The administrator and the parochial accounting: Control and accounts rendering. Agüimes town 1730-1830

Abstract

The parish, fundamental prop in the history of the Church, receives importance as generating source of documents in the middle of the XVIth century with the canonical procedures emanated from the Council of Trent, held the years 1543 to 1562, when diverse chapters were promulgated in order to govern the parochial life and activities. As a result of these regulations the parish became both a producer and a receiver of documents, being the files of documentation that remain in its archives a patrimony of every parish. From its beginnings, the parish assumed administrative functions, needing a person to be in charge of the management of its goods. The maximum responsible for the economic administration of the parish was the "mayordomo" or administrator who was in charge of the exploitation of the properties, collection of the revenues and control of the expenses. He had to record the operations he managed in a set of account books. At the end of the respective period these records were transcribed by a notary in the libro de Quentas de Fabrica (General Account Book of the Parish) that was used for the rendering of the accounts. In fact, periodically these accounts were audited by the bishop or person designated by him to this effect, who expressed his opinion about them and in its case dictated the necessary amendments and mandates both in the aspects related to the worship and to the economics and countable matters. The accounting under study is therefore an ecclesiastical accounting, that is, a private accounting kept by the administrator or "mayordomo" on behalf of the parish in order to know and follow the parish operations of which he had to render accounts to the owners of the administered goods. Through the study of a figure of great relevancy in the parochial institution from the economiccountable point of view, namely the administrator, at the parish of Agüimes Town, in the island of Gran Canaria, during the period 1730-1830, it is intended to contribute to the enrichment of the history of accounting in the ecclesiastic area. This target is to be met by the investigation and description of the functions of the parochial administrator and their economic-countable implications, as well as by the analysis of the account books and other countable documentation kept by him and above all of the libro de Quentas de Fabrica (General Account Book of the Parish). This book served the administrator to render accounts before the bishop or general inspector designated to take them in the visits that were periodically carried out to the parishes.