ABSTRACT
The political changes brought about by the sales between 1633 and 1700 proved particularly damaging to royal authority in the Viceroyalty of Peru. For Peru, the tribunal of accounts and the central treasury office in Lima formed the core of the fiscal bureaucracy. The royal treasury played a crucial role in maintaining Spanish power and authority in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Despite the considerable income accruing to the crown from the sale of treasury offices in Peru, opposition to the practice continued in the Council of the Indies. The final indication of the decline in royal authority in Peru was the drop in tax revenue flowing into the viceregal treasury. Although the crown began selling fiscal appointments to gain revenue, the measure ultimately weakened the treasury in Peru and lessened the crown’s power to draw revenue from the viceroyalty.
