ORGANIZACIÓN DE LAS COMISARÍAS DE LA INQUISICIÓN EN CHILE, SIGLO XVI*

In 1570, the Holy Office of the Spanish Inquisition in the New World was organized, constituting only three districts. Among them: Lima, whose jurisdiction included the dioceses of Santiago and Concepción of Chile. In order to tightening controls over the population, it was ruled, from the beginning, that each head of the bishopric and sea port of the Lima district would have commissioners, true representatives of the inquisitors in spaces far from the court seat. Although it has been sustained by historiography that there was no inquisitorial activity in the frontiers and away from the hubs of the monarchy, in the case of Chile it has been confirmed that not only were formed the first commissionership in the 16th century, but also, there were a series of religious and political reasons that justified its implementation.