The Gabildo

The Illustrious Cabildo, described as the earliest municipal institution in Trinidad, was established around 1628 in the island’s first capital – San Jose de Oruno (St Joseph). That was the earliest semblance of Local Government in Trinidad. The Cabildo was relocated to Port of Spain in 1784.

         In addition to its municipal functions the Cabildo had ecclesiastical, executive, judicial, fiscal, economic and military powers. It kept in check the inclination to arbitrary rule by the Crown and its Viceroy for the colonies.

Structure:

• The Governor-  Ex-Officio President
• 2 alcaldes (elected judges)
• 2 Magistrates with life tenure (appointed by the crown)
• 7 Councillors who were elected by the taxpayers

 (The corporate area was sub-divided into wards)

 The officers included among others the:

•  Asesor (judicial advisor to the Governor)
•  Procurador General (the watchdog of the rights of the community)
•  Fiel Ejecutor (in charge of weights and measures)
• A Town Clerk (Secretary to the Board)
• Chief Constable

 Functions:

• Collecting taxes on dwellings and buildings, as well as, rents on buildings owned by the Cabildo e.g. markets  
• Levying import and export duties.  

• Construction and up-keep  of roads, Cabildo buildings and other public amenities
• Supervising public markets,  weights and measures, and coinage
• Clearing of refuse

·        Controlling public sanitation and the health system

·        Regulating the entry of doctors to the medical profession

·        Policing the town and keeping the jail

The powers of the Cabildo were severely curtailed by Don Jose Maria Chacon in 1784 when he removed the institution to Port of Spain, immediately upon his appointment as Governor.