Editing Intendant

{{short description|Term for public official in non-English-speaking countries}}
{{About|public officials especially in non-English-speaking countries called "intendants" in English|administrators of theaters|theater manager|administrators of opera houses|opera manager|other uses|intendant (disambiguation)}}
{{wikt | intendant}}
{{Use mdy dates|date= April 2012}}
An '''intendant''' ({{IPA|fr|ɛ̃tɑ̃dɑ̃|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-VictorDtmtc-intendant.wav}}; {{langx|pt|intendente}} {{IPA|pt|ĩtẽˈdẽtɨ|}}; {{langx|es|intendente}} {{IPA|es|intenˈdente|}}) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Portugal]], and [[Latin America]].<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=intendant ''American Heritage Dictionary'' definition of "intendant"]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intendant|title = Definition of INTENDANT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/intendant | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925035254/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/intendant | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 25, 2016 | title=Oxford Languages &#124; the Home of Language Data }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/intendant|title = Intendant: Meaning and Definition of &#124; Infoplease}}</ref> The '''intendancy system''' was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] of 1701 to 1714 the French royal [[House of Bourbon]] secured its hold on the throne of Spain; it extended a French-style intendancy system to Spain and Portugal - and subsequently worldwide through the [[Spanish Empire]] and [[Portuguese Empire]]. Regions were divided into districts, each administered by an intendant.<ref>
Jacquelyn Briggs Kent, "Intendancy System" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 3, pp. 286-87. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
</ref>
The title continues in use in Spain and in parts of Spanish America for particular government officials.

== Development of the system in France==
Intendants were [[monarchy|royal]] civil servants in France under the [[Ancien Régime|Old Regime]].  A product of the centralization policies of the French crown, intendants were appointed "commissions," and not purchasable hereditary "offices," which thus prevented the abuse of sales of royal offices and made them more tractable and subservient emissaries of the king.  Intendants were sent to supervise and enforce the king's will in the provinces and had jurisdiction over three areas: finances, policing and justice.

Their missions were always temporary, which helped reduce favorable bias toward a province, and were focused on royal inspection.  Article 54 of the [[Michel de Marillac|Code Michau]] described their functions as "to learn about all crimes, misdemeanors and financial misdealings committed by our officials and of other things concerning our service and the tranquility of our people" ("''informer de tous crimes, abus et malversations commises par nos officiers et autres choses concernant notre service et le soulagement de notre peuple''").

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the intendants were chosen from the ''[[Nobles of the Robe|noblesse de robe]]'' ("administrative nobility") or the upper-bourgeoisie.  Generally, they were [[Master of Requests (France)|masters of requests]] in the ''[[Conseil d'État (France)|Conseil des parties]]''. They were chosen by the [[Controller-General of Finances]] who asked the advice of the [[Secretary of State for War (France)|Secretary of State for War]] for those who were to be sent in border provinces.  They were often young: [[Charles Alexandre de Calonne]] became an intendant at the age of 32, [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|Turgot]] and [[Louis Bénigne François Berthier de Sauvigny]] at the age of 34, and [[Louis-Urbain-Aubert de Tourny]] at the age of 40.

A symbol of royal centralization and absolutism, the intendant had numerous adversaries.  Those nostalgic for an administration based on noble lineage (such as [[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]]) saw intendants as parvenus and usurpers of noble power.  Partisans of a less absolute monarchy (such as [[François Fénelon|Fénelon]]) called for them to be abolished.  [[Jacques Necker]], the only Minister of Finances since 1720 who had not himself been an intendant, accused them of incompetence because of their youth and social aspirations. The ''[[cahiers de doléances]]'' of 1789 depicted them as over zealous agents of fiscal policies which weighed heavily on the people.

The term ''intendant'' was also used for certain positions close to the Controller-General of Finances (see this term for more information):
* intendants of finance
* intendants of commerce
* intendants of the sovereign council

In the same way, the term ''intendant général'' was used for certain commissioned positions close to the [[Secretary of State (Ancien Régime)|State Secretaries]] of War and of the Navy.

===History===
As early as the 15th century, the French kings sent commissioners to the [[Provinces of France|provinces]] to report on royal and administrative issues and to undertake any necessary action.  These agents of the king were recruited from among the masters of requests, the [[Conseiller d'État|Councillors of State]] and members of the [[Parlement]]s or the [[Chambre des comptes|Court of Accounts]].  Their mission was always for a specific mandate and lasted for a limited period.  Along with these, there were also commissioners sent to the army, in charge of provisioning the army, policing and finances; they would supervise accountants, providers, merchants, and generals, and attend war councils and tribunals for military crimes.  Such commissioners are found in [[Corsica]] as early as 1553, in [[Bourges]] in 1592, in [[Troyes]] in 1594, and in [[Limoges]] in 1596.

When [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] ascended the throne in 1589, one of his prime focuses was to reduce the privileges of the provincial governors who, in theory, represented "the presence of the king in his province" but had, during the civil wars of the early modern period, proven themselves to be highly intractable; these positions had long been held by only the highest ranked [[French nobility|noble]] families in the realm.  The Intendants to the provinces —- the term "Intendant" appears around 1620 during the reign of [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] – became an effective tool of regional control.

Under Louis XIII's minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]], with France's entry into the [[Thirty Years' War]] in 1635, the Intendants became a permanent institution in France.  No longer mere inspectors, their role became one of government administrators.  During the [[Fronde]] in 1648, the members of Parlement of the ''Chambre Saint-Louis'' demanded that the Intendants be suppressed; [[Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]] and [[Anne of Austria]] gave in to these demands except in the case of border provinces threatened by Spanish or Imperial attack.  At the end of the Fronde, the Intendants were reinstated.

When [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] (1643–1715) was in power, the [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Marquis of Louvois]], [[Secretary of State for War (France)|War Secretary]] between 1677 and 1691, further expanded the power of the provincial intendants. They monitored Louis's refinements of the French military, including the institution of a merit promotion system and a policy of enlistment limited to single men for periods of four years.  After 1680, Intendants in France had a permanent position in a fixed region (or "[[généralité]]"); their official titles being <span title="intendant of justice, police and finances, commissioners departed in the generalities of the kingdom for the execution of the orders of the king">''intendant de justice, police et finances'', ''commissaires départis dans les généralités du royaume pour l'exécution des ordres du roi''</span> (or <span title="of his majesty">''de Sa Majesté''</span>).<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Intendant |volume=14 |page=683 |first=Adhémar |last=Esmein |author-link=Adhémar Esmein}}</ref>

The position of Intendant remained in existence until the [[French Revolution]]. The title was maintained thereafter for military officers with responsibility for financial auditing at regimental level and above.

A 2021 study, which used a dataset of 430 intendants from 1640 to 1789, found that less than half of these officials went through the legally-specified training path.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sasaki|first=Yu|date=2021|title=The Royal Consultants: The Intendants of France and the Bureaucratic Transition in Pre-modern Europe|url=https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/HPE-0008|journal=Journal of Historical Political Economy|language=English|volume=1|issue=2|pages=259–289|doi=10.1561/115.00000008|issn=2693-9290|hdl=2065/00073286|s2cid=238784308|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The study raised questions about the impersonal nature of these bureaucrats, with evidence indicating that familial and marital ties were factors in appointments, and that appointment duration had wide variability.<ref name=":0" />

===Functions===
Appointed and revoked by the king and reporting to the [[Controller-General of Finances]], the Intendant in his "généralité" had at his service a small team of secretaries.  In the 18th century, the "généralité" was subdivided into "subdelegations" at the head of which was placed a "subdelegate" (having also a team of secretaries) chosen by the Intendant.  In this way, the Intendant was relatively understaffed given his large jurisdiction.

===Notable intendants===
* [[Claude-François Bertrand de Boucheporn]], in [[Corsica]] then [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], [[Bayonne]] and [[Auch]]
* [[Paul Esprit Marie de la Bourdonnaye]] in [[Poitiers]]
* [[Charles Alexandre de Calonne]] in [[Metz]], then in [[Lille]], future [[Controller-General of Finances]]
* [[Nicolas-François Dupré de Saint-Maur]] in [[Bordeaux]]
* [[Antoine-Martin Chaumont de La Galaizière]] in [[Soissons]] then in [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]]
* [[Jean Baptiste Antoine Auget de Montyon|Jean-Baptiste Antoine Auget de Montyon]] in [[Poitiers]]
* [[Louis-Urbain-Aubert de Tourny]] in [[Limoges]], then in [[Bordeaux]]
* [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot]] in [[Limoges]], future [[Controller-General of Finances]]

===New France===
The French North American colony of [[New France]], which later became the Canadian province of [[Quebec]], also had a senior official called an [[Intendant of New France|intendant]], who was responsible to the French King. New France's first intendant was [[Jean Talon]], comte d'Orsainville in 1665, and the last one, at the time of the [[French and Indian War|British conquest of Quebec]] was [[François Bigot]].

==Spain and Spanish Empire==
Intendants were introduced into Spain and the [[Spanish Empire]] during the eighteenth-century [[Bourbon Reforms]]. The reforms were designed by the new dynasty to make political administration more efficient and to promote economic, commercial, and fiscal development of their new realms.<ref>James Lockhart and Stuart Schwartz, ''Early Latin America'', New York: Cambridge University Press 1983, pp. 352.</ref> An ''intendente'' was in charge of a Spanish administrative unit, called an '''''intendencia''''', which could include one or more provinces. The ''intendente'' was appointed directly by the Crown and had responsibility to oversee the treasury, the collection of taxes, and corruption practices and to promote agriculture and economic growth in general. With fiscal powers that gave them a say in almost all administrative, ecclesiastical and military matters, ''intendentes'' were conceived by the Bourbon kings to be a check on other local officials (who in the past couple of centuries had come to gain their position through the sale of offices or inheritance), just as the ''intendants'' had been in France a century earlier. Throughout the 18th century the Bourbons experimented with the powers and duties of the intendants, both in Spain and overseas, so what follows is only a general description of the Spanish intendancy. In any given area at any given time, the duties of the intendant would have been specified by the laws that established that particular intendancy.

The first ''intendencias'' were established in Spain after 1711, during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] on the advice of [[Jean Orry]], who had been sent by [[Louis XIV of France]] to help his young grandson [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]] set up his new government. The first intendants (''superintendentes generales del ejército'') oversaw the finances of the army and of the territories conquered by the Bourbons, and after the war, they were made permanent (''intendentes de ejército y provincia''). (After 1724, most intendancies lost their military character except in areas with a [[Captaincy|captaincy general]] and in [[Navarre]].) In 1749 an intendancy was established in every province, with the intendant also holding the office of [[Corregidor (position)|corregidor]] of the capital city.  (The offices were separated again in 1766). District ''alcaldes mayores'' or ''coregidores'' were subordinated to the provincial ''intendente-corregidor'' and assisted him in managing the province and implementing reforms.<ref>Artola, Miguel. ''Enciclopedia de Historia de España'', Tomo V. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1991. Pgs. 678–679. {{ISBN|84-206-5294-6}}</ref>

As a result of the [[Seven Years' War]] an intendancy was set up in [[Cuba]] in 1764.<ref>Excerpts of the Cuban intendancy regulations can be found at "Establishment of the Intendancy in Cuba" in Charles Gibson, ed. ''The Spanish Tradition in America'' (Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1968), 223–228.</ref> The Cuban intendant had oversight of the army's and the royal treasury's finances. (Two new intendancies with oversight only over the treasury were established in 1786 in [[Camagüey]] and [[Santiago de Cuba]].) After a two years of experimentation with the new office, an intendancy was introduced in [[Spanish Louisiana|Louisiana]] (1764).

That same year ''Visitador General'' [[José de Gálvez]] created a plan to set up intendancies in [[New Spain]] (Mexico). The first one was set up in central Mexico in 1786, followed in 1787 by [[Veracruz]], [[Puebla]], [[Valladolid]] in Michoacan, [[Guadalajara]], [[Oaxaca]], [[Guanajuato]], [[Zacatecas]], [[San Luis Potosí]], [[Durango]],  [[Sonora]], and in 1789 [[Mérida, Yucatán|Mérida]], the main city in Yucatán. These administrative changes codified existing regional divisions of Center (Mexico, Veracruz, Puebla, Michoacan), South (Oaxaca, Mérida), and North (Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Durango, and Sonora).

In 1776 Gálvez, now Minister of the Indies, established an intendancy (''superintendencia'') for all of [[Captaincy General of Venezuela|Venezuela]] in 1776, and several in the [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata|Río de la Plata]] in 1783.  Most of the overseas intendants were assisted by officials (''subdelegados'') who replaced the old ''corregidores'' or ''alcaldes mayores''.  Initially intendancies were held by a separate person from the [[viceroy]] or the governor, but eventually in many places the offices were granted to one person due to conflicts that emerged between these two.

More intendancies were established in [[Royal Audience of Quito|Quito]], [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Peru]], [[Spanish East Indies|Philippines]], [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (1784), [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|Guatemala]], more areas of [[Viceroyalty of New Spain|New Spain]], [[Captaincy General of Chile|Chile]] (1786) and [[Cuenca, Ecuador|Cuenca]] (1786).  The [[Revolt of the Comuneros (New Granada)|Revolt of the Comuneros]] prevented their installation in [[New Kingdom of Granada|New Granada]].

==Portugal and Portuguese Empire==

In Portugal, historically, the title "intendant" (''intendente'' in Portuguese) has been mainly associated with police roles.

From 1760 to 1832, the head of the Police of the Kingdom of Portugal had the title of "Intendant General of the Police of the Court and of the Kingdom". A similar title - that of "Intendant General of the Public Security" - was used from 1928 to 1932 to designate the head of the Portuguese Civil Police.

==Current use in Hispanic and Lusophone countries==

===Portugal===
[[File:Distintivo Intendente PSP.png|150px|thumb|right|Rank insignia of an intendant of the Portuguese Public Security Police.]]

Presently, intendant is a rank of officer in the [[Polícia de Segurança Pública|Public Security Police]], roughly equivalent to the military rank of [[lieutenant-colonel]]. Analogously, the police rank of sub-intendant corresponds to the rank of [[Major (rank)|major]], while the police rank of superintendent corresponds to the rank of [[colonel]].

The rank insignia of an intendant consists of a dark blue [[Epaulette|epaulet]] with two crossed [[Crop (implement)|horsewhips]] inside a [[laurel wreath]] and two PSP stars. Each PSP star consists in a six points silver star with the "SP" [[monogram]] in the center. The rank insignia of a sub-intendant is similar but with only a single PSP star.

=== Spain ===
Nowadays in the Spanish armed forces, the title Intendant refers to a Colonel in the Supply Branch either in the Navy, Army or Air Force. It is also used in some branches of the administration such as the Catalan Police, (''[[Mossos d'Esquadra]]'' in Catalan) or in some Autonomous Communities (''Comunidades Autónomas'' in Spanish).

===Argentina===
In [[Argentina]], ''intendente'' (m) or ''intendenta'' (f) refers to [[Mayor|city mayors]] – heads of government of [[Municipalities of Argentina|municipalities]] (or ''[[Partidos of Buenos Aires|partidos]]'' in [[Buenos Aires Province]]).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://biblioteca.municipios.unq.edu.ar/modules/mislibros/archivos/elestadomunicipalmensaandrea.PDF|title=El Estado municipal en Argentina|trans-title=Municipal State in Argentina|last=Mensa|first=Andrea|date=2007|journal=Provincia|volume=17|language=es|page=43|publisher=[[University of the Andes (Venezuela)|Universidad de Los Andes]]|issn=1317-9535}}</ref> This meaning is not at all connected to the usage in other countries. [[Spanish-language]] media in countries other than Argentina tend to refer to Argentine city mayors as ''[[alcalde]]s'', which is the most common Spanish word for mayor.
In the [[Argentine Army]], "Intendencia" is the Spanish name of the Quartermaster Corps, and its members are informally called "intendentes".
In some organizations, such as clubs, gated communities, large companies, etc., "intendente" is the name given to the person in charge of general maintenance of common spaces.

===Chile===
[[Chile]] is [[Administrative divisions of Chile|administratively divided]] in 16 [[Regions of Chile|regions]]. Between 1976 (1974 in some regions) and 2021, each region was headed by an intendant, appointed by the [[President of Chile|president]].

===Cuba===
In [[Cuba]], the intendant was introduced by the Constitution of the Republic (2019) to head the Administrative Councils - subordinate to the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power (town halls) - and with strictly executive-administrative functions. As the highest local authority is the President of the Municipal Assembly (mayor), it is up to him to designate and remove the intendant, after agreement with the majority of the Delegates of People's Power (councilors).

===Paraguay===
The [[Republic of Paraguay]] is administratively divided into 17 ''[[Departments of Paraguay|departamentos]]'' (departments), each of which is headed by an ''gobernador departamental'' (departmental governor). These ''departamentos'' are divided into 261<ref>[https://www.lanacion.com.py/politica_edicion_impresa/2020/12/20/siete-nuevos-municipios-elegiran-por-primera-vez-a-sus-autoridades/ Siete nuevos municipios elegirán por primera vez a sus autoridades]</ref> ''[[Districts of Paraguay|distritos]]'' (districts) (plus the [[Asunción|capital district]]), districts are headed by an ''intendente municipal'' (municipal intendant), these  intendants are popularly elected, and serve a term of five years.

===Uruguay===
[[Uruguay]] is divided administratively into 19 ''[[Departments of Uruguay|departamentos]]'' (departments). The executive power of each department is the ''intendencia'' (intendancy), headed by an ''intendente departamental'' (departmental intendant).  The intendants are popularly elected, and serve a term of five years.

==Russia and Soviet Union==
The position of intendant was part of the tsarist Russian army from 1812 to 1868; intendants were responsible for supplies, finances, etc. in the field. After the 1935 rank reform that established 'personal ranks' in the Soviet military, it was reintroduced as the rank title for administrative and supply officers. The specific ranks, their collar insignia, and their line equivalents were:
*''technician-intendant second class'', two rectangles, lieutenant
*''technician-intendant first class'', three rectangles, senior lieutenant
*''intendant third class'', one rectangle, captain
*''intendant second class'', two rectangles, major
*''intendant first class'', three rectangles, colonel.
*''brigindendant'' (i.e., brigade intendant), one diamond, kombrig (brigade commander)
*''divintendant'' (i.e., division intendant), two diamonds, komdiv (division commander)
*''korindendant'' (i.e., corps intendant), three diamonds, komkor (corps commander)
*''armintendant'' (i.e., army intendant), four diamonds, komandarm (army commander) second class.

On 7 May 1940, the rank title system for all Soviet Army senior officers was changed to bring it closer in line with standard European practice, and the ranks of major general of the intendant service, lieutenant general of the intendant service, and colonel general of the intendant service were introduced. Senior officers from brigintendant to armintendant rank underwent a re-attestation process and were given a general rank.

On 30 March 1942, the 'intendant' ranks equivalent to those between lieutenant and colonel were abolished, and officers holding those ranks also underwent a re-attestation process and received ranks ranging from lieutenant of the intendant service to colonel of the administrative service.

==Scotland==
In [[Scotland]] intendant is an archaic title meaning "supervisor" or "curator". The senior officer of the [[City of Glasgow Police]] was called an Intendant in the document establishing the force in  1800.

==United States==
For much of its history, the chief magistrate of the city of [[Charleston, South Carolina]] was the Intendant of the City, roughly corresponding to a mayor. The title Intendant was also used in other Lowcountry towns, where the office was assisted by "wardens," a system which may have derived from earlier ecclesiastical administration under colonial rule.

==Other uses==
It is also commonly found today in many theaters and [[opera house]]s in Europe, where it is the equivalent to the title of [[general director]], given to an individual in a managerial position, generally having control over all aspects of the company.

In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', Intendant was a title in the [[Mirror Universe (Star Trek)|mirror universe]]. The mirror universe version of [[Kira Nerys]] held the position of ''Intendant of [[Bajor]]''.

==See also==
*[[Bourbon reforms]]
*[[List of governors in the Viceroyalty of New Spain|List of governors and intendants in the Viceroyalty of New Spain]]
*[[List of Governors in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata|List of intendants in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]]
*[[Quartermaster]]

==References==
*''Portions of the section on France are a translation of the article [[:fr:Intendant (Ancien Régime)|Intendant (Ancien Régime)]] from the [[:fr:Accueil|French Wikipedia]], accessed on 13 August 2006.''
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Barbier, Jacques. ''Reform and Politics in Bourbon Chile, 1755-1796''. Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 1980. {{ISBN|978-2-7603-5010-6}} (1980)
* Fisher, John R. ''Government and Society in Colonial Peru: The Intendant System, 1784-1814''. (1970)
*[[Lillian Estelle Fisher|Fisher, Lillian Estelle]]. ''The Intendant System in Spanish America''. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1929.
*[[Clarence Haring|Haring, Clarence H.]], ''The Spanish Empire in America''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1947.
*[[John Lynch (historian)|Lynch, John]]. ''Spanish Colonial Administration, 1782–1818: the Intendant System in the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata'' (1958)

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[[Category:Government of Chile]]
[[Category:Government of France]]
[[Category:Offices in the Ancien Régime]]
[[Category:Gubernatorial titles]]
[[Category:Spanish Empire]]